Get him a set of golf clubs. Maybe a new fishing rod. Distract him somehow, fill in the blanks with something else. Play some old vinyl. Ask him to demonstrate some swing dance moves. Start a scrapbook of his life and write it all down. Have him list every car he ever owned. Take him to a Glen Miller Tribute concert. List all the Presidents in his lifetime and see what he thinks of them. Ask his opinion on the Great Depression vs the current economic situation. Put on a classic movie channel. Ask him if he ever had a crystal set. What was life like before TV?
My mother does the same. I think it is her way of making conversation. As old people age, their world gets smaller. For many, their world ultimately narrows to only themselves. So they talk about themselves -- their aches, pains, and discontents. When my mother gets on a roll about all her problems, I finally say, "Stop complaining!" It is the only way I know to reserve a bit of my own sanity, since there is no way to fix the things that are wrong.
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