The kitchen and Abu Mousa

Since he returned from America, Abu Mousa had moved back into the kitchen, against the family's best efforts to keep him out. His granddaughter, Lena, says old people like to be near food. He avoided his own room and slept in the kitchen and cooked there, leaving dirty dishes and often molding fruit and vegetables.

The solution: Build a wall through the kitchen so it's too small for a bed, forcing Abu Mousa elsewhere. He wasn't happy. True, it was often filthy. But, I've enjoyed many meals there with Abu Mousa. Now, it's too small for a chair and a table, as well.

"Allah yarhamo," I said. God have mercy on it, oft-repeated to express respect for the dead. "Indeed," Abu Mousa said. "Allah yarhamo."