The Perils Of Cooking: In The Kitchen With A 98-Year Old

A visit to Great-Grandpa today revealed yet another reason not to use a microwave (as if exploding eggs weren't enough), especially if you are elderly, forgetful and not too microwave-savvy.

I was puttering about his kitchen when he mumbled something like, "Did I tell you what happened with the microwave?" I assumed he was referring to the exploding egg incident, as he is known to repeat certain tales. Turns out there was an all new, more frightening event. He explained that he had merely placed two small red potatoes in a dish, and put them on to cook in the microwave. He went over to the couch and promptly forgot about them.

The next thing he knew, the smoke alarm was sounding and flaming potatoes were swirling in the oven. He was very alarmed, ran around opening windows, while in some unsafe manner managed to put out the fire. He failed to call my brother (who watches over him) but was quite relieved that my brother just happened to look across the street and notice that something seemed amiss.

He is now back to boiling his tea on the stove (in a pot rather than kettle, don't ask!) and claims to have made some mashed potatoes with mayonnaise that he was quite pleased with. But is a stove really safe for him? I noticed some feathers placed precariously close by, not to mention other paraphernalia that might do better elsewhere.

This incident begs the question: Is there any safe way for an older, slightly forgetful person to cook?