Doors

Dad has an obsession about doors. He has been whining bitterly about being locked out of his room ever since we started preventing him from going to bed at 6:15 p.m.

Once he is IN bed, he has to have the door left open to get "fresh air." His room is well ventilated, and it gets much warmer when the door is shut. We can't move around in the kitchen without disturbing him. Since he goes to bed at 7:30, this would seriously limit us if we didn't ignore him and go on using the kitchen as we need. We leave the door slightly ajar and go on about our business. On especially cold nights, we try to close the door more because the sliding glass door just outside his bedroom causes the adjoining room to get cold.

Tonight Dad was unusually concerned about his door being left open.

"I need the door open. That is what I need."

"If the door is open, I can get fresh air. That is what I can get."

"I need lots of fresh air. That is what I need."

"If I don't get fresh air, I will die. That is what I will do."

"The door needs to be left open for fresh air. Three people have died in that room because they did not get fresh air. That is what they did."

(His room is part of the addition. He is the only person to ever sleep in it.)