OnStage: Age is the rage on his stage

[23 November 2007 - Star Tribune] Some years ago, renowned British actor Charles Keating was visited by his mother, who was then frail and ravaged by Alzheimer's. It was a sad encounter as he tried different ways of getting her to recognize him. He told her that he was her son, and reminded her of experiences that they had shared. He held her hands and touched her face. Nothing seemed to jog her memory. Then, in the midst of her confusion, Keating began to recite "Crabbed Old Woman," a poem that he had learned while a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and had taught her. The rhymes quickened something in Peg Keating and she joined in the recitation. Keating dropped out, listening with joy as his mother finished the poem. More