There is a direct highway between Alfredo's mind and his heart. It is a secret highway. Only he can map it. And even with dementia, he will always have access to that byway. OK. You say, "Oh, how poetic; but what does this imply for caregivers of persons with dementia? Bare with me, this is going to be a little grueling in describing my reflections on this important aspect of all lives including the lives of those of us who are not under attack by diseases like Alzheimer's. Mind mapping became a popular technique among "brain stormers" a decade ago. The activity was to try to use instantaneous thought elements as points along a map concerning the eventual arrival at a solution to some problem. Each spontaneous thought would be written quickly on a yellow sticky sheet and would be place on a wall in some random spot. The more participants in the activity, the better the possibility of arriving at some measure of cooperative agreement regarding the potential solu...