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How do you tell an old person that they are INSANE?

21:51 / 09.09.04

I work for a small town newspaper, and my boss is old, I mean really old, she gives assignments and forgets about them, or thinks she tells me to do things and really doesn’t. But come time to go to press, she says, “Hey Ben, where is that article on the twelve new teachers?” and I look at her and bite my tongue, and throw out the story I have been writing on the strange cow mutations (the one where I did investigative reporting on cow manure) and get calling to set up and do 12 interviews with 12 teachers stretched out over the county. I manage to get my story done just in time, huffing and puffing, setting on her desk five minutes before press time; and of coarse, she still gets pissed.
I am losing my mind. I am working to much, trying to fix all of these crazy problems that pop up from her senility. What should I do? Do I sit down with her and try and tell her, “Look lady, you are senile.” From what I understand she used to be pretty sharp, her wall is full of Journalism awards, and she is like a walking encyclopedia.
Should I just go on like it is?
I don’t know… I have got to do something, as it is, (between school and work) I don’t have nearly enough time to further my ambitions of overthrowing my friend Steve as the number one cool guy in town.

22:03 / 09.09.04

You could suggest that someone put all the assignments on a whiteboard so it's easier for, ahem, everyone to manage.

Is it possible though that she's always been like this and is just whipping your sorry noob ass into shape? :-)

22:17 / 09.09.04

Is this happening to anyone else in your office?

22:39 / 09.09.04

Yep, she is pretty much driving the entire paper crazy. We have a whiteboard, and it is up to us to write our assignments on it, so she tells us, we write it down. You see, so if she tells me(or doesnt tell me) to do a story, and its not written on the white board, it is simply because I didnt write it down.

I bought a franklin dayplanner, and have started writting down everything she tells me, so that she can see me always doing that, and if she asks me where a story is, I open my planner and say "Gee, I must have forgotten to write that down." I hope she will get the clue.

23:18 / 09.09.04

One of my bosses is pretty bad about giving partial/no instructions, and then claiming to have had a long conversation about what we should be doing on certain projects - and quite often we don't even know the projects exist. Sound familiar? I've managed to get around this, mostly by using the notebook trick - writing down everything she tells me to do, and if she starts talking to me and I don't have it, I tell her to wait while I go get my book. The other option is to tell her to write down what she wants you to do (I get my forgetful boss to e-mail me anything remotely important - "you know, this sounds a little complicated, why don't you send me an e-mail so I don't miss anything?") - maybe not so good with the older than God jounalist lady. I don't think being subtle - I open my planner and say "Gee, I must have forgotten to write that down." - is going to be too effective if she hasn't got a clue that she's having imaginary conversations.

01:07 / 11.09.04

'Senile' just means old, which she undoubtedly is. You're presumably suggesting she's dementing.

I think you should disfigure her face. That worked in the other thread.

05:54 / 11.09.04

The poor old bag was so sweet to me today. She wasnt at the office, at all, which was great, because I got so much extra done. She called in and asked me for a status report, and because I was so far ahead she let me have the rest of the day off!

Whisky Priestess

12:44 / 11.09.04

What the statutory retirement age wherever you are, Ben? If she's over 65 and in the UK she can (and by the sounds of it, should) toddle off to grow geraniums and let someone a wee bit sharper take over.

Or is it *her* paper?

And what's wrong with telling her that she didn't tell you something rather than pretending it was your mistake ("I forgot to write that down")? If I know editors she'll be a lot more willing to believe it was you not her who screwed up. Are you afraid for her ego or your job? If the former, it might be helpful for her to know why things go wrong or assignments get missed: if the latter, hang on till she retires and slowly become the power behind the throne. Become her PA if necessary.

I have to say that your editor's problem is no worse than the (predominantly male) phenomenon of "executive syndrome", where grown men entrusted with crucial business decisions regress to a childlike state in which they literally don't know what day it is or where their wallets are without consulting their PA. Problem is, your editor needs an omniscient assistant.

14:13 / 13.09.04

Yes Ben, become her Seneschal. Start off slow, growing you tendrils subtly into her day to day life like a sturdy oak and when she finally retires you'll have her trust and permission to assume power. You'll know all the moves and have all the cheat codes!

Your own small town business empire, Ben! Think of it. That'll show Steve, the smug bastard! A newspaper in your iron grip, and then the world! Ultra Stevus has fallen! The leadership Matrix will be passed to you!

TILL ALL ARE ONE!