at the neurologist

Not an unfriendly man, though he does have his pride....
but mostly a man who strikes me as well-meaning,
the neurologist remarked with amusement about my father...
"They do forget how to ..."
in this case, I think, it was standing up or sitting or some basic movement....
And his words rang oddly in my brain...
"They..."
and I am still wondering what the hell he was thinking....
"they?"
would you say that about your own father or mother?

"They" --thereby indicating that the doctor had observed a symptom.
But this put in motion a series of thoughts:
So what? You recognize a symptom for a disease you can't cure?
But was the doctor amused?
Was he surprised?
Was he pleased with himself?

Or was his demi-amusement equally a kind of surprise, a newly renewed surprise
at observing a regularity which he himself knew he did not fully understand?

There are, as well, variations in my own moods:
paranoid: how dare he!
calm: who knows what he was really thinking?

Variations in my own moods and limitations to my memory: Did I fail to notice something? Were all of the intonation in his words understood by me? Did his smile have a specific shape that I did not notice? Am I sufficiently aware of the man's own speech and facial patterns to be sure that I have not misunderstood? Amusement can be innocent--if you're not a fanatical puritan...