If you're not forgetful, trust me — your time is coming. Once upon a time I could retain everything. Well, except for when I was in school, and then I could only remember stuff that had nothing to do with whatever was on the test I was about to take. But after I managed to leave high school with my diploma barely intact, I could suddenly remember more. I think that's because all the math stuff they tried to force me to learn, or else that purple mimeograph ink on my test papers that I was sniffing.
I did great for many years after that, and then it started happening. I'd go to the store for some stuff and wouldn't even realize I'd forgotten an item or two till later. That led to me making a list. This worked good until I started forgetting to take my list with me. And sometimes I'd just walk around the store, hoping to recognize what it was I'd come for that was still on my list, wherever it was. I bet store owners thought I was casing the place.
And now, years later, it's not getting any better. Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease are nothing to joke about, and I'd never do that. I'm just talking about a few cogs slipping in my noggin where I used to be able to store stuff. The thousand jokes I once kept on file in my head somehow got deleted, along with lots of other things. That reminds me of a long-dead old time preacher friend who used to tell me that his forgetter worked overtime.
Last week I thought about amnesia, the ultimate forgetful state. What might it be like if you suddenly suffered from that? My buddy Mel said his brother Doug had his first name tattooed on his arm, and that made me think about amnesia. If you had no idea who you were, you'd at least know your first name, if you had a tattoo like that (or if you somehow lost your arm and somebody found it, at least they'd have a clue as to how to start looking for you).
Amnesia could really do a number on you. That was evident in the old Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell movie "Overboard," when he told her that they were married and that his kids were also hers, and so forth. What if something like that happened to me? Those who know me might like to mess with my mind by telling me that I liked cats, liver, and the New England Patriots. And if I came to my senses and realized otherwise, I'd be in jail for whatever I did to them that was not very nice and quite illegal.
There was a Western TV show in the mid-60s that ran for one season titled "A Man Called Shenandoah" that was about a cowboy with amnesia, drifting from town to town, trying to figure out who he really was. I loved that show as a kid and always felt sorry for Robert Horton's character. I don't think he even knew his horse's name, which was probably a bit awkward when he talked to him.
I guess if I had amnesia and never found out who I was, I'd just be called "What's-His-Face" for the rest of my life. And I reckon that the Myosotis scorpioides would be my favorite plant (also known as the forget-me-not flower). Also, I'd say that having dreams might be a bit weird, especially if they involved people from my past that I had no way of recognizing.
If the cure for it was like it is on TV or in the movies, I'd have to bump my noggin to bring my memory back, or else get somebody to whack me upside the head with a 2x4. Neither of those options appeal to me, so I'll do my best not to get in that state to begin with. Meanwhile, I'll just keep trying to not let my brain delete any more of my files. Hmm... I wonder if defragging my head would help? It's just as well, as I'd probably forget to do it.
February 06, 2021 at 12:12AM
https://www.yoursun.com/arcadia/news/column-dont-forget-to-remember-what-you-shouldnt-forget/article_bf804002-67d3-11eb-907d-13658c944469.html
Column: Don't forget to remember what you shouldn't forget - yoursun.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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