What have you forgotten?

[Robb]

I just got off the phone with an old buddy from way back, and we were discussing memory loss. Things we felt were extraordinarily important at the time, but can only muster up a summary of the events decades later.

...Like, you remember we all were in County X? Yeah, so and so was there. We all did Y.

But neither of us could remember how we got there, who brought what, any of the details. Train? Boat? Maybe. :( I can tell you the brand of boot I was wearing, and the name of the guy that sold it to me, draw you a map of the store -- but not what country I bought it in.

Memory's funny, because forgetting things sneaks up on you almost by definition. Losing it is like a cloud that comes from behind, and the stuff that looks like swiss cheese gets closer and closer to the now.

The things you knew you would remember forever are rarely the things you remember forever.

...Anyone else?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

1. The French language.

I had a crash course of it for the college entrance exams. Was able to read any text comfortably. Now... not so much.

[madinmaryland]

2. I don't recall.

:shrug:

[Curmudgeoness]

3. Had lived away from my hometown for 12 years. Moved back

and my father would try to tell me how to get to this or that place, and would say "you take X Street to Y Street"---major streets. And I had no idea where they were anymore. Creepy.

[ThomCat]

4. My memory has become swiss cheese.

Ever since I started needing to take heavy medications, I can't remember shit. Seriously.

I can't remember phone numbers. I can't remember the names of people I've known for years unless I am with them in exactly the right context to trigger the memory of who they are. If I meet them in a different place, I'm clueless, fumbling for a name. I memory of historical stuff used to be sharp, but gets foggier all the time, with bits and pieces disappearing all the time.

And my short term memory is the worst. I can't remember what I did 20 minutes ago to save my life. I have to announce to my roommate when I'm taking my meds, and then ask her when I last took a med, because I'll be damned if I can remember.

She has become my memory for me. I don't know what I'd do without her help. :(

[zabet]

14. I saw on a med products show....

about these things you stick on your pill bottles, they have tabs that you can flip when you take it (be it hourly or daily), so you would not have to be unsure whether you took your meds or not.....and if I am not mistaken, they were re-usable. I know this is a problem for me at times.....I have even resorted to counting the pills and counting by refill date to see if I had missed a dose.

[grasswire]

15. I turn the bottle upside down when I take the pill

Start in the morning with all the bottles rightside up. When you take a pill, turn it over. Of course if you take multiples of the same pill in 24 hours, this doesn't work. Then you get one of those little boxes where you count them out for a week in advance.

[elleng]

5. DATES, as in, 'What year WAS that???'

[velvet]

6. "Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth but not its twin."

I've never had a good memory for the detail of events, just the main points. Makes me a poor storyteller, or at least a fast one. I'm envious of people who write their autobiography, how do they remember so much? Diaries? I start them and then forget to continue them. Actually I don't even bother starting these days.

Of course a lot of those autobiographers would probably have butlers, which would make the job a whole lot easier.

"Jeeves! What country did I buy those boots in?"

"I believe it was Italy, Madam."

If I had a butler, or better, several butlers ... the things I could achieve.

[HopeHoops]

7. More than the staff at FOX Noise knows cumulatively.

Actually, that's not saying much.

[MiddleFingerMom]

8. The most enjoyable thing I forget...

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...is my pants.
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"Officer, they were just here a minute ago."
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[femmocrat]

9. My glasses, usually.

I have several pairs now--- one for the car, one for my desk, one for the TV.... It's getting to be a real pain.

I decided to do something when the custodian found my glasses (in their case) in the parking lot one day!

[jobycom]

10. That thing I was supposed to do, sometime.

I sometimes wonder if the real reason we forget so much is just because we have more to forget. Seriously, how much does a 20 year old have to forget? 17 years of memories, most of which just happened. Even at 20 you don't remember 6 very well. My 11 year old can barely remember going to Disney World when she was 6.

At 45, I have a whole lifetime of irrelevant stuff to forget, and I've had about 40 years to forget some of it, and it's not like stuff isn't happening now that I need to file away.

I mean, seriously, why do I care who my parents were or what I named my kids? I can't find my car keys, damnit!

[In_The_Wind]

11. To make sure that no one is eavesdropping on my phone conversation

before I say ~ .















:hide:
sorry bout your hurt feelings
stop hanging around my door to eavesdrop
~ you only hurt yourself that way

[Tobin S.]

12. According to some country music singer I forgot all about 9/11

There are actually a lot of things in my past that I'd like to forget, so I try to be in the moment as much as possible.

[retread]

13. What was the question?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

16. I have forgotten how to be happy.

[In_The_Wind]

17. ~

Let me remind you!

after all ~ that's what old friends are for
remember that Kick-Ass Steak House you took me to ?