Once upon a Memory
What on earth did I come upstairs for I asked myself?
Now let me think, both cats are outside in the garden, so it’s not that. Did my wife ask me to collect something for her, no; it’s not that, Ah! I remember now, It was to check my computer was switched off. Did I switch it off twenty minutes ago or not? When I opened the door to my office, it was switched off.
Sometimes I can’t remember the names of my grandchildren, so I have devised a system of remembering them, “I ask my wife.”
My sensory memory is pretty good, I can remember the feel of silk, paper, cardboard and other physical items with my eyes closed and I can tell what it is by touch alone.
My long term memory is excellent, I can remember in detail peoples faces, sound of their voices, where we were when we met and technical details related to my Engineering life, but I can’t remember what I did or said two minutes ago. So it’s the short term memory that causes me the most problems in my life, but it never used to be that way.
In South Africa just outside of the city of Durban in a small village called Mgaro, is a memory tree. Local people believe that if you have forgotten something, all you had to do was sit under the tree and your memory would instantly return. The old people of the village take their children and grandchildren to the tree to tell them tribal stories that were told by their fathers and grandfathers so nothing within the story would be missed out.
In Lebanon within the Hasbaya district there is a village called Hasroun. On the edge of the village is an oasis called Thekraa meaning Memory in Arabic. It is reputed that the water in the oasis not only refreshes your thirst but also your memory, regular drinks from the water will give you an everlasting memory. Problem was, no one could remember my name Terry, and I was called Tirry, Tory, Mr Tary or just the Englasie Siddique. (Meaning English friend)
In Nigeria there is a magic tree on the road to Boko. The branches of the tree are filled full of coloured ribbons to aid the wellbeing, health and other maladies that conflict the human body including memory loss. Dr Orongo, the company doctor who admitted to me that he visited the tree quite often but he couldn’t remember the name ‘Paracetamol’ when I said I had a terrible headache so he gave me aspirin instead.
My oldest daughter one time gave me a memory cup, she bought it from Ebay. I remember. It was a little dangly thing to hang on my car key ring. If I forgot something all I had to do was to look into cup and my memory would come flooding back to me. It never worked of course and it clattered off my car dash board all the time so one day I looked into the cup and remembered to throw it into the refuse bin.
I tend to call my wife Sweetheart, My Love or My darling. Would you like a coffee sweetheart, you look gorgeous my darling or, sit yourself down and I’ll do that for you my Love. To be totally honest with you all, I forgot what her name was years ago.
If somebody were to ask me what I did yesterday, I would have to think very hard. It’s easier for me to remember what I did last night and then work backwards towards morning. Or if somebody refers to something that happened the other day I can’t even remember what day that happened, or right when I’m about to say something I forget it just when I’m about to say it.
I went to see my doctor the other day about my memory problem.
I said to him: ” Doctor, my memory is just terrible.”
He asked me: ”When did you first notice the problem?”
I Replied: ”What problem?”
I keep a writing pad beside my computer so I can check what I have to type in to do certain things.
MSCONFIG, for checking my start up items.
ACTION, for my Action Centre for checking the Firewall and security software.
NAP, for my Network access protection.
I use the above every single day but I still can’t remember them. By now it should be automatic for me to type in these words, but it isn’t. I sometimes call my cat Katy Molly and Molly Katy, I remember immediately that I am wrong and correct it straight away, because I have just said it.
I usually get up around 4.30am every morning; I have my coffee and a slice of toast and then either read or sit at my computer for a while. One time I got up as usual and something in the back of mind told me there was something supposed to happen today. What it was had me baffled until my wife got up and said to me ‘Happy Birthday.’ I had forgotten my own birthday.
If my wife asks me to do some shopping for her, all be it for only two or three items, I have to write the items needed down on paper. This saves me making a telephone call to my wife from the shopping centre asking her, ‘what was it you wanted again my sweetheart.’
My brother and I made arrangements to meet to discuss a family matter in a small village called Ushaw Moor at the pub called The Flass Inn. Now there are two pubs in the village. “The Flass Inn” and “The Masons Arms.” I arrived at the village in plenty of time but couldn’t remember the name of the pub we were to meet in. By the time I arrived at The Flass Inn I was quite inebriated with gin and tonic and my brother had left and gone home.
Yesterday, while out shopping with my wife we bumped into a woman she knew from long ago. Her name was Florrie. We stood talking to her for quite a while as my wife and she had not seen one another for quite some years. When we parted my wife decided we would go for a coffee and as we were in M&S it was real handy. I was asking my wife “What was her name again.”
“Florrie” she said abruptly to me, her name is Florrie. Well, I can’t remember everything can I?
I was thinking of getting a memory box or a memory pillow with a picture of a memory tree on it that might help my memory.
I bought some extra memory for my computer the other day so it would remember to work more quickly..
I could purchase a memory tree and plant it in my garden to remember someone by, but I don’t think my garden is big enough to remember everyone I know.
Possibly there is a brain operation where extra memory could be added so I don’t forget things, that is providing I have a brain.
So, that’s about as much as I can remember to write for the time being. It was nice meeting you all and don’t forget, my name is *******.
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