First off, a big time congratulations to the Endwell, NY little leaguers who are now-----Little League World Series Champions. You truly did end well.
What an amazing group of youngsters. Proud of you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of you who read my posts are younger than me but might have experienced a slight dose of memory constipation. It can start as early as the fifties and progresses slowly as the years pile on. Mine got slightly noticeable in my late sixties and has picked up a tad as I sneak up on eighty.
Such as when a word you know perfectly well just won't come to mind in mid-sentence. Huh?? Trying to remember someone you once knew but can't for the life of you attach a name. Pretty sure there aren't many of you who qualify as seniors that have not had at least mild degrees of this age related phenomenon.
I agree with the theory that as we age we just keep piling information into our finite brains. Eventually, some data will have to be dumped to make room. Our brain doesn't discriminate or chose wisely and the dumping seems random. Hopefully some things mine has dumped I may never even miss.
Do you accept this or do you fight it? I fear I am bulldog like and will claw away and will retrieve the lost information eventually. It almost becomes a game.
If on those rare time when the person you are speaking to can't supply the missing word, it will reappear on its own often hours later when it is no longer needed. For those times, bulldog doesn't help.
For the lost name of a person on the periphery of my circle that I should know, I use the ABC approach. I picture the person then recite the alphabet slowly. Generally when a letter corresponds to the name of my lost person, their name pops up easily. Hopefully they are a Bob or Carl and not a Walter or Zane.
Sometimes if it is not a person in my circle and if they have any degree of fame, the Internet is the best tool. A while back I was trying to think of a favorite football player from quite a few years ago. Total blank.
With the Internet we only need a smidgen of information to get an answer. All I knew for sure was that he was the brother in law of a teammate. Vague enough? Actually all I had to type was " Dolphin teammate brothers in law" and there they were top of the page-- Jason Taylor and Zack Thomas. Zack, number 54, was my missing favorite.
Ahh, all was well again. I readily admit to enjoying the challenge and wallow in the successes.
I guess I should feel fortunate. So far I am not losing things, only words and names.
Do you stick with the mind search till you solve the mystery or do you just chalk it up to senior memory and move on? Perhaps you have a significant other who supplies the missing word or name. Or even better, have you so far escaped this rite of passage all together?
Was this post really necessary? Conversations with my sister. I say, "Oh I want to tell you ...." BLANK "She says, "Call me back when you think of it." Sometimes I remember but often I don't so there are random stories drifting about in my brain waiting to be set free.
ReplyDeleteAnnie,
DeleteYep, been there too. Ha ha, yes it was necessary but right now I can't remember why:))
You gave me a good chuckle this morning! Oh yes, I am definitely part of the club. I like to think of my brain as giant file cabinets, with everything in alphabetical order. I'm like you; the first letter often pops into my head, and then if I am lucky, the rest of the word/name follows shortly thereafter.
ReplyDeleteCarole,
DeleteYep, me too on the filing system though sometimes I think a new person did some of the filing. Doesn't it feel great when you wrestle the missing item appears?
Oh, yes, this is happening more and more often. I was at the coffee shop the other day and wanted a... what do you call those hard things you eat with coffee? Barista said, "biscotti"? Yep. One of those. :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteDon't ya love it when someone knows what you are searching for. You did good with "hard things you eat with coffee." I usually say something non-descriptive like "flappy thing" and hope someone knows what I mean.
I have always been horrible with names, but much worse now...also words for my posts. I usually just go on with what I'm doing and later the name, or word pops in my head.
ReplyDeletejoeh,
DeleteOh how I admire your patience. I know if I would just wait----.
Lately I've been horrible with remembering new names. We've been meeting our neighbors, and five minutes later I can't remember what their names are. Some of our neighbors are our age, so when we ask them their names for the millionth time, they laugh and ask for ours again too!
ReplyDeleterobin,
DeleteIsn't it wonderful when we are all in the same boat. Sure makes things easy and comfortable. Keep those neighbors.
There is no escape, but a sense of humor and google help. Also a comfort is a similarly afflicted spouse whose lapses rarely coincide with mine and when they do we have double the chance that the name or word will resurface later. Lots of laughter.
ReplyDeleteLC,
DeleteOh yes, humor and Google are invaluable. I have seen that a lot with married couples. One will know what the other is searching for and vice versa. Two halves of a whole. Cool.
I've always been considered fairly articulate. But even in my youth I was prone to have those little "brain farts" so I just use another word and go on. The word invariably comes to mind and I think, "Oh, yeah."
ReplyDeleteLoved the LLWS. But did you notice that when they gave the player information (age, height, weight, etc.) they followed with "favorite emoji?" Seriously? I totally get favorite player, favorite athlete, favorite team. But favorite emoji?
Carolyn,
DeleteKnow what you mean but those substitute words never seem to quite say what I mean.
THANK YOU. I am so glad someone else noticed how lame those "favorite emoji" answers were. That stunned me. They use to say who their favorite ball player was. I sure miss those days.
What is beginning to happen to me is that I get the Swedish word instead. I was writing a new post about taking Faith's picture and couldn't get the word for flash bulb. "Blixt, blixt," said my mind. I had to pick up the camera and move it around for a while before my brain translated to flash. I can just see me in the old age home, speaking a Swedish! And those mailboxes are not on my road. I only have one neighbor and four mailboxes. Two other neighbors who don't live by me, share the box stop.
ReplyDeleteInger,
DeleteWow, you open up a whole new can of worms. I never thought how complex it might get for a bi-lingual person to lose a word. Mercy--good luck.
HA HA HA---Oh YES---I am a member of the MC Club (Memory Constipation)... I actually get upset with myself at times for not remembering simple things that I should know well...I used to be so good with numbers but find that I can read a number and then want to post it in my journal or somewhere ---and when I move away from the original number, it will totally disappear from my memory... Drives me batty (as if I am not already batty enough)..... ha ha
ReplyDeleteGreat post... I definitely belong to this club.
Hugs,
Betsy
Betsy,
DeleteHa, too bad there isn't a brain laxative huh? I do that with ideas for my blog. By the time I get around to my computer--its gone. This sure isn't an exclusive club is it?
It drives my wife crazy when a particular word or name drops out of her mind. This happens to me all the time but it doesn't bother me as much.
ReplyDeleteStephen,
DeleteHum, I wonder if this is a female thing that it bothers us so. Cranky has a similar way to handle this phenomenon as you do.
Before the days of Netflix or when you could find out ANYTHING on your computer or Smart Phone, Bud & I had been wracking our brains for over a month trying to remember who played the role of “Doc” in the movie “Mr. Roberts”. No particular reason, it was just frustrating not to be able to remember. I could picture him, but could not come up with his name. Early one morning--about 3am--I woke up with a flash of genius. I shook Bud awake & said just two words--“William Powell”--with no further explanation. He opened one eye, looked at me & said, “You’re right!” & promptly rolled over & went back to sleep.
ReplyDeleteFran,
DeleteHow lucky you are to be able to wake someone up with your discovery and have him be right on the same page. Three AM is my sharpest mental period also but all I can do is holler my discovery to the ceiling then try to calm the alarmed pets:)
Bob suffers from lost words a lot. It drives him crazy. I can usually fill in the blanks for him but not always.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
DeleteI think it is so cool how husbands and wives seem to know what the other is trying to say. One of the sweet perks of marriage.
Callie is no help at all for me.
Why is it I often can remember the dog's name but not the owner's? Bob and I stumble along with our forgetful brains and try to help each other. Thank goodness for the Internet!
ReplyDeleteBarb,
DeleteMe too. Probably because we are more interested in the dog. I so agree on the worth of the Internet. I has kept my frustration levels at a comfortable level.
My memory has always been so bad for people's names, even from when I was a child, I have wondered (semi seriously) if someone left out one or two bits of my brain's "wiring" when I was put together! Humans are becoming so reliant now on the internet for information that I fear that future generations may not need much of their own memory anyway so the capacity to memorise may atrophy to some extent. Ha, with my dodgy memory I am probably just ahead of my time!
ReplyDeletePeter,
DeleteI share your concern about us becoming too dependent on the Internet. We do rely so much on it and do we really know the info we read is correct? Will be interesting to see where this leads us.
I joined this club early and I pay my dues often.
ReplyDeleteOlga,
DeleteIt sure is an easy club to join isn't it? Many of us are card carrying members.
I have to agree with Olga. I'm 57 and I frequently can't find the words I'm looking for - usually someone comes to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteAs for names - that's been happening to me since I was in my 30's. I ran into a fellow who, at one time, had been my boss, even signed my paycheques. I introduced him to my dad using the wrong first name, right surname. He never corrected me and it wasn't until later I realized my mistake. Oops!
Have a great week!
Eileen,
DeleteHey, at least you got one part right. Loss words can be easily maneuvered around, but lost names can cause us embarrassment. No way to fake that. One reason I hate making introductions.
This "Illusive Memory" is a club membership that comes with age... and a lot better than some others that unfortunately also come with age. I do find that "googling" is a big help in some cases. Others just require a longer time for the proper word or name to be found. I think what bothers me most is when I'm talking about something... then go off on a tangent... and forget what I originally wanted to say.
ReplyDeleteRian,
DeleteOh yes, I forgot about the ole tangent taking when you suddenly realize you have lost your point somewhere. Sure makes life a challenge:))
Yes. I have the memory loss too. It is bad enough when I am at home and can't remember something, but when I am talking and freeze mid-sentence, that really frustrates me. I need a brain dump too. I can still sing the lyrics to all my teenage songs but I can't remember what I am trying to say. Aggravating but funny.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteHa ha, I often thought when we were young that if they had put the Pythagorean theorem to music with a good beat, we would all know it today:))
Best case scenario is when we get those brain freezes, hopefully whom we are talking to can fill in the blanks.
I'm having far too many of these incidents far too often. Like you, I am a bulldog and try to hang on to the question in my mind while I search for answers. I might say, "The name starts with the letter "L" or whatever letter might start seeming familiar. It will drive me crazy until I remember it. I always worry that I am going to go over the edge in dementia. Or, I tell myself I have too much on my mind and that is why my memory fails me. At least I'm not alone.
ReplyDeleteSally,
DeleteWelcome fellow bull dog. The beauty--I guess--is that we truly are not alone. That makes the situation amusing and tolerable--after we find that darn name of course.
I have missed you! I thought you had stopped blogging. I'm glad to see you are back with us. Either that or I'm forgetting things too...
ReplyDeleteSandy
Sandy,
DeleteSo good to see you here. I have been having problems with my blogs showing up on the blogger reader. It stands to reason that others are not showing up on mine. You are still my hero.
I thank the blogging world for helping me keep in touch. It's now 10 years that I've kept up with my Goldendaze-Ginnie blog and even though I am 83 I am able to recall things to share. My biggest problem along this line is when talking to others...I can see an object in my head but often have a hard time recalling the word for it ! VERY frustrating.
ReplyDeleteGinnie,
DeleteI know exactly what you mean and often our substitute words for that elusive thing are weak at best. Such fun. The good thing is we sure aren't unique.
I'm constantly walking into a room and forgetting what I needed in there. Or, I'll remember what I needed, do something else and forget to take with me whatever I was there for in the first place. Etc.
ReplyDeleteWhere am I?
Barry,
DeleteAh, you are too young for this though I might have started at your age. I remember once standing in the middle of my pasture and shouting out,"Why am I here?" My brother never lets me forget that.
Ha! Excellent.
DeleteMy husband and I go through the alphabet together. We do have to rely on each other to remember certain things though. Places we've traveled to are terrible for me to remember, but Art somehow remembers. Sigh... my brain really is having a harder and harder time retaining anything. Scary.
ReplyDelete