194 Remembering

Wish I could remember

Oh, my, dear Readers, I wish I could remember more “stuff.” And more names! Some of the things I have forgotten I probably never learned very well in the first place. Much of what I wish I knew “off the top of my head” without muttering or running through the alphabet is probably not really important – except to me and right at that very moment!

I want the recall NOW! Not at 7 a.m. the next morning! I am also much, much better at recognition than recall. Isn’t it embarrassing not to remember names? Sometimes I just look at someone I know and just draw a BLANK!

Here are some examples that I think will make you laugh, or roll your eyes, or wonder what on earth is going on in Glenne’s aging brain.

Dear Husband and I were watching Top Chef and the group was off to Macau. I knew it was somewhere around Hong Kong and Singapore. Maybe? I wasn’t sure. 

Then Dear Husband asked, “Is Singapore a city or a country?” I had to Google Macao, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Singapore is both a city AND a country. How about that! And, yes, there they are - all three.

And every weeknight we watch “Jeopardy.” I am not too bad with the answers, but I really feel sorry for those contestants who are not fast on the buzzer. They know they know – they just didn’t know soon enough. [And so very sad for Alex Trebek!] 

Telephone numbers are the bane of my existence! I can remember my entire AMEX card number plus that little four-digit secret code. I do know what it means: CVV = card verification code. (Dear Husband was a banker for many years.) I can remember my checking account number, too. 

Yet when I look up a phone number I will be unsure of it before I can pick up the phone. Seven numbers--only seven! I wonder whether I am distracted by what the phone call is about or.... Another possibility is that I rely so heavily on the numbers being programmed in my phone. Surprisingly though, my math skills do not seem to have deteriorated. My bank account thanks me.

Words to songs! Pshaw! I used to be able to sing whole songs, now I am lucky to remember a phrase or two. Daughter Mary (snarky comment) reminded me that “our songs” had lots of “doo-wops” and very few lines that were different – lots of repetition - and most were in major keys with the melody line loud and clear. Here is a cut from “At the Hop.” Ah, let's go to the hop:

Let's go to the hop (oh baby)
Let's go to the hop (oh baby)
Let's go to the hop
Come on, let's go to the hop!

Yes, I could and can remember that! Okay, dear daughter, just because you can sing Sondheim, doesn’t follow that I could or can.

I am wondering now whether there is such a thing as “mature age dyslexia?” Is the wonderfully smart genealogist on “Who Do You Think You Are?” named William Henry Gates or Henry William Gates? I think the former but I wouldn’t put any money on it. And what on earth is the name of that lovely older British woman on “The Great British Bake Off?” I have no earthly idea except her first name is Mary. 

And I think about Cher. I never forget her birthday because she and I are EXACTLY the same age!! And I had to “cher” this cartoon with you to remind you of Daylight Savings Time: Punny, huh?

Enough of my complaining for this week. I should go start dinner, but I can’t remember whether the chicken was two days ago or last night. And what on earth is the name of that medicine that is advertised on TV to help memory loss or beginning dementia? Oh, never mind! Its side effects will send you to the E.R. immediately.

Stay warm! 

Wish I were still savvy - Glenne