what happened

 This morning I was wondering what makes a memory, memorable? I'm thinking about all those little things we seem to remember for no particular reason. The everyday occurrences that are part of our collective personality. Sentiment certainly plays an important role in that, along with that feeling we call love. But why are some memories so persistent? That's what I am thinking about. The most persistent of all are those private memories we all harbor safely in the back of our minds. 

 There are public and private memories. Public memories are experiences shared with others, even when the others weren't there. But those sorts of memories share a common sentiment that can be conveyed by the telling of a story. What we also call nostalgia. Nostalgia is a big seller, as we all know. It is that longing to go back in time, to experience whatever it was all over again. We attempt to recreate that all the time whether we are aware of it or not. Favorite places, clothes and foods top the list. Family and friends are the central theme in these imaginings. To share with them once again. Our private memories are just that, private. They are the memories shared only between you and your God. They are not open to judgement from others. It is the uncertainty of judgement that impels us to retain those memories as private. We don't believe there is anything wrong with that memory, others may disagree. 

 I keep seeing the ads on television for Prevergen, a supplement to increase your memory. Targeted towards us seniors it will return our youthful memories and increase the quality of our lives. I keep meaning to buy that stuff, but I always forget. But it does make me wonder about those unfortunate folks that suffer with memory loss. It certainly must be difficult as long as you are aware of it. I admit I can't always recall every detail like I used to. I think a lot of that has to do with how often you recall that memory. A name from the past has been haunting my thoughts for two days, nagging at me. It'll come to me. I have looked at a group photograph from my sixth grade class and I can't remember all those names either. Some folks are just more memorable than others.

 I think that if you don't know that you can't remember it probably isn't an issue for you. I wonder if it is that way with dementia patients. I am sad for them, but are they? I don't think it is something we can ever really know though. There is much that man will never know, truth be told. Why do some forget, and others remain, sharp as a tack, as the saying goes. Can man ever explain that? Those studying the brain think they can identify some reasons, some processes, that control all of that. I'm no scientist, no expert in neurology, but from what I have read those scientists can't explain why we remember anything at all. They really don't know why that is? Why are their geniuses and complete idiots? Those conditions can exist while the brain is physiologically the same in both individuals. 

 Well, I'm still wondering about all of that. What makes a memory, memorable? It is a question I can't seem to forget. 

"I'm interested in memory because it's a filter through which we see our lives, and because it's foggy and obscure, the opportunities for self-deception are there. In the end, as a writer, I'm more interested in what people tell themselves happened rather than what actually happened." (Kazuo Ishiguro)