Day 235: Fuck You Asshole Lady

Tonight I was reminded of a funny story that happened a few years ago when we lived in New York. There was no reason to remember it, the husband and I were joking around and I suddenly through out the catch phrase from that incident and we both remembered it simultaneously. That got me to thinking about all the things in life that happen to us and then we somehow, without ever realizing it, forget. If we had the power to remember more then so many people and events in our past would not have to be lost forever. I would love, for instance, to remember my Mother more when I was a child, but she was a commonplace fact of my life then and except for a few instances nothing stands out.

Would we be better off if we could remember more? The picnics, rainy afternoons, forgotten childhood friendships and family dinners we never thought were noteworthy could be the golden moments of our past. Then again, with so many memories to call upon would we lose the special significance our memories hold for us? Is it possible to gain insight from more knowledge of the everyday or do we have insight because what we do remember was significant to us for a particular reason?

Jeff has a much better short-term memory than I do. Aside from what he was wearing the night we met, what I was wearing on our first date and a few other moments of importance things are a blur. If I could increase my ability to remember, might it make me seem like a more caring individual even if it’s just factual remembrances? It’s all so confusing to me and since I am gifted with a very detailed long-term memory for some things and a complete blank slate for others, it is an especially interesting concept to ponder.

Either way, the truth remains that those long forgotten memories that suddenly come back to you are precious. I don’t know if it’s because of the event itself or the newly rediscovered memory, but they matter even when they are silly. So the next time you get into an argument with a Chinese man at a noodle house and he kicks you out of the restaurant and follows you outside to yell, “Fuck you asshole lady” maybe you’ll commit it to memory or maybe it will just all come back when you least expect it.