Today’s prompt word is Memories (https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/05/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-5th-2018/), and is “brought to you by friendly “gender undefined female” (click to read the post) Cage Dunn, is “Memories.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Cage at Cage’s blog, “Cage Dunn: Writer, Author, Teller-of-Tall-Tales” to read her post and say hi! Here’s Cage’s blog: https://cagedunn.wordpress.com/ “.  These Jots are not only my 500-words a day challenge, but also part of my  Ultimate Blogging Challenge challenge (http://ultimateblogchallenge.com).

Memories

What is it some people say – the memory is the second thing to go?  Oh wait.  The prompt is “memories”.  I think memories are funny things, aren’t they?  Most people, in my experience, don’t remember things all that accurately.  Close your eyes and think about a memory you have of an experience.  Then find someone who was also present during this experience and compare your memory of it to theirs.  Chances are your recollections will be different.  Look at eyewitness accounts of crimes.  One person remembers a tall dark-haired man in a red jacket, and another remembers a shirt bald guy in a T-shirt. Crazy!  And not just because the witnesses may have been standing in different places observing the event.  Perspective and context go beyond the physical.  If you remember someone saying something in an “angry” tone, someone else will remember it as being “desperate” or “ironic”.  And the life experiences people have had also add to their pile of memories.

I am not sure what I am trying to say, or where I am going with this prompt.  Just that our memories are not like physical objects, although we seem to like to think they are concrete.  We say that memories are long or short, and we can walk down memory lane.  But really, memories are fluid, and change with time and additional experiences.  Just as you have probably noticed that often one person will remember an event differently from another person (sometimes, for example, Kevin and I will each have very different recollections of what someone said in the past.  Of course, my recollection is the right one), even you yourself will remember an event differently today than you will next month.  This is one of the reasons I want to try journaling.  I imagine it would be quite interesting looking back at your experience as recorded immediately, and comparing it to what it looks like in your memory.

One thing I have been thinking about lately too is: how much memory capacity do we actually have?  When do our brains get so full that stuff starts leaking out?  Can our hard drive ever be so full?  Do we sometimes need to reformat and start over?  There are some days I sure feel like it.  I guess that’s one of the reason I used Google Calendar, my to-do list on the phone, my work Outlook calendar. If something isn’t written down for me, it doesn’t get done.  I don’t understand people who don’t use or look at their calendars.  Sometimes I send calendar invites to people at work to finalize meeting arrangements, and sometimes they don’t accept.  Then I’m left wondering:  did they get it?  Or do they just not like commitment?  Will they remember and come anyway? Sigh…

So thanks for the memories.  All alone in the moonlight, they light the corners of my mind.  Those crazy hazy days when all my troubles seemed so far away and rock was young.  Unforgettable, the memories remain.  And don’t you forget about me, because I will remember you.