Quote of the Day

"Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don't have film."
--Steven Wright

A publisher called me today to ask me to proofread a book about Alzheimer's disease. That got me thinking about memory and what an odd thing it is. I often think of it as like a time machine: I'll start thinking about something that happened years ago, and for a few moments, it's as if I'm back there, reliving it, feeling the same emotions again . . . . It's funny what sticks in your mind. I remember certain conversations from years ago, word for word, but if I mention them to the person I was speaking with, they often look at me as if I'm crazy. "I don't remember that," they'll say, shaking their heads. The opposite happens, too. "Remember when . . ." someone will say, and I don't remember, and I think "No, that didn't happen." Then later, if I think hard, it sometimes comes back to me. I guess it's all there, really, hidden in the synapses, and it's just a matter of finding the right pathway back to it. Or something.