I Can’t Remember What I Forgot

First and before I forget any more of these details…I had another unpleasant dream last evening/this morning. I dreamt I was by myself in a coffee shop and had, uncharacteristically for me, brought along more than my share of personal items, so I sat at a large table and against the wall. My current medical situation figured into this as I fretted that I could not find any non-dairy creamer in the little serving bowl. However, I did buy some type of pastry to go with my coffee.

I walked up to the cashier kiosk and started rummaging around in the small serving bowl there. With no luck I walked back to my table only to find that my coffee and personal items had been moved to another seat at that table and that my pastry was nowhere to be found. Someone else was sitting against the wall.

I confronted this person and he admitted to moving my things, but not to eating my pastry. I simply called him an asshole. He replied, “What language.” To which I remarked, “You deserve worse, schmuck” and then grabbed my items and left the coffee shop.

I wonder if this dream is my brain’s way of processing something that recently happened to my wonderful wife and me. We went to one of our favorite places for breakfast and were seated next to a man, woman and small child. The man was engaged in a loud conversation over a mobile device, which had loud music playing on it as well. The woman and child had their noses buried in mobile devices of their own.

I quickly went to the hostess station and asked if we could be moved to another table. We were seated far away from the inconsiderate man and his family. Manners and even rudimentary concern for others have gone out the window. Other people don’t want to hear your conversations while eating, shopping, or anything else.

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How appropriate is it given the post title that I have forgotten what I wanted to write about after this. Anyway…I had total recall until I was in my mid-40s. (Maybe it was my late 40s. I can’t remember. 😉)

That ability has gone out the window along with societal manners. I often can’t even remember the context of something that I wanted to remember. I will be reading or watching TV and think of something to look up later, for example. Even just minutes later, it doesn’t have to be days, I can’t even remember the subject matter or context of what I wanted to research, just that I wanted to remember something for later.

Contrast that to this story from my first year in college. Someone who lived in the same dorm was an education major. He wanted to do research on how recall waned over a short period of time. He asked if I would participate in a study.

People, I don’t know how many, were asked to read a short article. A 20-question quiz would be given right after reading. A week later, and without any chance to review the material, another 20-question quiz would be given on the same material.

Everyone in the sample had a much lower score on the quiz a week later than right after reading the material. Well, everyone except me. I answered all of the questions correctly a week after reading the article.

My friend/dorm mate was actually quite mad at me. “You’ve ruined my study!” I replied that I was just one out of however many people had participated and that next time he should try to get a bigger sample.

My significant decline in memory (yes, this is well-worn territory in this blog) is actually terrifying to me. I have no frame of reference to know if this is a normal decline due to aging or to some more serious physical process.

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Hallelujah, I remembered what else I wanted to write about. I got 26 hours into my fast yesterday before I had to “cheat.” I had subsisted solely on water and G-Zero and had not even taken my prescription meds.

After taking 12 1/2 mg of melatonin (more than twice the recommended dosage; melatonin is a substance produced by the human body, anyway) and falling asleep on the chair in front of the TV in the bonus room, I woke up and walked to the bedroom to go back to sleep. However, my head was pounding and after 15 or 20 minutes I had to get up.

Reluctantly, I decided to take two ibuprofen (I usually take three at a time) and eat two saltine-type crackers. Eventually, I did go back to sleep and slept fairly well.

My GI physician, not one of the NPs in the practice, sent me a prompt and thorough reply to a message I sent yesterday. He told me that, given all of the imaging I have had done in the last year–including last month, it is highly unlikely that I have pancreatic cancer. He also wrote that while my lipase levels are elevated, they are only mildly so and that might not even be indicative of pancreatitis. He added that the upcoming imaging was to rule out chronic pancreatitis, which is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

My fast was an attempt to give my pancreas a day off. I guess, technically, I did but I had intended to get two nights of sleep in between the last pre-fast and first post-fast meals. The best laid plans of mice and men…

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On this day in 1949, the Buick Roadmaster Riviera made its debut. Its significance is that the Riviera spec of the Roadmaster was part of General Motors’ introduction of the pillarless, hardtop body style. No visible B-pillar existed so that with the windows rolled down the car had an open look and open airflow throughout the passenger cabin. From The American Auto by the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide® are two pictures showing the difference between a pillarless body and what had been the traditional use of a B-pillar.

 

 

By the way, if you are an automobile aficionado I highly recommend The American Auto. It has even been updated fairly recently (2015). Anyway…while the 1949-51 Fords are not ugly by any means, the GM hardtops are just beautiful.

OK, the word counter at the lower left is displaying that it’s time for me to stop. Have a great weekend.

 

#ICan’tRememberWhatIForgot

#1949BuickRoadmasterRiviera

#somanyCARSjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

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