2000-08-12 - 17:26 MDT

August 12, 2000

Olio

Darn, just to think about a photographic memory makes me wince. A good part of the fun for me in recovering old memories is the act of love of digging down deep into personal experience and remembrance of things, loved and long ago. Prying into the depths of my mind to remember exactly how it was and what my take was on the events. Photo-memo being at the tip of my mind would be a gift devaluing the process to me.

I read once that a professor was lecturing and asked his class, "What is the most valuable part of memory ?" The answers from around the class were varied and logical. "But" - - - the professor said, "What if all your aware life everything you heard, saw or experienced was filed in that memory ? Would you be able to reach into the right spot to recall something and bring it it out ? Doubtful. So the most valuable thing about memory is the "forgetery," which keeps the essentials within easy reach and discards over time the items not needed - - - sometimes forever, sometimes in a remote spot which takes a flight of imagination to reach." Reaching back brings old friends into view again - - and the neat thing is my faulty, human mind favors remembering the good things of the past. "Hey Bastion, do you remember the tantalizing smell of hot buttered popcorn wafting to your nostrils in the lobby of the movie ?" You bet'chur sweet bippy I do and the I almost taste popcorn on my once young tongue makes it very poignant.

Progress, in our time ? This bit of cobbled doggerel gives my view:

MALL SPLATTER

A mall in itself is good,

But like a thrown ball,

Into the food,

Causes splatter,chain reaction - - - soon,

The country is wall to wall mall !

MALL SPLATTER

Or words to that effect. The malls and outlets are becoming more numerous than houses and the blacktop parking multiplies logrithmically. Even in what used to be the more or lesss wilderness, there are malls and outlets in the mountain towns.

Now, do a 180.

Maybe should have saved this

From Rave to Trainwreck to Rant, along with a little pondering about the vagaries of life and its people -- as in the newspapers a diarist runs the gamut. The circulation does include the good, but as in the news papers -- the good is not headline material. There is enough to complain about -- to little effect -- interleaved with the good and laughter to lighten the ship and float the boat.

Was this a rant, rave, commentary -- or just plain bull ?

It is I guess an olio.

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