Don’t forget, I’ll say this only once

The art of . . . REMEMBERING, by Kevin Fitzpatrick

HAVING a good memory is pretty useful. It means you can store information that might come in handy one day, like where you parked your car and where you hid the chocolate digestives.

It also means you can keep hold of those memories which you cherish. Your first kiss, special moments with your children and that holiday abroad where the funniest thing ever happened. You know the one I mean, with that blow-up doll.

The brain is like a filing cabinet and the key to remembering things is to get them to move from your short term into your long-term memory. Apparently to do this you need to think about something at least 11 times, which explains why men are often to be overheard in supermarkets saying things like, “Margerine, margarine, margarine”, or “Anniversary, anniversary, anniversary”.

Men are generally hopeless at remembering anniversaries and treat them like toilets. They have a good go but can’t help missing them. Women on the other hand not only remember every important date, they also keep a mental list of every time their man has forgotten one. Double the information but they manage it with ease.

As you get older it’s hard to remember what day it is so it’s important to keep your memory muscles ticking over. There are little handheld computers for it now, but it’s easier just to walk to the top of the stairs and try to remember what you went up for. Even if it doesn’t work, at least it will keep you fit.

A friend of mine kept forgetting things and got worried so he went to see the doctor. With a furrowed brow, the doctor said, “I’m afraid you’ve got high blood pressure and amnesia.” He said, “Oh, thank god for that. I thought you were going to say I’d got high blood pressure.”

Elephants are said to have the best memory of all animals and there have been some amazing stories of them recognising people years after first meeting them. There was a man who met a young elephant on safari in South Africa and he helped a guide to remove a sharp stone from one of its front feet.

Twenty five years later, the man returned and one day they saw an elephant which began calling out to him. Astonishingly, it lifted its front leg and began pawing it at him. He looked at the elephant, it couldn’t be could it? The elephant shrieked in delight as he approached. He held out his hand and the elephant touched it gently with its trunk.

Then it trampled him to death. It wasn’t the same elephant. If you’re ever in a similar situation that story is probably worth remembering.


Next week. . . The Art of being Artistic