Friday, February 27, 2009

sticking your foot in it

I am very forgetful. Yesterday? Week 3 of classes? I have no idea what my students' names are. A little embarrassing. I do like one beer or drink a day, but you hear the heart assoc. or somebody says that can beneficial for some people, so it certainly isn't memory loss from that, and the only other drug I ever use is ibuprofen! And I am not very old at all.

This all came to a head when a bloggy friend of mine for 3 years or more said "but Gary, if you have been reading my blog all this time, you should know by now that____". WELL! Frankly, although embarrassed because I had really stuck my foot in it, I can remember many things, but some things slip into the cracks. Like I am sure I would remember if she had a thing for yellow bikinis, but other than that....

I can tell you, though, whether it is connected or not, that until 8th grade I was a terrific student in school. Then I was hit by a car. I smashed the windshield with my head. 18 months later I was hospitalized and missed 2 months of school after I passed out after winding up at the bottom of a pile in a school football game, helmet on. The neurologist said that 2 head injuries in a short time can make the effects of the second one worse than it really should be. My grades dropped down and I never was a good student again. It really changed my life and I havn't been the same since. Anyway, who knows? Maybe I was just born to be a flake.

SO, I am a good note taker and my filofax is stuffed with goals and plans and notes. My wife can tell me a good joke and then tell it me again in a few months for my fresh enjoyment. I look ahead, not back....

14 comments:

cm said...

At least you have something you can trace the memory problems back to. Me, I got nuthin'. I can tell you that I met B August 19, 2007, but have only a vague recollection of his first words to me. Funny what you remember.

Hilary said...

Head injuries can be nasty and I'm glad they didn't turn out even more serious than they did. Thanks for sharing this tid bit about you.

Gordo said...

I seem to have far better recall of things that happened years ago than more recent things. They seems to have been fixed in there better.

Gary, I heard some disturbing health findings a a couple of months ago. They looked at the brains of long-time football players and foudn that the regular bashing and smashing did suck damage to the brain that 45-year-olds had brains that looked like an 80-yeard-old with alzheimers. I'll dig it up and post it for you.

Mel said...

nice humor :) and that's much more important than having good grades and remembering everybody's names!

Anonymous said...

i know what you mean. when i was 14 i broke my ankle running a slalom course and i was never the same ski racer after that.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

On the upside, maybe it is nice to find that you're cheerful all the time because you have no bad memories?????

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I knew about your accident but somehow I missed the 2nd incident and wow, 2 months of missed school?!?!! That is pretty scary stuff.

My dh can't remember anyone's name at church (we do attend weekly!), he doesn't know the family birthdays, our anniversary... I'm surprised he knows his address & phone number! And he doesn't have any head injuries to blame it on. He does, however, tell me jokes, and like you, they are new to me every year!
I blame my mental lapses on sleep deprivation (and this may be true, as I had a sleep study last week). Or I might just be flakey anyway.

Anonymous said...

i love it... i don't know my 4 siblings' birthdays, i'm pretty sure of the months but that's it. i have had to memorize my mom's and the missus's<-? but only after realizing that the punishment didn't fit the crime. i cannot remember movies, books, who's pregnant and when, how much the baby weighed, it's name, gender. i'll start watching a movie i know i've seen and think just one more scene then i'll remember the end but always end up watching the whole thing over. that being said i always considered this an asset. as the italian team in that movie? it's a mad, mad world or was it gumball rally? whatever... the italian driver rips off the rear view mirror and says to his partner... "whatsa behind me is anot important".

Gary's third pottery blog said...

AH HA! Nice to know that I am not the only flake out there. :) I like that about the Italian driver...

Tricia said...

Ouch and double ouch. Is there an upside to this in that you can't hold a grudge or stay upset or angry about something for long?

Gary's third pottery blog said...

well YES Tricia, yes indeed

Crafter of Khnum said...

My trick for remembering names is to try to use their name right away a few times when talking to them. I have a class with 3 Pat's and 2 Sharon's. I always remember which one is Helen, which one is Lynn and which one is Bambi though. The rest I have a pretty good chance of them being a Pat.

Crafter of Khnum said...

Oh, another trick we've come up with is to require people to label their bags of clay with their first and last names.

Wep said...

Eh, as long as you have someone to remind you of the important days most people are willing to overlook some forgettfulness. We still love you.