Wednesday, November 02, 2005

I Just Can't Put My Finger On It

When I started this blog, it was to have an online journal to keep track of my ever-failing memory of things. Sometimes my mother might ask me... "When did we plant the garden last year?" or "When was the first snowfall?" and I wanted a place to go to check this vitally important information. It drives me nuts not to remember these things but I do have to admit.... if I crammed any more info into my head... I probably couldn't remember how to tie my shoes. I've read before that your mind NEVER forgets anything. It just puts the most important things foremost and the mundane things in the back. If you're trying to remember the name of a movie, a song or someone from your old school... the best way to do it is to ask your mind's little man to find it by doing this...

Picture a frail, little old man sitting in a huge room full of gigantic filing cabinets and old boxes. This room is so huge that you can hardly see the back of it. The files and boxes in the front are clean, but tattered from many years of use but it's very dark and kind of spooky in the back of the room. The filing cabinets and boxes are stacked to the ceiling, covered with dust and cobwebs. The answer is somewhere in that room. Every single thing you've ever learned, saw or thought and it's all filed away... in your own order of importance. "Um, excuse me sir. Could you please find me the name of that movie with Judge Reinhold and Pheobe Cates?" The little, old man sighs and gets up and starts going through the files. You continue on with your life and he continues on looking. Searching and thumbing through all the information in your brain, being very careful to put it all back where he found it. Days might go by and you've almost forgotten the task you set that little man out to do. But he hasn't forgotten. He's still searching for the name of that movie but you keep pulling him away from the task to ask him to find other things. "Quick! Old Man! Where'd did I put my keys last night?" "What's 12 x 12?" "How do I thread my sewing machine?" He has to stop and rush to get that important info for you and then shuffles back to that movie question task again. Finally comes the day he finds the answer and without asking you he quickly tosses it to you and immediately starts the next task on his to do list. He doesn't care if your having tea with the Queen......suddenly Fast Times at Ridgemont High comes flying into your thoughts. "Oh yeeeeeaaaahhhhh.... THAT'S the name of that movie!" you think to yourself. "Good job old man!"

Try it the next time you're wracking your brain, trying to force yourself to remember something. I can't guarantee that the answer will come right away but IT WILL COME. It might not some at the most opportune time but it will come. The best time to try this is right before you go to sleep. Then the little man has hours to search without being interuppted too many times.
On a different note, my readership has seemed to triple in the past couple weeks and I can't figure it out? I'm hoping that anyone reading today will just drop a short comment to let me know who you are. I'm always looking for new blogs to read and I would love to check yours! Come on silent lurkers..... say hello!

12 comments:

amyleroy said...

Sheri, I always read your blog. You have such a sense of humor.

Mike Todd said...

Man, it's hard to lurk with all the clicking going on around here.

Robin said...

I'm relatively new, as you know, but I enjoy what you do, Sheri, so I just keep coming back!
Does the little man ever get a vacation? Naw, mine is worked to death as well.

Sleeping Mommy said...

You know me sheri, I don't always comment--rarely have time but I'm reading several times a week from my bloglines subscription.

By the way, a little old man in my brain keeping track of all the files? Really? ;)

Joel said...

Never the lurker...always here! You KNOW IT!

janet copenhaver said...

Sheri,
Don't know how I got here but never the less I did and good idea you have to get some feed back from who's stopping by.I also have a site at www.lifeindenver.blogspot.com.

lime said...

LOVE the post. i need to hire me a little man like that too! does he have a brother?

Kim said...

Hi Sheri! Glad to see you are getting read, and love the new look!

Marie Rossiter said...

Hey there!

Just a quick hello to let you know that I still read you about every day, even though I don't always leave a comment (I know, "Bad me, Bad me."). But you know I love your blog and your fantastic stories!

I promise I'll try harder to comment when I get back.

Talk to you when I get back!

Melody said...

My little man is MIA...it really sucks!

Beth said...

I'm still here!

Michele said...

Hi Sheri! I love your writing and your stories. I think we are married to the same man, lol.

xoxo
michele~ en (PALP/Sistas)