November 12, 2009

• The case of the missing very important thought

  I live in a house of seven guys, and all of us had school off for Veterans Day; except, curiously enough, for the veteran that lives with us.

  I woke up to a glorious Wednesday morning, alive and ready for life!  I walked out of the house, smiling and ready to pick up my friend for breakfast. 

  Down the driveway I walked, though more slowly once I realized my car wasn't in the street right in front of the house like I had expected.  Well that's odd, I thought.  No bother though—I must have parked it up the street a ways is all.  And so on I went.

  But walking up the street, I could see no sign of it.  My eyes glanced left and right.  Was it towed?  Was it STOLEN?  Something had clearly gone wrong. 

  And then, in a moment like one of Raven's psychic visions, it came to me all at once. 

  Usually I walk to campus, but the previous night a friend needed me to drive him there, so I dropped him off and parked my car at a meter.  Later that night I walked giddily home, completely oblivious as to the whereabouts of my car.  I stayed up until 5 A.M., and never had a thought about it.  It was this picture of an entire night of splendid revelry in friends and life—all while my car sat innocently at a street miles away—that flashed before my eyes.

  Needless to say, our society is quite discriminatory against people with bad memories. My friend adding, "Oh don't worry, they don't ticket on holidays" moments before discovering the ticket on my windshield did not help in any way to alleviate this fact. And actually . . . after thinking about the traps society tends to set for forgetful people, I have suddenly remembered the four items I have checked out of a library that were due last night.  I might need to just go return them now. 

  The night sky is a picture of the past.  That is why people with bad memories like to look at it so much; it is the ultimate cheat sheet we have always wanted.  It may be the case that many stars and galaxies have since died out, but the night sky shows us exactly how things used to be long, long ago.  Thus, those of us with bad memories relish this wonderful fact and often look up and say, "Ahh . . . remember the good ole days when things used to be exactly how they are right now?" 

  But living in the present where life quickly and continuously unfolds all around us?  Here we hang on for dear life.

  • 10:26 pm
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