DID YOU FORGET TO REMEMBER?
by Diann Pilafian

Memory-hmmmm, I happen to have an audiographic memory. (I remember everything I hear, and I'm not too bad at remembering things I see in print, either) I understand that as a parkie, this gift may not stay with me. I'll be upset if it begins to deteriorate. I've had PD for 17 years, and my memory still serves me well, thank goodness.

I have a 92 year old aunt who wears her purse around her neck, because she KNOWS she will forget it if it's not attached to her body. Years ago, I took her to a restaurant with my 4 year old son. While we were eating, her purse did not leave her neck for the entire meal. As we were driving her home, she yelled, "I forgot my purse"! My son looked at her and said, "No, you didn't. It's around your neck. Why do you wear it around your neck if you can't remember it's there?" She and I both went into fits of laughter at the innocence of his question.

Why, indeed! The answer to why she wore her purse around her neck is because she was/is AWARE that she will forget it unless it's attached to her! Here's where it gets confusing. She remembers that she will forget, but she can't remember to remember!! That has to be the cruelest twist of fate. If fate were truly kind, she wouldn't care one way or another because she wouldn't be aware of the fact that she forgot it to begin with. Am I making sense?

I was a professional musician, so learning aurally comes naturally to me now. But it didn't use to be that way. I believe that as a child, I learned best when I could see the written word. Things that provided a vivid image, for me, were easiest to recall.

In THE MEMORY BOOK, by Lorrayne and Lucas, they give several examples of the use of stark images to provide memory clues to overcome absentmindedness. For instance, if you want to be sure you don't leave your umbrella at the office, they suggest the following "ridiculous" image: "As you arrive and put your umbrella away, associate it to the first thing you see or do as you 're leaving the office. If you ride in an elevator picture an umbrella opening it."

I don't get much physical activity these days due to a hip problem, but I find that passive activity, such as working at the computer, watching TV, or listening to music, keeps my mind aware and active. I guess I should have told my 92 year old aunt to picture her purse opening the car door!