Memory

or lack thereof. Mine is pretty bad these days. I just read an article in the NYT (New York Times) about middle (old?) learning and memory by Barbara Strauch. It was pretty interesting. I just hope I remember it in a couple weeks.

The author talked about what I call my book Alzheimer's. I can read a book a couple years after reading it the first time, and most times I can't remember what happens. Barbara says aging brains (even middle aged like mine) fall into what's called the default mode and the mind wanders off and begins daydreaming.

The author states what I thought is true. (Yep, I'm really a genius under the guise of a mild mannered trash lady) I still know a lot of shit - it's just buried under all the other shit I know. The article goes on to give a name for that phenomenon that happens to all of us - tots - something on the tip of the tongue. I can't remember a name, but it starts with a T. It pops into my head when I'm not straining so hard to poop it out.

Another cool thing the article points out is that as the brain gets older, it gets better at picking out the central idea, the big picture. The older brain allows for great complexity and deeper understanding. Just call me Dali Lama.

I found it very interesting that even though we oldsters have "well connected pathways" in our brains, we need to give 'em a nudge and jiggle our synapses by confronting views that are not like ours. So Bets - you're good for me! LOL

And that says to me that folks like Glen Beck need to hang out with me and challenge their beliefs (which they often pass of as facts...). When we learn things a new way, we scrambled our eggy brains, establishing new neuron connections - which is a good thing.

I hope to keep learning all my life. Recently a TV station did an article of an older woman who finally graduated from ISU after leaving to get married after a couple years of school. She hadn't been at school for 60 or so years, but she and her hubby moved back to Ames from Portland for a year and a half so she could finish up. Maybe I'll get my masters after all!

Memory by committee

Saturday demonstrated the power of a group. One of the tough things about aging is the increasing problem remembering stuff - often names. It's very frustrating - knowing just who you mean but you can't quite put your finger on that name.

At Saturday's tailgate, Deewidget (that's what I call Dwight Conover, my neighbor the banker). Dwight calls me Laster. I used to work for him at FNB - First National Bank in Creston. That was my first job when I moved to Creston. I was thrilled to just get a job - new in town and all. I started in bookkeeping - it was kind of a comedown for somebody who had a career before baby.

FNB was a great place to meet people, and learn the names of people around town. A great crew of women worked downstairs with me running the proof machine coding checks in batches. Sandy Hysell, Cathy Lacina, Pam Grey and Jody Krings. We laughed a lot, and talked about our kids. Once each month we stuffed statements, chatting about who was who.

Deewidget was the big boss - he and his brother bought the bank a couple years before I started working there. He's a good guy who likes to give people crap. When I was pregnant with Jud, he teased me about my stretchy pants. I told him they weren't any worse than the Sansibelt pants he wore!

Anyway Dwight and wife Marilyn tailgated with us Saturday, along with McKims and Higgins. Dwight was trying to remember the name of the Priceline guy. Cept he didn't say the Priceline guy at first, he said "that guy from Star Wars, you know what's his name." That was followed by speculation about who he might be talking about, before we finally settled on (damn I just forgot it again and had to Google it) William Shatner. I'm going to have to retire with a bunch of my buddies so they can help me remember shit! Memory by committee.

Dammit

My memory is so very fleeting. I had a good blog idea earlier today, but now under pressure, it's gone! It's very frustrating - and it's happening more frequently now that I'm over 50. I believe it is just because my mind contains so very much information that some of it is bound to be lost or misplaced.

I've suffered for years from some bits of needed bits of information just beyond my reach. I might know what it starts with, and what the word or thing isn't. For example, if we're trying to think of a bar that was in Ames while we were in school, he might say Alibi. And I know that's not the one I was thinking of. But last week it took me 2 days to come up with Granddaddy's Disco. Dang...

I really hate it when I call people by the wrong name. Do you ever assign the wrong name to someone (inside your head) and then you have to convert it to the correct name every time? I do. There is a woman who works at the library whose name is Terri. But I want to call her Vicki every time. In fact I did once and then was appalled when I read her name tag at checkout time. I had to apologize. Yet just last week I was tempted to call her that again!

Today was an okay day. I took a walk across from the Wallace Building the State Capitol and ate my lunch while reading a good book in the shade of a large tree, sitting on a bench. It was quite delightful! And I wasn't quite so exhausted today, though I took off at 4:15 again, to beat the crowd out of the parking garage. Tomorrow is the State Fair parade and I'm going to skedaddle (is that a word?) early to take my new el carro in to get the rear view mirror put on. It's got a compass - essential for someone as forgetful as myself!