Why Do I Remember That?

Listening to friends reminisce about their childhood always brings a smile to my face. Experiences that lead people to where they are today are like pages in a book where if remain unread confusion and distraction fill the reader's mind. Knowing such details about a persons childhood or adolescence sometimes helps bridge that gap of mistrust and provides room for friendships to blossom, love to grow, and relationships to solidify. As i listened to the "remember when" and "oh and that one time" statements, I noticed a trend. While one remembered specific details and steps to the story, the other only remembered bits and pieces and vice versa. It makes me wonder, why? Why do I remember that? Or out of all the fantastic and unbelievable memories, why that one? How can one person discard a simple occurrence after a matter of seconds, and another store that same occurrence in the foreground of their memory bank forever?

I would love to quote a very influential TV sitcom that we had all grown to love, hate, or simply add to our list of shows we had to surf through to get to the "good stuff."

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." From the television show The Wonder Years... oh yes I just did.

There is a lot of truth in that statement. Let's break it down, through the life of Mr. Edwards. Now if this doesn't help bridge the gap that exists between your and my relationship, all hope is lost.

First, holding on to things that I love. There are the apparent memories, Christmas at Grandpa & Grandma's, Playing with my folks at the park (when I was an only child of course), running around naked as a child with my first puppy Ziggy (not much has changed), my first little sister and subsequent sisters, the first time I felt true love, the divine love I felt walking the streets of Venezuela, and the list goes on. Perhaps there are those memories that may not be so apparent, those that help us hold onto to love even tighter. The memory of a loving parent disappointed by an act or a decision not to act by a child. This side of things dips into the realm of divine love. Those painful memories, hard experiences, stinging occurrences that pushed us into a corner so tight that the only direction we could look was up and realize all that mattered was the Love of a Heaven Father toward His child. A good friend carries a fanny pack on motorcycle rides for easy access to water, cell phone, money, etc... What memories of love are we keeping in our fanny pack for easy access in times of thirst, emergency, and trouble...? Holding on to things we love helps us love others, find love, and after enough time start to imagine the greatness of His love.

Second, holding on to the things that I am. Flashes of elementary school, teachers, friends, and even enemies. A good friend decided to vomit up his sausage one day when we had breakfast for lunch, a life changing experience... if you're allergic to sausage don't eat it, I will never forget. A 5th grade teacher that got me to get up to sing for a school play, the Mother of my girlfriend at the time gave me a great compliment. From that point on I have had more luck getting Mothers to fall in love with me than I have had with their daughters. I could go on for days... I suppose that is what a journal is for. From times with just Mom and me at home to right now sitting in a cold station waiting for someone to get sick, the times in our lives that make us who we are must be cherished. I can't remember the last time I just sat and remembered... it feels great.

And third, the things we never want to lose. Is that what it's all about? Do we subconsciously tuck memories away because we know, no matter what happens, that those are things we never want to lose. I understand all things will be brought to our recollection after our death, so let's just talk about here in this life. Let me forget about the time I heard a loud bang when I was 5, or the smell of that one girl, or why I remember and always will how to say every state in alphabetical order. How can those help me hold on to love or learn who I am. Let's focus on the memories that we really don't want to lose, but... wait..., that loud bang I heard was one of the only memories I have of living in Colorado, and the smell of that one girl brings back memories of laughter, peace, fun, and the teacher who taught me about the states... she was my favorite. I will never want to lose those memories.

Why don't I lose this memory? Why can't I lose this memory? How does holding on to this experience bring happiness into my life? Maybe these are the questions we should be asking ourselves. "Don't live in the past" sure, you can say that. "Live in the now" yeah, why not? But hey, I'm bringing this stuff along for the ride. Someone up there is stuffing this information in my brain for a reason, and I better use it. I better enjoy it. I better appreciate it and I most definitely better hold on to it. What do you remember that at first glace could be disregarded as "just something I remember, don't know why" and turns out to be something you don't want to lose? I have found some, maybe you can too.

D Wade/ Charles Barkley & T Mobile

I still find myself smiling at the Charles Barkley/Dwayne Wade T-moblie commercials. I thought I might rank the three that I have seen. I wish I could relate to Dwayne's desire to get into Chuck's 5, I have Cingular, we yet have adapted the new "Who's in your 5?" slogan. I'm searching for some deeper meaning behind it, but honestly I think they are just trying to sell.

#3. This is actually the one I just recently saw. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not the biggest golfing fan. Is it just me or is Charles getting so fat he has trouble speaking. I mean he hasn't always been the most articulate speaker, but it has definitely gotten worse. Oh and the pink doesn't help. Finally, you would think if D Wade (last years finals MVP) could win the championship for his team single handily, under the harshest of conditions, he could sink a put with nothing but a cell phone ring to break his concentration.

#2. The classic "...is this your dad?" This was brilliant writing. You can never go wrong with that type of joke. I do wonder, why is it a skinny blond who recognizes the two. I do realize that Wade's #3 jersey is one of the highest selling jerseys, and he was on a beautiful people list I believe. But still... I don't know a girl that would recognize D Wade in a restaurant like that, and Barkley even less. If someone can prove me wrong please do.


#1. "Sexay..." It was a little unnatural, but funny. Chuck's dunk that they watch was spectacular, he was impressive. But the gigantic self portrait of Charles in is living room is what sold me. Seeing that proved that they were actually in his house, on his sofa, watching his tv... that's dedication. How do we feel about gigantic self portraits in our homes?

My 1st Post

We transport many different people in my line of work. We transport the old, young, sick, not so sick, psychotic (I mean crazy), comatose, and the list goes on. On occasion we have instances that one cannot afford forget. It gets you thinking in a wide range of ways. It makes you appreciate, laugh, cry, and sometimes just flat out angry.
"Don't let the turkeys get you down...," she said to me as my head was down focusing on the paperwork I was rapidly completing. She struggled to catch her breath as she spoke. One of many struggles that seemed to have worn this fragile old women so that it was apparent on her face. "What was that?" I replied. "Turkeys are not the smartest creatures on the planet." she said. "When the rain falls they raise their head curious to what it is falling from the sky. Their curiosity and stupidity so great that it results in their eventual death. As the rain pours it flows onto their raised heads and down their throat into their lungs. " She then continued to explain how unintelligent these birds must be to cause their own death by a simple raise of the head. "Don't let those idiotic type of people get you down in your life, what they say, what they do, etc.," she said. I haven't been able to forget that. How negatively do those type of people affect our lives? Do we let them in so far that they make our lives miserable? Watch out for those turkeys I suppose...
On a brighter note... what is the percentage of people that can really whale on a harmonica? I can only think of a few musicians, my grandpa, and a man that was in the back of the ambulance for about 20 minutes. We found him in a local ER needing to be transported to a local psychiatric facility. Our first contact with the man was rather pleasant, he didn't plan on causing problems and was looking forward to the trip. To his dismay, as we loaded him up, I didn't have any Sex Pistols on my iPod to play for him. He brushed it off and proceeded to pull out his harmonica, "who needs a radio?" he must have been thinking (thanks Lloyd). The next 10 minutes of driving was accompanied with an amazing show of harmonic excellence. Weather or not he had 'all the chickens in the barn," or not he could play a mean harmonica. Sadly enough the show had to end and we needed to send him off. A good man, well behaved, mostly crazy, and a great musician... why shouldn't he play the harmonica. As we said good bye he pulled his fake teeth and apologized that his dentures impeded his playing ability. It's just fine sir. I think we all have an idea of that one person who strangely enough knows how to play the harmonica, and this is mine.