Is it my age - are bits of my brain going into a state of suspended animation - am I slowly going ga-ga? If so then I am not alone because most of my friends (and they are not all in my age bracket thank goodness) have the same experience. Here are a couple of examples:
John (Stargoose and Hanglands) put a photograph on his last post of THE most exquisite moth. (I must state here that in 'real life' I have a phobia of moths. I love pictures of them because many of them are so beautifully marked but I cannot bear to be incarcerated in the same room as one. (this does not apply to butterflies for some reason). But the photograph on John's post of the harlequin-patterned Scarlet Tiger Moth is nothing short of stunning. I told him so in my comment and said I would like a Summer Housecoat in that pattern please.
Now I didn't mean a housecoat at all. The fact is I sat for five minutes trying to think of the right word for what I wanted and couldn't so put the next best thing. In the middle of the night I woke "KAFTAN" sprang into my awareness - illuminated, music playing, no-doubt-about-it shouting forth. Had my brain cells being searching for that word in my very full and probably very untidy brain library? For ten hours???
Another recent example (I can remember both of these examples so why not a simple word or phrase?) I wrote for my post my own Obit for Lord Bolton, our local and much-admired Landowner. In it I told of my favourite story about the Bolton Estate's ruined tower on a hill opposite Bolton Hall. Could I remember the name of the tower? I have known that name ever since I came to live up here over thirty years ago. Da-da - three in the morning it came to me and in this instance I got up and went across to my computer (only 5 steps away from my bed) and typed in the two missing words - POLLY PEACHAM! [Polly Peacham - a character in John Gay's operas - and the first Polly was sung by Lavinia Fenton who happened to be married to the Lord Bolton of the day}].
Now you know why I keep a Thesaurus and my Chambers Dictionary close by my computer - along with a magnifying glass. (Prompt - ring the Optician and book an eye test today).
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30 comments:
I was going to say you need a Thesaurus as well as a dictionary but I see you mention a thesaurus. You would have found the answer to your housecoat to kaftan surely if you had used the thesaurus. Perhaps it is not always picked up at the precise moment of need.
Well like you say Pat .. you are not alone in this. I may not be awakened in the wee hours with the correct word or phrase but i often cannot think of exactly what i want to say... and it will come to me later... exactly why i'am no good in an argument... Take care my friend. Hugs! deb
I've had a problem with remembering names for some years now, it gets frustrating but I just accept it as part of life now.
The Scarlet Tiger is indeed a lovely looking moth and is very similar to the Jersey Tiger.
The same thing happens to me, Weave, and I am a bit younger. I forget names easily until the middle of the night.
There is so much in your brain's library and archive, things don't always come to mind when needed!
But they do arrive, which is good xx
I am a mere spring chicken, Pat. Remember sixty is the new forty. Do your own maths re ninety.
However, how often do I say when it comes to names and stuff in conversation "Just give me a second, it'll come to me". And it always does. Just like you at unlikely times - in the middle of the night. The latest example when I was writing to my youngest sister and asked after a childhood friend of hers.The name! The name! I suggested all sorts starting with "L"; or, possibly, N. Ha, come four in the morning. Nicola! And Nicola it was. The joy!
Your fear of moths you share with the Angel. God knows how that happened. Same with thunderstorms; and cows. I can't have transferred any of those fears onto him since they are nothing to me - other than vaguely amusing. You do know, of course, that if you light a candle the moth will be drawn to it. It's a sad sight. But at least you'll be rid of it. Call it moth slaughter - not murder.
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I use my ipad when stumped. As yet not too often.
That happens to me too. I was trying to remember Dustin Hoffman's co-stars in The Graduate and they came to me a couple of hours later. I've learnt just to wait for these things now, and consider it a failure if they don't and I have to look them up, although it's a bit disturbing when you can't remember what it was that you were trying to remember. I'd get dozens right in University Challenge if allowed unlimited time.
Having read your posts for a long time now, rest assured you are not "losing it"! In fact, I would say you are sharp as a tack! There are times when a conversation requires me to remember a name (and I have a lot of names to try to remember, from thirty some odd years of teaching) and I have to go through the alphabet to jog my brain into remembering. My husband finds himself doing the same. I think of my brain as a filing cabinet and there's just too many files, so sometimes it's hard to retrieve the ones that have slipped out onto the floor. -Jenn
I still think of the brain as one of those silver multi faceted balls and that eventually the right word will swing into place. It normally does. But I still laugh at the image of two brain cells idling around in the brain and then coming together for a flash of inspiration. Scientifically it is the synapse that joins them, they must age alongside us.
Fortunately the internet is also a source of the missing words that somehow were just there a minute ago, but have hidden deep in the recesses of my brain! Yesterday I wanted to say how much I loved an actress' part in a movie, how her voice and singing were just the tops of the performance. Could I figure out her name? So I did a search (I choose to use "Duck Duck Go" rather than Google) and could only remember she had a TV series also as a mystery writer...Murder She Wrote. Then Jessica was that character, and finally Angela Lansbury, who was one of the voices in The Beauty and the Beast. Yep, I'm only almost 81, same stuff happening here!
Waking up in the night and remembering the exact word you were seeking is still pretty amazing. A little inconvenient but still great. Who cares about a bit of inconvenience. That is life in more ways than one.
Hi Pat, I agree with Jen. I am 65 and this happens to me more often than I like to admit. I try to refrain from "googling" and let my brain work it out. It is very hot and humid here in Georgia right now and I am remembering my time in your beautiful area. Jackie
Believe me, I am much younger than you. I found myself trying to remember the name of my last cat. I couldn't. Not for the life of me, and that really had me concerned. I took a deep breath and continued on washing the dishes. Suddenly, appropos to absolutely NOTHING, 'Paddy' leapt into my mind just as 'kaftan' sprang into yours.
Mind you, I'm a couple decades younger than you. If this isn't normal, I hope no one tells me.
I usually remember this type of thing when I'm doing something mindless, like brushing my teeth. I remember (from somewhere, it will come to me!!) that there are scientific reasons for this remembering of information when we stop trying.
You're not alone; I can't tell you how many times I've solved crossword clues in the middle of the night, or else in the loo, sometimes both! Now I've got an image in my head of all those hippies heading off for Katmandu in their housecoats....
You are definitely not alone. Correct names or the words I am wanting to use, elude me far too often, and especially if I am tired. If I want to remember something I have to write it down, yet annoyingly when shopping with a list I can usually get every item on it without needing to refer to the list.
Whilst on holiday I often referred to Colin as Chris….
And Roger is forever being called William
Tasker - how I agree with you re Universiy Challenge - the only ones I get right on the starter button are British birds and British wild flowers - young folk on the programme have no knowledge of such things. Occasionally I get a music one or a poetry one quickly but know I would add to my score given five minutes to think about it.
Rachel - I like to let my mind work at it - not that it doe one hundred percent.
DH and I experience the same thing from time to time. We call it 'bubbling up' as the needed word or information rises eventually from the depths to our cognitive brains! You are SO not alone in this.
Hugs!
We have a funny story in our family.
When my mother was small, my grandmother asked her to run an errand. Mum had to return an item to a lady who lived right at the end of their road, and my grandmother said "For the life of me, I can't remember her name, I think its Mrs. Crow."
Mum returned the item, and trying to be polite, said "Thank you very much Mrs. Crow" and the lady smiled and said "It's Mrs. Bird."
My biggest challenge is wanting to tell someone something, but waiting for them to finish talking, and by then I've forgotten it.
My mother in law has no trouble interrupting all and sundry, but is unapologetic saying she'll forget otherwise. The response to that by others is usually "right..now what was I saying?" Blank faces all round. - Pam.
You'd look awesome in a scarlet tiger moth outfit!
You're not the only one who draws blanks. It happens to me on a regular basis and yes quite often , wait awhile and it comes to me.
Yes, we all know how our brains can sometimes let us down, and it is not necessarily because of age. One evening when I was out with friends, we started talking about an American TV series we'd been watching back then. It was about a family, and for the life of us we could not remember the name of the Dad - none of us four, and we were ranging from 14 to 18 years of age. Early the next morning, the phone rang, and the 14-year-old shouted one single word when I picked it up: "Doug!"
Actually using the thesaurus is good for the brain too.
Thanks - very comforting to know I am not an isolated case!
RED If you are reading this I do keep trying to comment on your posts but they alway get returned to me.
Pam - love your story
Peter and I sometimes have the most ridiculous conversation trying to remember someone's name. "I can picture him/her exactly" I say as I have a strong visual memory, but that is no help at all! I console myself that our file index of information is enormous and it takes a while to leaf through and find what we want.
Gosh that has happened to me at all ages. You write very cogent posts. No need to worry your brain will go before you do. Your posts are always a pleasure to read.
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