My Memory Again

There is little doubt about it. With my memory fading, changing schedules from a Monday - Friday routine has played major havoc with me. I forget what day it is on a constant basis. I forget vacation times. I forget to do things that need to be done.

I was, of course, having these problems before but an upheaval in schedule has just made things worse. It is like I have less ability to adapt. When I worked in Montgomery, I often had schedules that changed on a weekly basis. I did forget my schedule a lot but it was understandable.

My schedule now is just as steady as it was before but different days are involved. I hate it when people get perturbed with me about forgetting things now. I actually had an argument on Facebook again. It was with someone who blamed Whitney Houston for her death. Somehow this struck home personally. It is not like I take drugs. :)  But blaming the victim is really not a part of a civilized society. It is all contained in the metaphor of trying to get people to stand in line and be shot at in the Civil War. Red Badge of Courage is one of the great American novels. Who can blame someone for running and not wanting to be shot, but if everyone ran, then this side (the more civilized side that treated its soldiers like human beings) would lose. Similarly, people make a choice to take drugs. We tell them not to. In this unfair world, celebrities  must bear the full brunt of the type of people who we all know who troll around on Facebook bullying. They get criticized for everything and the meanest form of criticism to me is that found in criticizing celebrities for losing the magic, for being out of touch, for being Barry Manilowesque. Drugs, well, I can see that. It happens so commonly among celebrities one would have to wonder if there is a commonality rather than simply blaming the celebrity.

So, I feel this way when someone blames me for my memory. It is what it is. If there is some major thing I have done on account of my memory being bad, well, in a sense, I am just a victim of the deterioration we all have as we age. I get over things easily these days, also because of age and wisdom. But, it still niggles me just a bit. And what is the sandwich of truth for but to relate those little frustrations.

My answer to the person who was so intent on calling Whitney Houston names and excoriating her? Block. It works wonders on Facebook. Not so easy in real life, but it would be nice.

Two things God forgot to give us that the Internet has invented. The "block" button on Facebook, and the "undo" button in Microsoft Word. These two devices would be handy in real life.