Memories

One of my friends who travels extensively was asked about a recent trip of hers. It was a big deal and yet she couldn’t for the life of her think of the name Peru. She was embarrassed and finally ended up saying, “You know, the country with Macchu Picchu”. To remember Macchu Picchu and yet not be able to recall the name of Peru was upsetting to her. That got me thinking. What mechanism causes my brain to trigger some long forgotten event and yet forget what I ate for breakfast? The other day I was sewing something and held a pin in my mouth. I was mentally transported to my high school home economics class where a girl did the same thing and all of a sudden told the teacher, “I think I may have swallowed a pin.” Oddly enough, I actually remember the girl’s name and the teacher’s name, even though names have been the first things I usually struggle with remembering. Then I remembered the pin girl’s older sister’s name and the restaurant their parents owned. I remembered it was the place my dad’s business had a Christmas party one year and my older sister danced the Limbo under a broomstick during the party there and I was jealous of her. Back to the pin-in-mouth. The teacher obviously tried to hide her freak-outed-ness over the situation and sent the girl home for the day. We all wondered what would happen, especially because that girl didn’t come back to class that day or the next. Turns out there was no pin, swallowed or otherwise. She had come down with strep throat. Memories are funny things. I know about the role the hippocampus plays in all this but that was such a small incident. It still seems odd, the insignificant memories I’ve retained.

Photo courtesy Katja_Kolumna at Pixabay.com