I am regularly amazed when others tell me something I said
to them X number of years ago that they remember as wonderful or funny or weird
or whatever. It matters not how they quote it, what matters is, it is something
that I have never thought of, or that I actually disagree with, or that I
consider above my I.Q. and only wish I had said.
My gift, from inspiration not intellect, is that I
don’t disagree with them about their memory. For whatever reasons, how they
remember the quote, or more particularly the incident around it, is important
to them…else they wouldn’t remember it the way they do. Nor do I agree with
them…I just make listening noises and smile. Who knew that could be so easy?
But it does bring forth the larger issue of rues, regrets
and remorses…I am again struck by the possibility that rrr’s are primarily
distortions of memory with little-to-no basis in fact. I once tried to make
light of my rrr’s by reminding myself that nobody even remembered my name much
less whatever incident I was rrr’ing. Unfortunately, that never made a lick of
difference…it is not the memory of others that causes me to squirm…it is mine.
But consider…eyewitness testimony is coming to be regarded
as not the best because it is so often dead wrong. Compare that to
memory…memory as the eyewitness to our own history. It makes sense that
the memory of our rrr’s is just another fallacy.
Our job (or joy) is to accept that rrr’s have all the force
and effect of a snowflake on the bosom of the Potomac
(with a thank you to the long-gone but never-forgotten Senator Dirksen).
Thank You.
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