I can get a good idea for a blog post or a Google search, only to forget it. Often, when I forget, I am unable to recall it. The best antidote I have found is making an immediate note. I considered using my old-fashioned cell phone to make a quick voice recording but I haven't developed the habit sufficiently. I have been carrying a typical 8x11" sheet of scrap paper folded into sixteenths and a small Palm pen:
It works better if I break off the keychain loop, making the pen even smaller and more pocketable.
It is surprising how smoothly and rapidly the mind moves from one thing to another. Once I get an idea, I can remember it if I make a note quickly, but there are many ways and things that can intercede. Distractions abound.
Between alternative things to think about that come from my head and purposely colorful distractions from life around me, it is fairly easy to lose something from my mind permanently that seems valuable. As I sit here composing, I hear music. What is playing? Who is playing that music? If I were using visiting a high traffic web site, I might find that what I was reading was suddenly covered by an ad or an article about something entirely different.
It surprises me how many distractions there are around me. The phone rings. Go check if it is someone I have been trying to talk to. I don't recognize the number. Try to memorize it and look and see if that number is in my contacts. Now what was the interesting idea I had? Gone, baby, permanently gone.
Having been alerted by repeated events, modern practices around here and on the internet, I have gotten interested in distractions. My wife asks me to take out the trash. "Dear, you look so good in that top! The color goes with those slacks and with your skin tone." Slip in the right comment and maybe she will automatically take out the trash herself while she basks in her excellent choice of clothes for the day. Apollo Robbins, that expert pickpocket and reliever of watches and wallets, shows that the right comment, the misdirecting gesture and I will forget what I wanted to think about and begin thinking about something else.
You want to talk about gun control? I am glad you brought that up! I like the way you stick to your agenda and keep our attention on issues that matter. Your fix on what matters reminds me of what my sainted mother used to tell me as a boy: Don't slip and slide! Hew to the line! Let's get back to this when we meet again. Sorry, that is all the time I have right now.
