Tag Archives: memories

The America I Remember

What I remember… Old age is such a liberating thing because we have so many memories and so much time to reflect on them. Right now, my memories of America are good ones so those are the ones I’m going to write about. In the not so distant future, my memories of what has become of America will not be good so I’m squeezing out all the goodness of my memories of the America I grew up in. One of …

Spicing Up Your Life

People seem to like reading books about dysfunctional characters more than they do about characters who don’t struggle with deep emotional conflict. And, yet, in real life, they are more drawn to people who make them laugh than people who have complex problems. Maybe it’s because in real life, your friend’s conflicts mirrors so much of your own life and you’re expected to show some reaction. You don’t have to give your friend advice but you do have to show …

Revisiting Your Past

You’re in your living room, sprawled out on your couch, trying to remember who you were at eighteen, twenty-five, thirty-six, and wondering why you’re so different today. What happened to all your dreams, your plans for the future? How did your life slip away without you even realizing it? When we try to revisit those years, are our memories of events accurate? Do we see them as they were or as we wished they were? Do we make excuses for …

The Wonderful Benefits of Old Age

Why do I think there are so many wonderful benefits of old age? Well, for one thing, I can say and do almost anything I want and no one will think anything of it. I can make an off-color comment and no one will think it’s a come-on. No wife will think that I’m trying to entice her husband and no man will feel intimidated or take it as encouragement that I’m looking for sex. At my age, everyone will …

After the Breakup

Can a couple go from a romantic, passionate relationship to a nonsexual friendship after the breakup? Some can, and some can’t. It usually depends on the level of emotional involvement and how much time has elapsed after the breakup. Although most couples will tell you that their love and emotional involvement were very deep, that may not be completely accurate. It may be that their emotions were more attached to their sex life, than to the relationship itself. When sex …

A Ghost Inside Him or A Past Life Memory?

From time to time we hear of a child who has vivid memories of a lifetime that can’t be explained by normal phenomena. That’s the case of four-year-old Andrew Lucas who cries hysterically as he asks his mother, “Why did you let me die in that fire?” His mother, Michele, says he is saying things and recalling memories that no one his age should know. She has become so scared that a ghost might be inhabiting her son’s body, that …

Head or Heart? Your Choice

Most people would think that the heart is the most important part of the body and, to a certain extent, I can understand that. After all, if you didn’t have a heart, you couldn’t live. My viewpoint is somewhat different. If I didn’t have a mind, I wouldn’t want to live. It has always fascinated me that short-term memory is the first to go but long-term memory lives on and on except, of course, for the events that selective memory …

I Could Write a Book

There have been so many times when I’ve asked someone about their relationships, the people in their life, a time in their life, or a situation, that I hear the words, “I could write a book about that” and when I ask why they don’t, they give all kinds of excuses for why they don’t or why they haven’t. The excuses range from not having enough time, not being good at writing, not being good at grammar, not, not, not …

Politicians Are Liars

Just about everyone these days has come to the conclusion that all politicians are liars. Some have even been called serial liars, as if that separates them from the regular, daily lies that other politicians tell. I’m not defending the lies that politicians tell but I’m wondering if we hold them to a different standard than the unintentional lies that the rest of us tell. I’m saying that many of our lies are unintentional because we have faulty memories rather …

Hindsight is 20/20

They say that hindsight is 20/20 but I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Our memories are often distorted and confused with our biases, our thinking patterns, our emotions, and information from external sources. Rarely do they match the reality. We often think how wonderful it would be if we could have 20/20 hindsight before we make major decisions but, maybe we do have it, and we ignore it, or we rationalize our untenable actions as if it hadn’t happened before, …

Connie H. Deutsch