There is this aunt of mine who has the memory of an elephant. She remembers almost everything and her descriptions of those days long gone are vivid and full of clarity.
Just the other day, she happened to latch on to a woman I fancied a bit. To my horror, she described some very delicate incidents of my childhood in graphic detail.
No, no, absolute NO. I did not want my childhood revealed to anybody. Those deep secrets had better remain that way. Now that woman carries a little snigger on her face when we discuss certain subjects. There is that “I KNOW’ thing all the time whenever we meet.
My case is totally different. I have a memory of a leaky pipe. Things enter the brain and flow out with equal alacrity. I forget – it is as simple as that. If someone tells me news or proffers some information, particularly gossip, it is digested but not retained for more than half a day at the outside.
This has been beneficial in the long run too many of friends as they know that whatever is revealed as Top Secret will remain so thanks to my forgetful nature. Many women friends would love to bounce off me as their problems are well heard and never repeated.
I believe that the hippocampus, the one that deals with all the memory stuff in the brain, is relaxing in my upper chamber instead of working full time.
But, things may change for the good after all now.
I just read this morning an interesting research which says “Alcohol may help improve our memory and learning”.
Hurrah. Thank you, University of Exeter for your excellent study. There is hope yet in the winter years. After a splendid start to drinking liquids much stronger than water, I was admitted to a hospital in my twenties with multiple health issues.
The doctor put it simply – Its alcohol or your life.”
Having still unfulfilled my dream of writing a hot romantic novel with lurid stuff, I decided to give the nectar of life a go by. As time went by, I slipped out of the habit and was happy with God’s own water.
However, with the health better and life tending towards a quick exit Hellwards, I am actually thinking of returning, as they say, “To the Bottle”.
The University of Exeter tested participants who were told to drink as much as they liked or not to drink at all. The study not only showed that those who drank alcohol did better when repeating the word-learning task, but this effect was stronger among those who drank more.
Just then an old friend who was having an affair with her husband’s best friend walked in.
She had a guilty look on the face and sat with me to do the usual unburdening to gain brownie points from the Good Lord. I listened patiently. She left. A few minutes later, I reached for the beer with a little smile on the face.
Who knows now, she may have cooked her goose or will escape unscathed. Just as the beer seeped inwards, a thought ran through my mind – it may just be that if the affair gets retained in the memory, she could be in grave danger.
#The views expressed in this column are the authors.
##Pune365 does not advocate the consumption of alcohol and tobacco which are injurious to health.
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