2000-11-30 | 04:19:17

memories.

what a grand thing, that.

memories. our brains operating as photo albums and video tape players. special edition dvds with commentary. a downloadable autobiography housed in our grey matter.

i remember being a kid, riding in the car with my mom. we'd be speeding along silently, the sun streaming through the windshield. once in awhile, i'd glance over at her. sometimes a little smile would be playing on her lips and crinkling her eyes. this confused me. we weren't talking about something funny. we weren't talking at all. the radio announcer wasn't making a joke. why would my mom be smiling? i just couldn't understand the mystery. so i'd ask her, anxious to find out what i was missing out on.

"mom, why are you smiling?"

"oh, i was just remembering something funny."

my brow furrowed. hmmm. i still didn't get it. too young to understand the super 8 film my brain would one day play back to me for my random amusement.

i don't know when i was old enough to get it. i don't know when my first memory smile crossed my face. but it's good now. it's good to be in the secret smile club.

today i was in the restroom at work and remembered a line someone had spurted out in my improv class earlier this week.

so i'm standing in the fluorescently lit, fan-humming room and grinning. a giggle even burst out. a laugh memory presented itself for my entertainment. and i thought, "memories. what a cherished part of our lives! what if our brains were strictly linear and never linked to things from the past? how sad and robotic and detached from life we'd be."

memories are such a gift. they connect us with people. they remind us about mistakes to avoid. they make us smile and laugh unpredictably. they bring a tear. hopefully, they make us better people. more human.

which reminds me of a gershwin tune...

"the way you wear your hat, the way you drink your tea. the memory of all that, no, they can't take that away from me."

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check out talented poet joanne's ode to girlboy

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