It's quite possible that I am at that age where there should be some concern over my forgetfulness. But it's not because not remembering things is a life long habit of mine. I believe I have "selective" memory. That is to say, if it is important to me, I don't forget. If it's important to someone else, I truly feel it is their responsibility to remember, not mine. This line of reasoning has brought about numerous conflicts over the years.

For instance, I really hate it when someone makes an appointment for themselves for something they consider to be very important, and then tell me to remind them when the time comes. This makes no sense to me. After all, it is their appointment and is of considerable importance to them. However, I don't give a rats nest if they remember to keep the appointment or not. I have my own schedule to keep, my own appointments to make and remember, and my brain is not a computer.

Then there is the matter of putting things away that conflicts arise. I look for special places to put things that I know I will need later. This is a bit tricky. I don't tell anyone where I put these things because they will invariably move them and then I won't be able to locate them when needed. Okay, so I can never, ever find them myself and they become part of the black hole syndrome. But this isn't anything new. I have done this all my life.

When I was in my 40's my mother gave me an old jewelry box I had when I was a child. When I opened it, I found my Captain Midnight decoder, and my Tom Mix spy ring. I hadn't seen these items since I was maybe 9 or 10 years old. I thought they had gone to the black hole. Yes, they were important to me then, but not something that was going to cause problems if I lost them. Maybe that's why when things like that disappear, it doesn't cause me much distress. So, I put them away again. Now I'd like to find them again because I believe they may have some value. But, I did put them away where I would be able to retrieve them when needed, and the black hole has taken them again.

I think what really annoys me and makes me wonder about my state of mind is when I need to get something that is somewhere else. I know exactly where it is and go to get it. When I get to that spot, I don't remember what I went there for. Again, this is not, I repeat, NOT anything that has come on with age. This is a pattern of mine from childhood. Usually, all I need to do is go back to where I started and I will immediately remember what it was I went to get. If that sounds scary, there is only one other habit of mine that is beyond logic or understanding. And talk about scary, this is the ultimate. It is something that occurs only when I am driving somewhere in my car.

I cannot predict when this will occur, but I will leave my home to go somewhere, perhaps to work, or shopping at the mall, or to visit a friend. Suddenly, I am almost at my destination, but cannot remember a single thing from the time I got into my car until that very moment that I realize I am approaching the place I intended to go. How did I get there? Who was driving? I am, after all, alone in the car and I am sitting behind the wheel. Nevertheless, I have no recollection of anything along the way; not a stop light, not a landmark, not even vehicles on the road I traveled.

I view these little episodes as normal. I am not concerned that perhaps I have the onset of Alzheimer's because these things have been happening to me all my life. And besides, a relative of mine noted that, in my particular circumstance, should I ever come down with this particular affliction, there is just no way that anybody would notice!