Friday, November 08, 2024

Fallen Leaves and Memory

My horrible post-election Wednesday was, appropriately enough, also our garbage day. After the morning news shock, I was further shocked to find two fresh dandelions on the lawn. This is something that simply doesn't happen in November, but I guess that it does happen when temperatures climb to 21C/70F. I am not complaining, mind you. Well, not about the weather anyway.


Later we took our little walkie along the trail by the arena. We don't get there often, but on that day we wanted to do better than our mundane walk around the subdivision. Most trees were bare, but when we saw this section with leaves both on the tree and on the ground, I had to get the phone out.



Then, a lady and her dog jogged by.



Farther along, I took this photo. One advantage of having the leaves fallen is that we could frequently see the river from the trail. Since spring, it has pretty well been hidden from view on this part of the trail.



Soon, a strange lady in a group of three was hailing me. Says I to myself: How do I know this lady? It's not that lady from music, and neither is it the one from the photo group. As I stood there in some stupefaction, she explained to Sue who she was — my physiotherapist from the hospital.

As we walked on, I told Sue that I would have introduced her, but I couldn't remember her name — I mean the other lady, not Sue. Of course, it was then that I remembered: Tanya.

No doubt Tanya now thinks that I am pitiable old man, and I probably am. Maybe I can redeem myself when I see her this afternoon, assuming I can remember when and where I am to go.

27 comments:

  1. That is an inviting trail! That last shot draws us in…

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  2. Good luck with Tanya today. I do enjoy seeing these fall scenes.

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  3. Super to have trail and river in that last shot. Memory shot? (Couldn't resist using the word twice, once I'd already had it in my brain.) I also see Tanya at my gym today...and her nametag is spelled Tonya, even though she told me it's spelled with an "a". Why wouldn't she get her nametag corrected? My biggy today is a dental appointment after the exercise. Whew, just too much.

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    1. Tanya did her thing today at physio. She's great.

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  4. I have done that several times over the years, see a professional in my life out of uniform and not recognize them other than know that they are familiar in some way. Always amazing on how the human brain works.

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    1. Glad I am not alone and that just maybe it is not an age thing. :)

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  5. Garbage day....very appropriate. I'm hopeful you will remember where and when!

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    1. I tried. Thanks for noticing. 😊

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  6. When I see people out of the clothes I normally see them it, I have trouble too. Though I generally say "Um this is....and um ..." they generally help me out with a hearty laugh.

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    1. Tanya picked up on it pretty quickly and made the connection for Sue.

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  7. It is always amazing how the name pops into your head a few minutes later.

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  8. It is really hard to put names to faces when they're out of their usual context!

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  9. It's difficult to remember names for me and I'm younger than you. We're having some low 60s weather right now with rain and cooler weather coming in soon. My lawns are mowed so I don't mind. I'm in kind of a "rainy" mood anyway.

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    1. Will than be the final mowing for awhile?

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  10. Ah memory. I turned 82 in March and am finding this year my memory has developed holes. Maybe they've been there and I just didn't notice. I don't miss appts though thanks to the miracle of cell phones. I put everything in it immediately and does the work. E Washington State has low temps right now and is in a streak of sunshine, chilly but beautiful.

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  11. Talk about a bad day! Yeah, the earth didn't quite crash but nothing in place. I'm pretty sure Tanya doesn't think you are a pitiful old man. (She probably didn't remember your name either!) I've always told Rick that if I'm talking with someone and don't introduce him to step in and say "I'm Rick." Because I won't have a clue!

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    1. Yeah, she has told me that she's bad at names. She also said she noticed me from a long way off. That was today at therapy.

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  12. It would take courage to approach her in a non-confrontational way among the fallen leaves

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  13. Ah…the names and faces conundrum. Will this name go with that face…..usually solved later - much later

    Weather here in Melbourne is changeable. Spring/Summer temps early in the week back to Spring/very cool can’t make up its mind temps now.
    And opposite to you is the fact that most deciduous trees have their leaves now …..all are ‘imports’ because Australian native trees (apart from one) are not deciduous….so views are changing and visible becomes almost invisible.

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  14. That happened to me, and still happens, so often! One workaround I have used is to introduce my husband and pray the other person tells him their name. There are so many possible ways I know people---as a librarian, as a storyteller, or just neighbors and locally. Larry can remember faces, but not names so he's no help when I get stuck!

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  15. I too am enjoying this season of half the leaves up and half the leaves down.

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  16. We've all been there! In my case even with people I know really well. Glad you managed a lovely walk on a bad day.

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  17. It was a nice walk. I'm sure Tanya is quite used to people not remembering her name. My husband remembers faces but is dreadful with names.
    Hope the physio goes well.

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  18. I cannot tell you the times that I've met someone and known that I knew them, but couldn't sort out where from. There have been times when I've actually woke up in the night with my answer. (For all the good that it did me.)

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  19. I prefer being a doddering old fool. They have low expectations of us!
    I've been grinding my teeth. All the people I know are pretty pissed off with the US. I am hoping. One has to have hope. That this will be a smack upside the head for Canadians.

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  20. I want to apologize to the world for what the majority of our citizenry have done.

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  21. I do not understand over half of our Americans. My friends and most of my relatives (even those in Japan) are aghast with our elections.
    When I was teaching in Illinois and still had some ability at remembering names, Art knew to walk away from me if a parent came up to me because I might easily have forgotten which child was theirs.

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