Once was the time — I think I was 15 — when I memorized the names of all 100 members of the United States Senate, from Alabama all the way to Wyoming.
I knew the winners and losers of every presidential election all the way back to the beginning, and I probably knew the names of all the vice presidents.
I could tell you who won and lost every baseball World Series all the way back to 1903.
I knew the names of the members of all the great ’60s musical groups, and I never knew anyone faster at identifying popular songs from the first one or two notes.
Yes, I had one hell of a memory.
Not so much anymore. A few years ago, I was in Walmart and “Bad Moon Rising” was playing on the public address system, one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite groups. You know, Creedence Clearwater …. uh … CCR. What did the R stand for?
It took me two or three minutes, but it finally came to me that the R stood for Revival.
At least it finally came to me.
Half an hour ago, I saw something about the World Series, and I absolutely could not remember who won the 2021 Series. The one that ended less than three weeks ago.
I tried and tried, but it would not come to me.
Finally I surrendered and looked it up, only to see that the winning team this year was the Atlanta Braves.
Not my favorite team, but my hometown team. They play their home games about an hour from where I live.
Other than family and friends, there is nothing I love more than baseball. And as a sports fan, 2019 was maybe the best year of my life when the Washington Nationals won the World Series.
But that was two years ago.
It’s sort of silly of me to let a memory lapse bother me. When I do daily crossword puzzles, I am often amazed by how many obscure pieces of information are there for me. With most of them, it isn’t a matter of straining to remember something. The facts are just there.
Maybe it’s the effort to remember something when it doesn’t come to mind right away. Sort of like always knowing the answers when you watch “Jeopardy” at home but drawing a blank when there’s money on the line.
But the Atlanta Braves?
That’s just weird.
But not remembering the R in CCR?
Maybe it’s because when I saw the John Fogarty-less CCR perform live in 1997, CCR stood for Creedence Clearwater Revisited.
Or maybe it’s just that when it comes to memory, I ain’t no fortunate son.