There's a handful of us out there that suffer from an incredibly unique condition I like to call THE ELEPHANT CURSE. Myself, my mom, my brother Austin, and two friends of mine Melissa Nielsen and Emmalee Packer all have it.
The elephant curse is an excessively enabled selective memory for remembering people, their lives, and the minute details therein.
The oddest part about it, is the memory is only for remembering people facts. It doesn't usually work for Biology class or Calculus. It's selective to anecdotal experiences of individuals we've met.
This is going to be a five part mini-series of blogposts, so hang tight. More will be explained later.
But just to give you an idea...
One of Kevin's favorite activities any public place we go is to ask me, "who do you know here?" And half the time, I do know somebody. But I've given up saying hello to them sometimes because they don't usually remember who I am... but I know who they are, and I also know what kinds of socks they like to wear and I know what their imaginary friend's name was when they were a wee kidlet and I know where they went on summer vacation in 10th grade.
We were dancing once at a campus Valentine's event when Kevin asked me that. I told him, "Well, you see that fellow over there in the suspenders and red bowtie? His name is Chris* and he was in my 5th grade class and once there was a person out shooting behind his house and a stray bullet went through his basement window and shattered his bathroom mirror. Understandably, it really freaked him out, and he told everyone in the class about it."
A few weeks ago, at a pottery place. One woman across the room is named Crystal*. She's from northern Utah, she was engaged once but the relationship broke apart and she was wary of dating after that. But she opened her heart after years of struggling to do so and now she's married and is incredibly happy. She has a rough but sweet voice, it sounds like crackling embers in a fire mixed with dulcet birdsong.
On the other side of the pottery place was this tan kid named Mark*. He lived in the neighborhood next to mine growing up. He got a new puppy in junior high that was a Papillon but at first I thought it was a Pomeranian, and it was shortly thereafter that I learned that Papillon is the French word for butterfly... once you see their ears it makes total sense. But anyways, he had an emergency appendectomy exactly a week before he spoke in Stake Conference. He started his talk with, "I'm grateful I'm here this Sunday, instead of last Sunday when I was in the hospital..."
It happens all the time. It's both awesome and exasperating at once.
It's wonderful to remember people and remember crazy specific details about their life. But at the same time, it's terribly lonesome-making to think that they don't even remember who you are. That's why it's a blessing, and a curse.
*Name has been changed.
The elephant curse is an excessively enabled selective memory for remembering people, their lives, and the minute details therein.
The oddest part about it, is the memory is only for remembering people facts. It doesn't usually work for Biology class or Calculus. It's selective to anecdotal experiences of individuals we've met.
This is going to be a five part mini-series of blogposts, so hang tight. More will be explained later.
But just to give you an idea...
One of Kevin's favorite activities any public place we go is to ask me, "who do you know here?" And half the time, I do know somebody. But I've given up saying hello to them sometimes because they don't usually remember who I am... but I know who they are, and I also know what kinds of socks they like to wear and I know what their imaginary friend's name was when they were a wee kidlet and I know where they went on summer vacation in 10th grade.
We were dancing once at a campus Valentine's event when Kevin asked me that. I told him, "Well, you see that fellow over there in the suspenders and red bowtie? His name is Chris* and he was in my 5th grade class and once there was a person out shooting behind his house and a stray bullet went through his basement window and shattered his bathroom mirror. Understandably, it really freaked him out, and he told everyone in the class about it."
A few weeks ago, at a pottery place. One woman across the room is named Crystal*. She's from northern Utah, she was engaged once but the relationship broke apart and she was wary of dating after that. But she opened her heart after years of struggling to do so and now she's married and is incredibly happy. She has a rough but sweet voice, it sounds like crackling embers in a fire mixed with dulcet birdsong.
On the other side of the pottery place was this tan kid named Mark*. He lived in the neighborhood next to mine growing up. He got a new puppy in junior high that was a Papillon but at first I thought it was a Pomeranian, and it was shortly thereafter that I learned that Papillon is the French word for butterfly... once you see their ears it makes total sense. But anyways, he had an emergency appendectomy exactly a week before he spoke in Stake Conference. He started his talk with, "I'm grateful I'm here this Sunday, instead of last Sunday when I was in the hospital..."
It happens all the time. It's both awesome and exasperating at once.
It's wonderful to remember people and remember crazy specific details about their life. But at the same time, it's terribly lonesome-making to think that they don't even remember who you are. That's why it's a blessing, and a curse.
*Name has been changed.
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