I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up three items: shampoo, butter, and ___. For the life of me I couldn't remember the third thing I needed. I knew the third item when I left the house. I knew it when I was driving to the store. But as I walked the aisles of the market, it failed to come to my conscience.
Today, however, as I sat at my computer typing a memo, a song came to my mind. No, it wasn't the latest pop hit I heard on the radio on the way in to work that morning...it was the theme song to Mr. Ed. Yes, the old 1950's television show about a talking horse. The one that starts "A horse is a horse of course of course..." And I knew every word...Every. Single. Last. Word of that cheesy, odd-ball, Nick-at-Night classic.
Why am I telling you this? Don't worry, I remember...
The memory is a tricky thing and mine loves to play tricks on me...regularly...but there is one person that I know who simply amazes...no, astonishes...me when it comes to remembering things. Herb Kelleher has a steel trap for a brain. Whether it's a person, a conversation, an event, a small encounter in time...he remembers them all with remarkable detail. Herb has a way of making you feel like an old friend every time you see him by calling you by name and recalling the funny thing you said to him when you last met. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, this man built the most successful airline in the world so it goes without saying that he's a genius. But I admire that quality immensely and, as a result, I put a lot of effort in trying to remember faces and names and conversations because I know how great it feels when someone remembers me.
By the way, when I got home from the grocery store with my shampoo and butter I was met at the door by two very hungry dogs. I turned around and went back to the store to get dog food.
