Memory on Memory

Names are a funny thing. Some stick with you, while others fly away. I was trying to think of the names of cows that we had on the dairy farm where I grew up. Despite seeing them at least once a day for about 18 years (well, some of time I was too young to help, maybe eight to ten years) (Sheepish smile) you would think that I would remember more than 4 or 5.

At a recent College and Career meeting we had a new guy in class. I read his name from the introduction form backwards. His last name was like a first and vice versa. The other leader chimed in with a memory trick that he had learned. Look at him and see him "holden eel." His name is Holden Neil.

That reminded me of a guy I once saw on TV who taught memory tricks like that. He was a pro basketball player, and incidentally a Christian. He would have 100 perfect strangers marched in front of him and they only gave him their names. (They were not "perfect" but completely unknown to him.) (Goofy smile) After reaching the end, he would go back to the front and recite all 100 correctly as he walked down the line.

Then to prove that he had not just memorized them in order, they were presented in random order. Again he was perfect on all 100. He even recounted that, years later he would sometimes meet someone who had participated in one of his demonstrations and call them by name.

I thought that was pretty neat. But I could not remember the guy's name. (Sheepish smile 2) I remember that he was a great college player at West Virginia and played professionally for the Lakers. Finally it came to me. Jerry West.

Today, thinking about it (unusual activity to which I may come to employ more frequently), I said, "Jerry West played at West Virginia and went west. Now he teaches the "west" of us how to remember."

Have a memory filled day.