Fortunately, our memories can be
stimulated by a photograph, a smell,
or even by hearing someone else speak
about their memory of the event, even
though their memory of it is usually
different from our own, as in the film
“Gigi” when Maurice Chevalier sang
“I Remember It Well.” Memories are
the library of our mind, a diary that
we carry about with us, as we recall
things, not as they were, but as we
think they were or would like them
to have been. There are, of course,
some who spend their entire life trying to
overcome a prior moment in their life that
seems to have changed it forever. That is
never the case, except in their own
minds. Many of us have fallen often,
but do not allow our memory of that
occasion to stop us from bouncing back
up. Never let memories hinder who you
are; but, instead, use your powers of
recall to help you move on and prosper,
rather than drawing you down like
quicksand. When I count my blessings, I
never run out of pleasant memories, and
I hope you won’t either. Most of all I try
to remember that what I did for myself
will soon be forgotten, but what I did
for others will be remembered long after
I’m gone.
Publisher / Editor
The P ublisher Po stulates
9
WE ALL HAVE MEMORIES,
some that are fairly accurate
and others that are a little
more remotely removed from the
truth. Memory is such a tricky thing
in that there is no way to tell beforehand
which person or occurrence
will be recorded by our mind and
which will not. You may remember
vividly the first time you saw your
partner for life, or met someone who
had nothing whatsoever to do with
your life but was important to you,
such as an entertainer or famous sports
figure. However, the odds are that your
friends will know as you speak about the
moment over the years, as they refrain
from telling you, “Yes, we have heard
about the time you met Frank Sinatra.”
These are our personal memories of our
own life, and they matter little in the grand
scheme of things. What really matters are
the memories others have of us. Although
you may quickly forget helping a friend
at a time of need, it will probably never
be forgotten by that individual. Every
day, we create new memories, some for
ourselves and some for others. It is those
memories that we create in others that
our lives will be measured by and not our
own. Think of the classic movie “It’s a
Wonderful Life”, with Jimmy Stewart.
Poor “George” had no idea of the impact
he made upon others’ lives, as he went
about what he deemed to be an uneventful
existence.
MEMORIES
By Aaron R. Fodiman
“I really don’t remember him well, as he was with me
for such a short time,” Aaron Fodiman replied about
this photograph of himself.
Isn’t it odd that those people we know
the least are ourselves. We may remember
particular events, but rarely do weremember
entire chunks of time; and our viewpoint
is almost always an “I” witness account
of what occurred. Some of us even seem
to have the unique ability to remember
things, whether they really happened or
not.
I often comment that people should
remember that history is written by the
winners. Along with that, most of us tend
to remember things we have won and not
what has been lost. For some, that
is a high school football game; for others
it is a Nobel Prize. However, it is rare for
us to be able to focus on something we
said to someone who needed a helping
hand, although that may well be that
moment that they cherish and will
always remember.
24 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE MAY/JUNE 2015