The Old Coot has 2 memory issues. Published July 23, 2025 in NY papers.

 The Old Coot has a double memory problem.

By Merlin Lessler

I have a pretty good memory (for an old coot). My big issue is coming up with the name of someone I haven’t seen for a while. Especially, if it’s been a long while. I tried to fix that issue some 20 years ago, by keeping a list of everyone I met, with a description to jog my memory - “Joe, the guy who is a close talker (gets right in your face when you have a conversation). Or “Sarah, the life coach from Ithaca who comes to coffee once or twice a year, eavesdrops on our conversation and chuckles.” That’s what my list of names looks like. I keep it in a notebook, but also on my cell phone in the pictures App. If I run into someone I haven’t seen for years, I fake it, “Hi Governor,” or “Hi Kid.” Then, the first chance I get, I look up their name while the encounter is fresh in mind.

The memory problem I’ve never solved has been with me all my adult life - remembering the name of someone I meet for the first time. They say their name; I say nice to meet you, and their name immediately flies out of my head. I have no idea if it was Lynn, Lisa or Laura. At best, I’ll remember the first letter of their name.   

I have another memory problem; it’s not in my head, it’s in my feet; in the things on my feet to be exact – sneakers with memory foam. Like a lot of old coots, I no longer have a spring in my step. My foot goes clunk, clunk, clunk. A splat with every step, making it more of an effort to walk than when I was younger. But, it’s not much of a problem with shoes made with a memory foam cushion. My stride approaches that of a normal person, just slower. I now have discovered that the memory foam is losing its memory - in two different pairs of sneakers. They are only a few years old, but memory senility has begun to set in. I’m left with a memory problem on top (in my head) and on the bottom (in my feet). The latter issue is easy to fix, buy new sneakers. I would like to, if only the memory on top would remind me.   

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