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7 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,D ecem ber 13,2018 theifp.ca THE WAY WE WERE This 1963 photo shows the 'Shooting Star' Christmas light display at the old Dominion Seed House on Guelph Street. The Dominion Seed House was demolished in 1999. EHS photo I think everyone over 50 has suddenly experienced that moment in time when we fear we're losing it a bit. You know, when you lay down that tool on the work bench, and moments later you can't find it? Or how about those times when you find your- self walking into a room, and realize you've forgotten what you went there for? Then there are those moments when you're walking through the mall, you see a familiar person walking toward you and you make eye contact and say "hi" - but you're damned if you remember the name of that person you've just spoken to! To make it worse, that person's name convenient- ly pops up in your brain about an hour or so later. I've researched a bit about memory loss from time to time, especially where and when it happens. I've forgotten most of it (just kidding), but most comments I've read all seem to agree with one thing, be- coming forgetful is an aging thing. When we pass that 50 year or so milestone, it's gonna happen. And I'm OK with that - I'm certain we all have lots of things out there that we'd gladly forget! Consequently, I've con- cluded that our brains have simply run out of storage space. Years ago, I read A Study in Scarlet, a Sherlock Holmes mystery written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the story, Sherlock Holmes' friend Dr. Watson is flabbergasted that Holmes doesn't know any- thing about the solar sys- tem, and he is even more surprised when Holmes al- so states that, moving for- ward, he will do his utmost to forget that knowledge he just acquired. Holmes explains, "A man's brain is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that which might be useful to him gets crowded out or is jumbled up with a lot of oth- er things, so that he has dif- ficulty in laying his hands upon it." Holmes concluded with: "The skilful workman is very careful as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work." I really think Sherlock Holmes was on to some- thing here. Bringing that same analogy to present day, one could compare our brains to a computer hard drive and overloading it with useless data achieves the same effect - the brain's ability to quickly retrieve facts is slowed down dra- matically. Today we call it "infor- mation overload." Think about our life- styles of today. We have umpteen passwords to re- member, all accessing con- fidential info - bank re- cords, automobiles, home security, email, communi- cations, and entertainment - and then to top it off, we're told that, in the interest of cybersecurity, we should change those passwords every six or eight weeks. Geez, just take a moment to think of how much "stuff" we have to remember. By the time I reach the end of that six- to eight- week period after I've changed my passwords, I'm just nicely beginning to re- member the new pass- words and then, that an- noying notice once again arrives in my inbox telling me that "it's time to change that password" again. It's not rocket science that we can't remember the damn name of that some- one walking through the mall - our brains have sim- ply run out of space to file that name in the top draw- er of our brain files marked "names and faces." We're forced to dig a whole lot deeper into the lower draw- ers in our imaginary filing cabinet to find the name. So, what's stored in your imaginary brain attic filing cabinet? Well, in my case, it's right on the tip of my tongue ... Can you give me a few minutes? Ted Brown is a freelance journalist for the IFP. He can be reached at ted- bit@hotmail.com. OPINION YOUROPINIONS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA WHAT'S STORED IN YOUR 'BRAIN ATTIC FILING CABINET?' NO SPACE LEFT UP THERE, WRITES TED BROWN TED BROWN Column • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Wehandleall insurance work. We handle all insurance work. To book this space call 905-873-0301 To book this space YOUR AD HERE!