Sister: Do you remember
Me: No.
Sister: Sure you do. He was in the class behind you, tall, blond.
Me: No.
Sister: He hanged around with
Seriously? Why does me saying I don't remember generate any further conversation?
Does she think I'm lying about not remembering? Does she think that if she hits on the right keyword I will suddenly remember some random person who went to the same school in a town I lived in 30 years ago?
I generally end up saying "What about him?" just to derail the memory train.
It happened again this week with someone else.
Her: Do you remember when you planted those trees at the old house?
Me: No. I don't remember any trees.
Her. In the front yard. Planted 2 small trees.
Again, why does me saying I don't remember generate any further conversation?
The past is the past. My memories of the past are in deep storage, or off-loaded into a pensieve.
Prompting has never resulted in me remembering someone or something.
So when you ask me if I remember, and I say No, just say what you wanted to say in the first place.
I really don't remember.
Haha. When people do that to me, whatever they are trying to get me to remember isn't really integral to their story anyway.
ReplyDeleteOr it's like when my grandmother does it:
"Do you remember that older lady who [X]?"
I never remember the person, but if she's trying to get me to remember an old woman, it's generally to tell me the person in question has died.
I know! Same here. My memory of the person or place isn't relevant to what they want to say.
DeleteSo just say it.