Sunday, January 13, 2013

Dotted with meals.


Hubby remembers meals we've had, here and there, the mules frites in Nice, the crab in Bandon. His memory is connected to his olfactory gland, strong smells that bring back looks and tastes of a whole day.

I remember single scenes, the time at Moulin Rouge in Paris when a young girl in our tour bus traveling with her aunt, attending an evening performance was  chosen to go on stage. On the way back to our bus I noticed she did not have a camera or a souvenir program for that evening and gave her the one I had.

When we meet our children we spend so much time clarifying who was where and what happened when, and each of us brings something else to the scene. Some of us will remember faces; some will remember places; some will remember conversations; and some will remember food and drinks.

I took this picture of my husband in Bandon, next to Cathedral Rock, on a day when we walked for miles, and ended up eating crab sandwiches at Tony's Crab Shack. It graces the cover of my memoir, and it connects me with everything I've ever loved, my family, beaches, good food, and the longing for the past to be caught again in a still life. Notice that he's taking pictures too.

One day, when I've lost my memory, I hope I remember what great times these were.

8 comments:

  1. smiles....what cool rock formations....smell def cements an area...and meeting people...i remember the people as much as the places....paris would be so cool...

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  2. What a beautiful post. I, too, connect with situations and locations (the restaurant where I ate that steak, the beach in which I swam, the gathering at which I ran into an old friend). Many thanks, I thoroughly enjoyed your post.

    Greetings from London.

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  3. Isn't it funny what we do choose to remember and we don't?

    I can remember things dating all the way back as a child but there are things I forget that just happened a week ago. :(

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  4. Isn't it interesting how two people can remember the same event in such different ways, adding richness to the entire experience? It's so great to have photos and shared memories to enjoy for years to come -- whether or not these ever fade from your mind.

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  5. This brought tears to my eyes. I have so many memories attached to food as well, it seems so much of our life revolves around not only what we put in our stomach, but the people and conversations that surround those moments. How critical memory is to the enrichment and enjoyment of life.

    I love your spot on the beach. Cathedral rock is a very fitting description.

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  6. Lovely post, Rosaria. May you always have beautiful memories to carry with you.

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  7. Surely you carry that in your heart and can't really forget. I love it when family members get together and remember our past, bringing such different pieces of it to make the whole. Thanks for this post.

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  8. Indeed. I remember how my childhood album helped my mom recall people and events as she sank into the abyss of Alzheimers...

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