Parker Palmer uses humor to “rekindle his memory” (along with some Billy Collins poetry).
You can read Palmer’s whole commentary (along with Collins “Forgetfullness”) at the On Being website. Here’s an excerpt:
Certain kinds of memory loss are no laughing matter; ask anyone who’s close to someone who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. But for many of us, normal aging involves memory glitches that create some pretty funny situations. Take it from a 75-year-old who knows!
At least once a day, I go upstairs to get something, only to forget what I’m after by the time I get there. So I go back down, hoping to rekindle my memory by returning to the site of my original inspiration. Then I realize I can’t even remember where I was when I embarked on this ill-fated adventure!
An old Irish saying declares, “There are three things that are real: God, human folly, and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension, so we must do what we can with the third.” I am so totally down with that!