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There are times I am amazed in two completely differing directions.

First, I am sometimes amazed by the things I can remember, and at the same time, shocked by the things I forget. The picture I have included is a number that will forever be in my mind. This is the address of the first location I worked as an adult - the Payless Cashways store on Hickman Road in Clive, Iowa. I believe I will remember this forever. It is right there with things like the PO Box number my mother had, the phone number for my grandparent's home, and the birthday for Denny Dreuhl, a friend from Drake. There are many more of these, but this list comes to the top this morning.

Then there are those items on the other side of the ledger. Ask me today what I had for supper last night, I may or may not remember. Tell me something very important this morning, and it may well be gone from my memory by the middle of the afternoon.

What in the world is this?  Does this happen to everyone, or am I the only one who struggles with this? The most infuriating thing is the harder I try to remember something, the more quickly it seems to slip through my mental "fingers." It reminds me of a game we played when we were young. We would cover a watermelon with Crisco, throw it into the pool and then two teams tried to get it to opposite sides of the pool. One second you had the perfect hold on the watermelon, and suddenly, you realized it was gone. That is exactly what some of this feels like. Just like trying to hang onto smoke.

Then comes the next bit of the story. Some items I haven't been able to bring to mind will come floating back in, days, weeks, or sometimes months later. I know the human brain is an amazing thing, but just where in the heck has this information been hiding?  It astounds me when the information shows itself. Many times it is in the middle of the night, or at a time when I am thinking nothing about the topic. Maybe there is a "partition" of the brain that just keeps working on hanging questions. It is out there, in the background, trying to come up with the information not readily available.

Do you suppose that theoretically, every piece of information we have ever processed is actually still in there?  If so, I really feel I let myself down on some of those high school and college tests. I can remember looking at questions and having absolutely no idea what the question was even about. Now, that could mean I had never seen the information. I wasn't the best student. I got good grades, but I can't say I studied the way I should have. But there were those frustrating times when I would leave the test, and on the way back to my room the answer presented itself. Ah yes, the brain had been working on it "off-line."

If any of you have a secret on how to get some of this long processed information to come out, share it with all of us. I know there are things we would all like to remember. Times and places, and things said. Secrets we were told, now really secrets as we can't remember them. All of those things. If you have found the way to release all of this, share it with us.

On the Toybox front, there has been a lot going on. I have all of the aluminum pieces on the trailer and am in the process of putting the final coat of finish on it. I must tell you, it looks beautiful. I hope my sister and Karen LOVE it. All I really have left is some final fitting and tweaking of various parts, and the electrical work. There is not a great deal of this, but I would like it to be right so all of the interior lights work, as well as the trailer driving lights. This is something a little out of my element, so I will go slow and read a lot, and watch a bunch of YouTube videos. This seems to be my preferred way to learn things like this lately.

I finished and delivered "Nick" to the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation this week. He'll be up for auction at this year's Corndog Kickoff. Bid early. Bid often. The State Fair has always been one of my family's favorite summertime activities. Keep an eye out on my Etsy store. Nick's brothers and sisters will be available to purchase later this summer.

Have a great week. Think good thoughts this weekend as I am installing an air conditioner for my daughter. Shouldn't be a big deal, but things can go wrong. We don't need that. Now if I can just remember where I put that tape measure.