Today It Was "Head Over Feet"

It seems so strange to me, the way memory works. I'm guessing it's no surprise to anyone to hear that music is a big memory cue for me. I hear a song on the radio that I haven't heard for years and suddenly I remember a time and place, a specific moment or specific person that I was with when I heard the song. Today, Alanis Morissette came on singing "Head Over Feet" and I was instantly taken back to a conversation in a 7-11 parking lot during a rare bright moment of Evil Summer '96. The whole thing segued into me thinking about the power of the sense of smell. I know research says that so much of our memory is based on smell but it still bowls me over when I smell something (I've never figured out what it is) that reminds me of being in preschool. And then, just recently, the memory evoked by a particular scent made me almost forget to breathe. I had to decide whether or not to stay and try to maintain my composure or run away from it; the memory was so strong and unexpected. Maybe someone should tell me it's all just more proof that I remember too much, think about too much, live inside my head too much? Better yet, tell me it's like that for everyone...