When new information about
a past unpleasant relationship
suddenly appears unexpectedly,
it is better to disregard this information and
take the opportunity to delete
the old memories as well.
This can spare memory space for
storing other happy information.
Memory space is very limited.
Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne
Met my old lover in the grocery store
The snow was falling Christmas Eve
I stole behind her in the frozen foods and
I touched her on the sleeve
She didn't recognize the face at first but then
her eyes flew open wide
She went to hug me and
she spilled her purse
And we laughed until we cried
We took her groceries to the checkout stand
The food was totalled up and bagged
We stood there lost in our embarrassment
as the conversation dragged
We went to have ourselves a drink or two
but couldn't find an open bar
We bought a six-pack at the liquor store and
we drank it in her car
We drank a toast to innocence,
we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but
neither one knew how
She said she'd married her an architect
who kept her warm and safe and dry
She would have liked to say she loved the man but
she didn't like to lie
I said the years had been a friend to her and that
her eyes were still as blue
But in those eyes I wasn't sure
if I saw doubt or gratitude
She said she saw me in the record stores and that
I must be doing well
I said the audience was heavenly but
the traveling was hell
We drank a toast to innocence,
we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but
neither one knew how
We drank a toast to innocence,
we drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence,
another 'old lang syne'
The beer was empty and
our tongues were tired and
running out of things to say
She gave a kiss to me as I got out and
I watched her drive away
Just for a moment I was back at school and
felt that old familiar pain
And as I turned to make my way back home
the snow turned in to rain
