This is a personal memory project.

 

It has taken much work and time to sort out the places I have lived, 45 to be exact.

Remembering dates and names are the largest challenges. As I go, I will add whatever pictures I can find, events as I recall them, and any music that may be associated with these times and places and people.

 

It is nothing short of amazing what one can recall. Names and places that may be buried deep in the back of your mind can be remembered simply by remembering something else.

 

It is all about association. One memory triggers another. A song can take you back to an exact moment the same way a picture, or a smell can.

 

Though many associations are universal, some are unique and period-specific.

Recalling a certain guitar I had will lead to other associations, but mostly between the years of 1979 to the present, because I have only played the guitar since 1979.

 

Obviously, musical instruments are an associative element, but also are cars I have owned, jobs I have held, music I heard for the first time, movies, pets, just about any kind of possession, books that I have read and bands I have been in, etc.

 

One thing leads to another and a much larger picture comes together. I feel it's important for me to do this, but so far it is very much a work in progress. Structure and form will evolve as more pieces are added to my puzzle. The events and memories are not presented for any purpose. No judgements, no agendas, simply the random pieces of a life arranged in some kind of presentable order, for my own reference.

 

We all have things in the past we'd rather forget, or maybe wish others would forget. The saying goes "Let go of the past". I don't think that necessarily means to forget as much as it means to stop past events from holding you hostage. Grudges are a waste of time. Harboring ill feelings is self-destructive.

 

I'm not preaching, mostly speaking to myself here. I think if you can look at the past and detach yourself from any kind of harmful, emotional baggage, embracing the present from a perspective of objectivity might be a little easier. You can't learn from the past if you simply forget all the bad stuff. You can, however, use it as a point of reference.

 

I first began recalling forgotten names in the winter of '92, when I was in Burien, living with David Wayne and playing in Reverend with him. The idea came from a book "The Art Of Dreamig" by Carlos Castaneda. The idea of a complete recapitulation of one's life is a shamanic practice designed to act as a catalyst for reaching levels of awareness that are otherwise elsuive, especially to us "non-shamans" or us "Shaman wannabes", lucid dreaming being an integral part of some of the "levels".

 

The subject of lucid dreaming was, and still is something of great interest to me. When I began recalling names, it knocked my socks off. I started with a few of the obvious names of people I remembered, soon after that, I was flooded with long-forgotten names of people, places and things and events. There were other interesting results from this too.

 

At the moment, this project is not password protected, I really don't think anybody is THAT interested in my history, but I may privatize it in the future. I am using full names mostly for people in the far back past, but I will continue to edit as it deems prudent to do so.

 

I have often thought about writing a book, especially considering a few key events in my life, but information I thought would be sensitive and possibly cause discomfort for others in my life has caused reluctance in me. I think there is a way I could present the details and still maintain peace for all, but discretion being the better part of valor, (or something like that) I have yet to do it. Maybe upon the (near) completion of this project, such an avenue will open for an account of my weird yet vast life and times.

 

I think it's also somewhat important to note that at this point in my life,

I'm not going after anybody, there are no vendettas, personal, or otherwise.

I have spent (mis-spent?) most of my anger by now,

which makes this the appropriate time for an objective stroll down memory lane.

I have no desire to beat myself or anybody else up over the past.

This is simply a journey, and I just wish to witness as it unfolds.

 

 

If anybody I know has pictures or accounts of events that I might want to include, please share them in the comments below. The events are described as I remember them, perhaps maybe not as they actually happened, though I am striving for accuracy, time distorts our memories, and corrections are more than welcome.