Use it or lose it

One of the topics I find interesting pertains to how human history is passed down orally. Since time began, history has been passed from generation to generation orally. Writing most likely originated about 5,000 years ago so before that all historical events that we know about were passed down orally. Many were told as stories or events, while others were memorized word for word story by story.

As I was growing up, Dad would talk about the old days when he was a kid. Dad would talk about when there were no barbed wire fences or very few. Dad talked about when there were a few wolves still in Nebraska and how ranchers or cattlemen would simply run them down on horseback. Trading horses when one could but staying on the wolf until you could dispatch it. Dad talked about the old days. But honestly I'm not sure how much of what Dad told me he experienced. Some of the stories might have been shared with him by old timers he knew. But this is how history was passed from generation to generation before written records were kept. When written records became common there wasn't a need for orally recorded history, so passing down history became unnecessary. Mankind depended on written historical documents rather than oral history. Some written stories or poems were memorized as an exercise in school.

Back in the one-room country school house days this time of year was filled with activity. The teacher and all the students were getting ready for the Christmas play and party. Everyone had a piece to memorize and recite the evening of the performance. Some had musicals on the piano or flute or some other instrument. One year, I built a one-string guitar and played a Christmas song. We had songs to memorize. In high school there were formulas to remember in math or the peculiarities of English or the Periodic Table of Elements in chemistry. But as a whole, we weren't forcing our minds to memorize pages of text or whole chapters or even larger amounts of material.

In junior college, I decided I wanted to learn to speak Spanish, so I took a five-hour class on learning Spanish. I did OK but found out it wasn't my cup of tea. But about 10 years later, I was taking Biblical Greek and memorizing hundreds of words and new peculiarities in syntax. First week of class, there were 24 students, and one week later there were 14. Our teacher told us there was only one way to memorize the vocabulary and that was to keep it before us day and night. When shaving, put the vocabulary words on the mirror. When eating, set the words up in front of us. Last thing at bedtime and first thing in the morning, go through the vocabulary flashcards. It took effort and work and concentration. It worked, and I graduated with honors. But through the years, I relapsed and slowed down on memorization. In real simple terminology, I got "lazy". Too easy to watch TV or play on the cellphone or just take a nap or go fishing.

So to those of us who are older: "Are we too old to memorize whatever?" It would be easy to simply say "Yes" and leave it there and let the young kids do the memorization. But that's a copout, cheesy answer! Why not make it our goal to give it a try?

I find it kind of scary that right now Marge and I have several friends who are experiencing dementia. What about the old adage of "use it or lose it"? Will it help with dementia? Honestly I doubt it, but it's worth a try.

Right now I'm packing around flash cards with Greek words on one side and English words on the back. What about taking an index card and printing a verse of Scripture on one side and the book, chapter and verse on the back? How about the books of the Bible in order? Can you name all 50 states and the capitals?

Let's use it, and hopefully we'll never lose it!