Googleheimer's is setting in

published September 15, 2011

in the Stockton Sentinel

Stockton, Kansas

goo-gle-hei-mer's (noun): condition in which you

think of something you want to look up, then forget 

what it is by the time you get to the computer.

            It happens to me frequently. I want to search the internet to learn how to do something or find more information about something, but since I’m easily distracted by my Inbox full of emails or new posts on Facebook, I forget all about what it was I went to look for.

            Deb brought me a bag of fresh green beans on Monday evening, Labor Day. Numerous times throughout the week, I thought I should “Google” for instructions on how to freeze fresh beans. As I write this on Friday afternoon, I still don’t know what to do with the bag of lovely green beans in my refrigerator because every time I sit down at the computer to look for instructions, I get side-tracked onto some other tangent.

            Googleheimer’s is showing up in other areas, too, and I’m starting to worry. I went to Dollar General the other day with a list (this is a must!) of items I needed at home, and then remembered that I had a sticky note list on my desk at Valley View. I was sure I had two items listed, but the mental picture was too blurry to read.

            As I was looking for the things on my own list, I saw disinfectant wipes and thought… aha! That’s one of the things on my Valley View list! But I couldn’t remember the second item. Not wanting to get only one thing and not the second, I hoped that if I walked around in the store long enough, I might remember the second item.

            Finally giving up, and since I had all my own shopping done, I headed towards the checkout and then I saw the greeting cards. There it is! The other thing I needed for Valley View was greeting cards! So I began choosing some greeting cards when it suddenly occurred to me that I could no longer remember what the first thing was. Fortunately I could remember where I was standing when I had the eureka moment, so I went back to the center of the store and looked around for what it was in that location that I needed.

            Hurray! I saw it! Disinfectant wipes! Fortunately I had held the greeting cards in my hand so that, with any luck, I would remember I had not finished choosing cards. It took a while, but finally I had everything on my personal list and everything on my Valley View list taken care of!

            I have a bookmark that I used to think was funny. It says: “Of all the things I’ve ever lost, I miss my mind the most.” I don’t think it’s so funny anymore!