The Devil Made Me Do It!

Happy Saturday!

People fascinate me. At least half the time, we don’t know why we do what we do. I suspect the other half of the time, we’re operating on autopilot and don’t care why we do what we do.

Last week, I had a devil of a time coming up with a post to write for my usual Saturday post. (In case you missed it, that post is here.) Earlier this week, I had a killer idea for today’s post. After last week’s debacle, I thought about writing it that day so I wouldn’t get to Saturday morning and take up a bunch of my fiction writing time with writing this post.

But then, the devil on my left shoulder said, “Nah! Now that you know in advance what you’re going to write about, it won’t take any time at all on Saturday morning. Don’t worry about it for now.”

For whatever reason, I went along with that idea.

Then, the angel on my right shoulder said, “You better write it down so you don’t forget.” (I do keep a legal pad beside my computer for just such an occasion.)

Now, I’ll bet practically every single one of you reading this post right now knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what the devil on my left shoulder responded to that!

“No need to write it down. Now that you’ve thought of it, this is such a good and obvious idea, you’ll remember it, no problem.”

Guess what?

That rat-bastard on my left shoulder lied through his teeth!

The funniest part? Every one of us who has ever done this knowsKNOWS! — that “I’ll remember it, no problem,” is an out-and-out lie and we still do it anyway!

That list of four items we need to get from the grocery store that you recite on the way to the store? And are still reciting when you go in the front of the store and grab a basket? What happens after you’ve put the third item in the basket? Fourth item — GONE! I’ve tried reciting the list again. Doesn’t work!

The only way I’ve ever found to recall the fourth item? Throw your hands up, go pay for the three that you were able to remember, drive home with them, walk in from the garage and plunk the bag of three things on the kitchen counter. The name of the fourth item will immediately spring to mind.

Sometimes, it works if you imagine doing that while putting the three items on the belt for the cashier to ring up at the grocery store. But only if there are seventeen people lined up behind you.

All of this is to say, “I don’t have a post to send out for today.” Of course, pretty much as soon as I hit “Publish” to send this post out, I will instantly remember what it was I was going to write about. Instantly! And, of course, the angel on my right shoulder will recommend that I write it down…again. But, nah! Once I remember it, there’s no way I’ll forget it by next Saturday.

Have a great weekend, y’all!

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