卷首語
作者：Angie Pinchbeck
A memory is what is left when something happens and does not completely unhappen.
—Edward de Bono
remember how we forgot?
remember how no one ever really died in the wars we fought
because each gunshot came from our fingertips
and we never really kept them loaded
just in case
because each enemy was a friend
and none of it was about oil, religion, or land
it was all just pretend
So begins a piece by Canadian poet Shane Koyczan. The poem takes the reader on a journey through childhood, asking us to remember all the pieces of our personal histories that have been forgotten over the years—the dreams of becoming presidents, the silly games of ninjas and superheroes, the simplistic hope for the future that exists in the young. The poem eventually concludes that these things should not be forgotten, that our memories should live in us and that they should help us to live our futures.
Our minds are like a time capsule. Somewhere in the uncharted areas of our brain resides the home of our memories. They can sleep and lie dormant for years, only to pop up—seemingly from nowhere—when the time is right. This might be a personal event (A Childhood in Leaksville) or perhaps a shared experience across age and cultures (All-Time Favourite Animated Movies).
And although memories are always special and sacred to each individual, they should not be hoarded away only to eventually be forgotten. Nostalgia is a thing to be experienced together, a time to spend over coffee or tea, chatting away about times past. Perhaps this sharing is simply a passing on of olden times (The Old Bing, Bing, Bing, at Full Tilt) or maybe it’s more physical, a memory hand-down of treasured items to those we wish to remember (Preserving Family Heirlooms).