W. DEREK RUSSELL
I try to take a trip down memory lane once every couple of days. Whether that’s reminding myself of a favorite moment or just clicking on the “On This Day” feature on Facebook that allows you to time warp. Since my use of the social media website is limited, I don’t have a lot of posts there, but occasionally I’ll find something worth being memorable.
On Tuesday, I was reminded of a date – four years to the day – where some friends from Florence, Alabama, came to Tupelo with their “Ghostbusters” Ecto-1 mobile. We showed the film at a public screening and went around town to various locations, like Elvis’ birthplace, for photos of the vehicle in Tupelo.
A little over three years later, on Oct. 17, 2015, Brandon and Alex loaded the Ecto-1 up for a birthday party outside of Iuka. On their return trip home, a wreck totaled the Ecto, but thankfully, the boys were safe.
I was reminded of both events within the course of exactly a week, thanks to Facebook memories – offering up the good and the bad, with the click of a mouse.
More often than not, the social media website lends itself to political rants or snapshots of meals, and I would imagine most don’t want to be reminded of either when distance is put between the person and the post. Do you want to pull up those memories a year or two down the road and see how negatively you spoke to one of your friends, when emotions were high during an election year? Alternatively, why do you want to be reminded of a meal you ate? Unless of course it’s a really great meal. Now that I think about it, I’ve had meals like that. I wish I had pictures of them to reminisce. There was this restaurant in Orange Beach called Calypso Joe’s that’s closed now. They had a dish called the Super Rooster. It was a fried chicken breast on top of a pile of french fries, drizzled in their mushroom sauce, covered in bacon atop Cuban garlic bread.
I really do want to relive that memory. Why can’t Facebook remind me of that?
But I digress. The big moments sometimes get lost in the mediocre ones when it comes to being reminded of things you might not even want to remember. The passing of a loved one or even a faithful pet companion can come sliding into your memories easily, making you stop in your tracks.
On a local level, the further removed we are from certain reflections can provide strength, but also grief.
We want to remember events, like when our community came together in the face of storms on April 28, 2014. But some would probably rather forget the destruction and loss the storms caused.
But every event, no matter how positive or negative, shapes us into who we are today. That trash you picked up when no one was looking. That candy you stuffed in your pocket that you never told anyone about. These probably aren’t moments you’d boast about on Facebook and find again, years down the line. In fact, they are probably moments you never even reflect on, whether random acts of kindness or actions you’d rather not remember. But they shape you, for better or worse.
It’s sad that we rely on a website to remind us of the good and the bad – something we should reflect on each day on our own to make us the best versions of ourselves. Honestly, it’s sad we rely on a website for anything, but that’s a bigger issue.
W. Derek Russell is the Daily Journal’s arts and entertainment reporter. Contact him @wderekrussell on Twitter or email him at derek.russell@journalinc.com.