Sharing hyper random memories from the past/ Why I’ve never eaten Papaya (yet).

Human memory is absolutely crazy. It can be triggered by so many things. Our sense of smell, they say, is the greatest trigger of memories. While I’ve definitely experienced that, I am most aware of a flood of memories coming to mind when I simply “take a trip down memory lane”.

I moved from my Elementary School area when I was 12 years old. This was not easy as I’d moved around a lot in my life. At one point I had gone to 6 schools in 5 years. This time after sixth grade, I was making an interstate move, leaving my social circle just as I’d summited to the peak of my elementary school swag. I left a nice caring town in Massachusetts where everyone was mild and chill. The populous was well-off but not “flashy wealthy” or nouveau riche. I moved to a very different type of town in New Jersey.

The town I moved to was a materialistic, gaudy, flashy place. Very competitive. Alpha Male Patriarchal vibes. Hard. I’m a highly competitive person and enjoy challenges. The sports-intensive culture allowed me some sort of space there for a little, masking many important negative transformations! Anyways, I digress; I’ll definitely be writing more about that transition at a later date.

For now, I’d like to discuss sharing hyper-random memories. Social media and the internet have destroyed our lives in many respects. Turned us into low attention span dopamine junkies. One positive attribute though, is your ability to connect instantly with people you haven’t even thought about in many years.

Here is one recent example I enjoyed:

A memory:

My elementary school got its first vending machine when I was in the 5th grade. It was huge news. From zero vending machines, to our cafeteria being an instant tastebud pleasure portal. My friend Jon and I used to do this weird thing in the 5th grade where we would purchase this high fructose corn syrup made from concentrate, toxic drink masquerading as papaya juice. Back then I believe I referred to it as Papaya juice. Anyways, we used to do this thing I stole from the Simpson’s where every time we’d go to take a sip we’d say, “Just a little something to wet my whistle…. take sip… ahhhh Papaya juice, lip smack” So I randomly sent audio of me saying this quote to my friend …. a decade or more after we’d ever uttered the phrase. I asked him if he remembered. He said of course. Here is the Simpson’s clip that I believe instilled the magic. So anyways. We laughed about this back and forth a bunch (over Instagram) and then TODAY, I had this most ultra-random memory that was adjacent to this topic! It involved a different mutual friend named Michael who had a very negative and tattered history with the Papaya. He expressed his views upon hearing our reverential Papaya Juice slogan. I soon realized that this encounter has impacted me for almost TWO decades. When I realized this I immediately recorded an explanation and sent it to my friend.

Then. I sent a screen recording of this to the Papaya hating fellow named Michael. It was my first contact with him in 19 years. The audio is playable below and shows the message.

The audio takes a second to start, allowing the viewer to read the message text. I will share more random stories and more stories of sharing random stories with others. Hope you enjoyed. If you liked this weird post, please subscribe to my YouTube channel linked below!

Also, PS… before he sees the video (he hasn’t yet. I just might send him this blog post!) That’d be OD…. but I’m Extra.

So anyways. We laughed about this back and forth a bunch (over instagram) and then TODAY, I had this most ultra random memory that was adjacent to this topic! It involved a different mutual friend named Michael who had a very negative and tattered history with the Papaya. He expressed his views upon hearing our reverential Papaya Juice slogan. I soon realized that this encounter, has impacted me for almost TWO decades. When I realized this I immediately recorded an explanation and sent it to my friend.

Then. I sent a screen recording of this to the Papaya hating fellow named Michael,.It was my first contact to him in 19 years. the audio is playable below and shows the message

\The audio takes a second to start, allowing the viewer to read the message text. I will share more random stories and more stories of sharing random stories with others. Hope you enjoyed. If you liked this weird post. Please subscribe to my youtube channel linked below!

Also PS… before he sees the video (he hasn’t yet. I just might send him this blog post!) That’d be OD…. but I’m Extra.