I Can Recall
By Gordon Mei
July 25, 2003, age 17
I can recall the exact population of the United States in 1996.
I can recall the date that Windows 98 was released.
I can recall the height of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the depth of the Mariana Trench, the average temperature of Antarctica.
I can recall the top speed of the cheetah, the distance between the Sun and the Earth, the time it takes to travel to Earth’s nearest star, Alpha Centauri.
I can recall the 50 capitals of the American states, the leaders of the nations of Africa, the date that California became a state.
I can recall the speed of sound, the Greek alphabet, and the stars of each constellation.
I can recall the names of former Presidents’ dogs, the candidates that Nixon ran against, the name of the German vessel that sank the Lusitania.
I can recall how many lives were lost on the Titanic.
I can recall the parts of the brain, the hex codes of every color, the fifty-second digit of pi.
But I cannot...I cannot... recall where I left my socks.
