Knowledge is Power!

I know that interjections show excitement and emotion, and that they're generally set apart in a sentence by an exclamation point, or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong.  I know that conjunctions have a function, that of hooking up words and phrases and clauses.  And I know that three is a magic number.  Yes, it is.

Tidbits of seemingly trivial facts from a time long gone by remain scattered throughout my brain.  Information serving no real purpose, and remembered for no particular reason.  So what's the deal?

My amazing recall of insignificant trivia from decades past comes easily, yet I struggle to remember passwords and cell phone numbers that I use on a regular basis.  I've thought about this puzzling dilemma, and while my conclusions may not be very scientific, I do have a theory.  I tend to remember things when they're tied to music.

I was a child who came of age during the 1970s. Saturday mornings were pretty well set in stone for kids my age.  We'd settle in with a bowl of cold cereal and park ourselves in front of the television to watch cartoons.  Commercial breaks provided time for quick refills of Cheerios and for other necessities.  Things began to change during the fall of 1973, as a new and wonderful phenomenon called "Grammar Rock" was added to the mix.  Let's just say that it pretty much changed Saturday mornings going forward.

These catchy animated shorts were squeezed in at the top and bottom of each hour.  before long they became more memorable than the cartoons themselves.  I honestly couldn't tell you which shows made up the Saturday morning lineup, yet I do remember the anticipation while waiting to see which Grammar Rock segment would appear during the next break.  Upon its success,  subjects were expanded to include that of math and of civics.  the series adopted the name by which it is still remembered today: "Schoolhouse Rock".