Not a memory here, just a plug for how tiny, factual bits can summon up more emotion, sometimes, than the most detailed, overwrought accounting.

I have a shelf full of journals, literally, notebooks I kept on and off over the years. Yesterday, out of curiosity, I plucked off the shelf the 1989 account of my time in Mexico. The most riveting reading was my datebook -- a calendar I inserted in the three-ring journal after the fact, where I had jotted down little notes about the activities there. For example: "Reincarnation and Frida Kahlo." "War counsel at Los Vikingos." "A Disco Queen is born." "Jesus se fue." There are long anecdotes behind every one of those phrases, and they all came rushing back to me.

So grab a notebook. (We prefer the black-and-white Roaring Springs composition book, the brand endorsed by Tess Monaghan, but any one will do.) Jot something down, put it away for 15 years. Trust me on this.

Coming next: A food memory.