Sunday Scribblings: Collecting For My Cesspool

Cesspool- A covered pit with a perforated lining in the bottom into which raw sewage is discharged: the liquid portion of the sewage is disposed of by seeping or leaching into the surrounding porous soil; the solids, or sludge, are retained in the pit to undergo partial decomposition before occasional or intermittent removal. Cesspools are no longer permitted for waste disposal. www.buzzardsbay.org/glossary.htm


One day it dawned on me that I knew all of the names of the Spice Girls. I am not a fan or follower of their music, why do I know this useless information? When did I learn it? Unfortunately I didn't have the answer to either one of those questions but one thing I did know: my brain is a cesspool of knowledge.

Like the somewhat graphic definition above illustrates, information that has no relevance to my day -to-day life is collected in the pit of my brain...before occasional or intermittent removal by spewing up to the surface of my consciousness when prompted.

I am the person you want on your "Phone a friend" list for "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire", and it pretty much doesn't matter which subject. I am sometimes a whiz on Trivial Pursuit, knowing things I have no reason to know and, I believe I could probably hold my own on "Jeopardy".

I am not political in any way, yet today while speaking to a friend, I was able to pull out of the murky depths the fact that former President Jimmy Carter brokered a peace deal between Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menahim Begin. The aforementioned freakish Spice Girl knowledge was another example of information that came up when someone asked a question. I can't just access this information however, instead it jumps out of my mouth almost without my awareness or consent.

I have known about the cesspool for quite some time yet it still surprises me when something is ejected from it. Because the thing is, I don't know what's in the cesspool. SO knows about the cesspool and has witnessed it in action. "Is it in your cesspool?" comes the query when some obscure tidbit is needed.

Unfortunately, if I have to ask, it usually isn't.


This post was done as part of the Sunday Scribblings