But I was capable of doing none of the above (with one exception ... and I must say that Garfield was especially funny that day).

You see, my brain was much too busy to think about work—it was working overtime trying to remember the name of the dog in the old Topper television series.

You remember him, don't you? The alcoholic Saint Bernard who teamed with George and Marion Kirby to haunt poor ol' Cosmo Topper. I checked in with a couple of friends who remembered him—we just couldn't remember his name!

You know, it's funny how our brains work. There were plenty of critical things to consider on Friday (oh, like all of that newspaper stuff I mentioned earlier, and like what excuse I could come up with to get an early start on the weekend), but the only thing I could think about (other than what I was going to have for lunch) was the name of that stupid Saint Bernard. Pretty pathetic, huh?

I knew the answer. Of course I knew the answer! It was in my head somewhere ... I could feel it. It was just lost in the sea of useless information that floats around in there—the information that swamps all of the other important stuff I'm supposed to remember.

I'm usually great with such trivial matters. In fact, I have a better memory for minutiae than for the truly important things I'm expected to remember.

It happens all the time. Someone will ask me for the names of the Los Gatos Town Council members and I'll answer, "Well, there's Steve Glickman, Mike Wasserman ... oh, and of course there's Sandy Decker ... and, uh, there's Diane McNutt ... and, well, um, that other guy ... you know, a young guy with a beard ..."

"I believe you're trying to think of Joe Pirzynski," says a helpful staff member.

Sure, I can remember that the mayor of Doodyville was Phinius T. Bluster, but I struggle to recall the name of current Councilman Joe Pirzynski. (DISCLAIMER: Any connection between Doodyville Mayor Bluster on the old Howdy Doody Show and Councilman Pirzynski is strictly in the mind of the reader ... but, then, they do both have facial hair, now don't they!)

It's funny. While it's difficult for me to recall the names of those folks who serve us on the council, I can easily recall who was stranded on that "three-hour tour": "Now join us here each week, my friend. You're sure to get a smile, from seven stranded castaways, here on Gilligan's Isle!"

I can remember who was born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, that Mrs. Trumble was Little Ricky's babysitter, that Chuck Hiller hit a grand slam for the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series, and that "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should."

I just wish I could remember important things like the names of the Supreme Court justices (I'm pretty sure they're not Moe, Larry and Curly), my ZIP code (could it be 90210?), or anything that I learned from Al Simon in high school algebra!

I admit it ... my brain is a sponge sopping up useless information, but it's almost impossible to squeeze out anything of importance.

A reader called the other day to ask me which of the county supervisors served his district. Now there's a question I should have been able to answer.

"Well, it's either Liz Kniss or Donald Gage ... or maybe James Beall ..." I stammered. Then I blurted, "Oh, yeah, Beall! Now I remember ... the dog on Topper was named Neil!"

Well, that's certainly a load off my mind!

Want to talk? Call me at 408.354.3110, ext. 31, or drop me a note at dsparrer@svcn.com.