I Forgot to Remember

They talk about the straw that broke the camel’s back, but really it should be the password that wiped out my memory bank

- Richard Glover

My world is now in ashes. Let this be a warning to others.

I was going along fine—with instant recall of my bank PIN, my mobile number, my Facebook log-in. Then I joined a gas station rewards scheme.

The sign-up form on the company’s website asked me to create a password. When I typed in “gas1,” it was rejected for not being complex enough. I needed to add at least one uppercase letter and one symbol.

I tried again: “IHateHeartlessOilCom panies@#$%PricesNeverStopGoingUp.” But that was too long and didn’t include “at least one numeral.” It may also have been defamatory.

Following my usual custom, I used an obscure fact about my favourite singer, Elvis Presley: “Garon1935”— a reference to the middle name of Elvis’s sadly stillborn twin brother.