CARLTON FLETCHER: The words of a friend: I’ve got my memories

And your mementos will turn to dust, but that’s the price you pay. Every year’s a souvenir that slowly fades away.

— Billy Joel

Barry Levine, one of the best friends I made in this business, always had this thing he’d say that would crack me up each time. I’d point out an attractive lady to Levine or make a comment about his love life, and Levine, in the voice of a wizened sage, would say, “I’ve got my memories.”

Memories are funny things. While we’re doing the things we enjoy doing, we don’t really think of them as memories to be cherished, relived and savored at a later date because we’re usually too busy living in the now. But like Jim and Pam on “The Office” as they prepared for their unforgettable wedding, we should be taking “mental snapshots” throughout our lives, storing things away.

Because there will come a time in our lives when reliving those memories is a comfort, a source of joy when maybe we’re not in the mood to experience joy.

I think of friends and loved ones retiring, others lying ill in hospital beds, some fighting for their lives. I think of our shared moments, the times that made us laugh, cry, that changed our lives. Those moments pour themselves over me as memories and I find myself reliving them, longing for the opportunity to go back, as Eddie Money said, “and do it all over.”

As human beings we all share common memories that may have differing trappings, but they’re similar just the same: walking, starting school, losing a first tooth, potty training, hanging out with best buds, sleepovers, a first girlfriend or boyfriend, a first kiss, a favorite pet, an award, driving, dating, first loves, first heartbreaks, college, first jobs, marriage, children, career achievements, sickness, death …

That, in a few words, is the life cycle of a typical human being, and all of those milestone moments are memorable. Read over the list again, and it’s a pretty sure thing that you have your own memories related to each.

But for most of us, while those memories are life-defining, it’s often the things we do in between moving from milestone to milestone that makes up some of our fondest memories. A certain song we heard with that girl that got away, attending a sporting event with a group of friends, winning a ribbon at the horse show, that silly song that you danced to with friends, the sliding catch you made to win the baseball game, the thrill of getting tickets and attending that first big concert, a movie that made us cry, recognition for a job well-done, an intimate dinner with someone special, a meaningful talk with someone we respect …

Those memories are sweet, but life is not always about the sweetness. Some memories are painful … worrying your way through a child’s illness, that unfortunate skiing accident that left you in a cast, being dumped by the guy or girl you knew was “the one,” the mistakes you made that hurt your career path, seeing street people and realizing not everyone in this world — or even this country, state or city — managed to live a life of any degree of success, and, inevitably, watching someone you love, someone who had a huge impact on you life, pass on.

So as you live out the joys that this life offers, as you do all those fun things and those sad things and those painful things and those hard things and those loving things, take a moment to acknowledge them. Trust me, they’ll come in handy. And, like my pal Levine, when someone starts talking about all the wonderful things going on in their lives, you too can smile and say, “I’ve got my memories.”

Email Carlton Fletcher at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ABH_Fletcher.