Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-04-14
JONES' MNEMONIC SYSTEM.

JONES' MNEMONlC SYSTEM.
As ovrrtook Homes on the way down
town noticed that he presented Il
very odd appearance. which could
not at first account for. After Il little
| SAW that he had the fingers of his
hand intrrlockrd in Il curious fashion.
each finger in turn crossed over TIL"
back OF the next. so that the whole
four W,rr piled on top of one another
Withal he held his arms out gingerly
from his sides as if afraid somebody
would disturb the combination.
Hello. JonrS, | exclaimed. "Rhcu-
matiSm again."
Hello. No, I'm trying to remember
some things. This and he shook 1T
me the folded fingers of his left hand
means that Maria wants m" 10 t"lr
phone to Il carpenter. This. indicat-
ing the distorted right hand. means
thai I've Il luncn engagement with Il
good fellow. OF course | can't Keep
my right hand twisted corn"rWiSc lik"
IL chiulpauzpr'S nightmare all through
the forenoon. Have to write, You
know. Bat this twisted hand reminds
me when get to the otfir" t" tie Il
knot in tn" sleeve of my office coat
and hang it over the back of my chair.
Then, when | get up /" 90 out TO lunch
I'll start To take off my office coat.
Then I'll notice that | didn't put it on
at all. Then I'll notice that the sleeve
is tied and then I'll remember to call
for jerks on my way /" tn" hash
house. At least | hope to remember
it: it doesn't always work.
But why in the name of common
SENSE" said |, don't YOU use memo
randaE'
"Mcmorandn: oh. ycS. Beautiful,
But what is going to remind YOU t"
look at the memorandum oh. | used
to iot down such lovely notes in Sucl.
IL beautiful red leather notebook. ANA
think the whole business don" for
And then I'd =" off and leave the not"
book on the mautrl. or else put it in
my pocket all right and forget To loot:
at ii until next morning. No m"nO-
ranla for ne. thanks. Get my fingers
twisted and keep 'cm twisted till
can get Il clinch on something else
that's the only way
Your mncmonic system is peculiar"
said /: but what is that string:'
Jones looked Il tritir shrep>h. rs hc
answered.:
''Oh. that is another little device OF
mine. You see. / can only keep tive
memoranda on my fingers, and so. t"
remind me that the coal is aIl out,
tied my watch to my Spectacl" case.
First time | look at my watch | OBJ
serve. here Jones pulled out his watch.
Strengthening out the fingers of his left
hand as he did So, the string and re-
member to look it up right away,
i've heard of mon tying strings
round their fingers II begun.
''Oh. that's no use said Jones. hast
ily Il tried it, If the string is too
tight ii stops the blood; if too loose
YOU don't think any more of il. oh.
there are lots of better ways. There's
hiding your hat. for instance That's
good for office use
Say to-day | make up my mind to
get Maria Il little surprise on my way
mp. Right. off | go and balanc" my
hat on top of the stove. BY and 10y
| get up to 90. Hello. where's my
oh. yes, | remember. See: It's un -
in summer put my hat there, IL
winter | put it in my waste basket.
only once | put it on the SloN" ia
winter, and TIL" fire engines We're Il "rr
III five minutes and the excitement
made me forget where it was.
Then there's the night SYSTEM.
When | go to bed. if | want to rem,n-
Der something in the morning | tie
knot in the LEG of my trousers ''lnl
get over that. you see, unless yea put
on another pair Of trousers
But isn't it
''Kn1hcr hard on tn" trousers: I'll
bet il is But tell Maria it is dunn
sight better to knock spots our of II
pair of clrvcn-dollar rlSSimcrrS than
forget a note ! have t" meet. OF
course | have to lutte th' ;roUSrrs be-
fore | put them on. Hut before | do
that tip Il chair against the bedroom
door Then when I'm dressed | set
the chair up straight and put my left
no. my right hand'-
"What difference does shat IlGlr:'
Right hand memoranda az, for my
self. left hand for Maria only WAY
| can keep them straight. W,l!, as |
WAS saving. | put my right hard up
to the back of my neck like thiS.'
As JoncS'S right hand wcat M by
way of illustration the fingers straight
cncd out unconSciouSly.
Il march this way to the table, and
han. Il Japanese lantern up over my
head where can't help hitting it when
| get up: see, Eat my breakfast free
from care get up-bang. Hello.
What's that for: oh, yes: | remc!n-
hcr Scr:'
Yes" | said. the trousers leg re
minds you to tip the chair against the
door. to remind you to put your hand
ON your neck, to remind you to hang
up the Japanese lantern where it will
remind You to cross your fingers, 10
remind you to turn your office coat in
side OUT, To remind you to call for your
friend at lunch time
"EXactly.'
well. that's simple"
oh dear. no; it's not So simple as
that When there are more things
than | can possibly spare hands chairs
and strings for | have to writ" them
down on memorandum blanks. \
whole lot of 'cm together Then sim
ply put Il lot of loose paper scraps in
my hat.
when | take it off in the C!!ice they
huttcr down all over me, Aha. Thcn