Jerry’s Marginalia — “I Forgot Where I Was”
There’s a special kind of mistake that isn’t born from ignorance, but from context collapse.
You know the prices. You know the store. You know better.
And then—somewhere between hunger, fatigue, and good intentions— your brain switches environments without telling you.
Target brain in a Sprouts body. Costco confidence with boutique prices.
Seventy-five dollars later, the receipt prints like an accusation.
And instead of excuses, instead of defensiveness, instead of ego, the truest sentence comes out:
“I forgot where I was.”
That line isn’t weakness. It’s awareness returning.
Because the moment you can laugh at it, you’re no longer trapped inside the mistake. You’re standing next to it, pointing, saying:
“Look at this dumb little reality glitch.”
The real win wasn’t the pizza. It wasn’t the chips. It wasn’t even the laugh.
The win was this:
- No shame
- No posturing
- No sunk-cost justification
Just two people recognizing the absurdity at the same time.
That’s how you keep your sanity in a system designed to nickel-and-dime your soul: You don’t deny the nonsense. You don’t fight it every time. Sometimes you just name it, laugh, and move on.
Because once you can say “I forgot where I was” you’ve already remembered who you are.
Filed. Stamped. Receipt mentally shredded.
— Jerry “The Ankle Biter” Silverhand
Doctrine: Don’t bark—bill.