Lost: The Second Season

Episode 5: Domestic Drift
Many objects do have a designated or customary place where they are kept. But the reality is that they aren’t always returned there. Instead, they are left wherever last used. Such objects have undergone Domestic Drift. They could be anywhere in the house or out in the yard. Relax. Get comfortable. Pour yourself a cup of coffee. Now try to remember. Where were you last using that pliers, or tape measure, or fountain pen? Where did you last have it? Because that’s precisely where it still may be.

Episode 6: You’re Looking Right at It

All right. You checked where it’s supposed to be, where it was last used, or where it might have been casually tossed. And it wasn’t there. Or…was it? It is possible to look directly at a missing object and not see it. This is due to the agitated state of mind that often accompanies a misplacement. Go back and look again. It may be staring you in the face. Occasionally, our distress is such that not only do we overlook an object—we forget what we’re looking for! To avoid this, repeatedly murmur the name of the object. (“Potholder, potholder, potholder.”) But why the agitation? Have we forgotten the second C? Return to your armchair and get calm

Episode 7: The Camouflage Effect

Don’t be fooled. Your object may be right where you thought it was—but it has become hidden from view. Be sure to check under anything that could be covering your object, having inadvertently been placed on top of it. I call this the Camouflage Effect. Among the most common offenders are newspapers and sombreros.

Episode 8: Think Back

You were there at the scene of the misplacement. You were there when the object was put down—was left in an obscure location—was consigned to oblivion. You were there—because you did it! So you must have a memory—however faint—of where this happened.
Are you prepared to think back and retrieve that memory? If so, you may soon be crying out “Of course!” and making a beeline to that forgotten place.