MEMORY: So much for a paperless society

When I am in the middle of an editing project and see something I need to check or fix (hmm, did I already abbreviate ACC/AHA in this chapter?), I must jot it down that very instant, or it's completely gone from my brain. Fearing that this was a sign of encroaching age, I was glad to see that this happens in much younger people, too.
The other day at a store I was about to ask a clerk at her computer to print out a receipt for me. In fact, my vocal cords had already shaped the syllables and my exhalation was about to push out the words -- when she said, "Hang on just one sec." My request stopped at my teeth, a fraction of a second before it came out of my mouth -- I could actually feel it.
When she was finished, she apologized and said she had to type in some data before she forgot it. I told her I completely understood.