I’ve created a new medical syndrome called “Once in a Lifetime” syndrome. I came upon this because a relative called to say that their mate had entered into a confusional state and wanted to know what to do. The description was that the person kept asking the same question over and over again , having forgotten the answer as soon as it was given to them. This would in all likelihood turn out to be TGA- transient global amnesia which is a real medical diagnosis. A self limited condition where all parts of the brain work except for that module that makes new memories. As my relative was explaining what they were seeing all I could think of was David Byrne’s “Once in a Lifetime” Lyrics.

“Once In A Lifetime”

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile

And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

And you may ask yourself, “Well… how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”

And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing

There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Under the water, carry the water

Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”

And you may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”

And you may ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?”

And you may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was and look where my hand was

Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Letting the days go by, same as it ever was

Here a twister comes, here comes the twister

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by

If you prefer the Donald Trump version here it is:

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David Byrne Syndrome