Bill I didn't go back and read your original post so hopefully this is just one of the many suggestions you may have received.

I change my passwords quite often. Remembering them was a nightmare. I bought a small address book with tabs from a stationery store and entered alphabetically all the sites I belong to using a pencil. By using a pencil I can make changes. I put in my user name, password, and the www address. I keep the address book by my keyboard.

I went to a site called Anagram Server www.wordsmith.org/anagram/. Each month I pick at random a 7- or 8-letter word and run it through their scrambler. I then change the existing passwords in the address book using the variations of that month’s word. Next time I pick a different word. Sure it takes effort but if you’ve gone through the difficulties of recovering from the possible problems – you’ll take the time.