First, an administrative order. I suspect that without additional input or response from the moderator of such a group, the experiment is incomplete, although only just mildly so. Therefore, I will try and add a response to as many questions as I can. I will try and do this on the weekends, unless I am gifted with an abundance of time, in which case I will respond as quickly as possible. Thanks for participating. Now for today's entry.
I went back and forth on which question to post today. After much deliberation, conscious and dream sub/con/un-conscious alike, here it is...What is your earliest memory and why do you think that your mind has chosen that particular memory as your first recollection? As always, respond and support.
This is a tough one. The first and earliest memory that comes to mind at this moment is being in the Philippines when I was 4 or 5 years old. At the end of my aunt's street was a little candy/newspaper/cigarette stand. I used to walk up there to buy cigarettes for my uncle and an orange pop served in a plastic bag with a rubber band around the top securing the bag and a straw. The weather was hot and humid and I remember being so happy drinking those plastic bag orange pops on my aunt's front porch.
ReplyDeleteMy first memory is of standing by the record player watching it spin around. Odd, then, that the memory has no sound to it. I have no idea what song or album was playing. I don't remember anyone being in the room with me. I just remember the sunlight shining through the window and the record spinning around. When I met my last boyfriend he had a big picture on the wall that looked just like that memory. Weird, huh?
ReplyDeleteWow! Since I'm a bit older than your average responder it's harder for me to go back into my banks and extract. That being said, I do remember waking up from eye surgery when I was 18 months old. I remember it as clearly as when it happened. I think it was so traumatic for me that it has never gone away.
ReplyDeleteMy family lived on a sort of commune for a short time when I was a toddler - about 18 months to 3 years old, and my earliest memories are from that time. One of my most vivid early memories is of my "sister" falling down the stairs, landing on her back at the bottom, and crying relentlessly. I remember calling out to the adults to help. Not pleasant (but she was fine). Another memory is of our above-ground pool splitting at a seam and water filling the yard - hysterical.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I wonder what effect (if any) our earliest memories (and whether they are positive, negative, or neutral)have in shaping our lives.
ReplyDeleteThese are good. Funny how the mind works. I suppose that I could have invented many of my childhood recollections. It certainly has been discussed, likely impossible to demonstrate given current technological limitations, that everyone perceives everything differently, so even discussing shared experiences results in variations, etc.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I can distinctly recall facing the west basement wall of my grandparents basement, on the lap of my grandfather, watching wrestling, probably at the age of 2, maybe 3, possibly earlier. He was feeding me beer and peanuts when my grandmother wasn't watching and I have the distinct feeling that I was wearing corduroys. I can also recall a wood lithograph or carving of Jesus on the wall, which my mind could have very well placed into the memory, after the fact. Is any of that real? Unknown.
I suspect that the impression this event/memory has had on me is positive, given that I didn't know either of my grandfathers for long (both died in my very early youth). It seems to me that feelings of fondness toward relatives long-passed create a positive impression that makes us more considerate, caring, conscientious, and other positive traits.
A negative implication could potentially be my justification for my, now diminishing, tastes for the booze. If both grandfathers drank, and great uncles, and countless forefathers for time immemorial, then certainly this is a birth right, the capacity and indulging that is.
Either way, I recall that fondly and, for that reason, often try and stretch my mind to remember as much from those recollections as possible. Doing so may just possibly open up portions of the brain currently thought of as being unable to be used. So there, that's my response for the day.