I remember all kinds of things from childhood.
I remember going over to Ivan's house and running string through the living room, spraying liberally with WD-40, knotting a GI Joe to one end and lighting the other with a match. Enjoying the ensuing chaos.
I remember keeping a craw-fish in small tank that I never cleaned until it got so big we had to take it out to the creek that ran through a municipal golf course behind out neighborhood.
I recall hours spent playing catch with two pit bulls by tossing old 2X4's and watching them chew them up.
Thing is, I don't really know if that's how it all happened. I remember that these things happened, but it's not like I can close my eyes and see the events. It's not like I'm ancient, but at 40, the things I did when I was 10 aren't exactly vivid. So, I remember what I remember and accept it for what it is.
In the fictional town of Comal Creek (setting for Hill Country, Reckoning and what I'm currently mashing at keys on), there's a restaurant called The Skillet. It's a mix of burger joint, grocery store and small arcade. It's based on a real place, at least as best I can remember.
The Iron Skillet Ice & Grocery in Bulverde, TX isn't far from some property my grandparents used to own. We lived in San Antonio and it was only about a half hour out there, so we visited often (it was also the home of the two pit bulls I recall fondly if perhaps not accurately.) I'm sure I ate burgers there. I'm sure I played Space Invaders and Tempest (damn I loved Tempest) and I'm sure we bought milk and bread at the grocery store in the back.
Thing is, I might be wrong. Those things may have happened somewhere else, or a mix of places. But, I don't think it really matters. Those are good memories for me as they are. And vivid enough to for me to create pictures of them, even if they're not quite accurate.
So, do any of you have strong memories, that might not be quite what you think they are?
Absolutely. And the more I remember things, the less concerned I am that they be bang-on.
ReplyDeleteI know I kept more than one pet toad in a box in my back yard and every one of them escaped. If my dad let them go while I was asleep, I didn't see it. And it was better imagining how the heck a toad managed to escape its sealed, well-watered motel room.
We caught bees twenty at a time in jam jars with lids pricked with nail holes. Seven years old in the cornfield behind our house. Until the farmer's dog chased us out. We never once got stung.
And you just gave me a chapter, sir. Thank you for your fine post.
Memory is so weird, and so unreliable. Like you, I think I "remember" events from childhood, but they could just as easily be stories my mom told me, or things I imagined at the time. It sort of makes you question reality a bit, doesn't it? I mean, if something imagined can seem as real as an actual event, who's to even say what "real" means?
ReplyDeleteI recently blogged something about my past and my 87-year-old dad (who has a blog) wrote a comment correcting the accuracy of my account.
ReplyDeleteI remember an event from my childhood that was actually inaccurate... but I didn't know until 20 years later when rehashing old times at dinner with my brother. That incident that I remember caused me to make.a.decision that tragically changed both of our lives... I mean, things were bad for us, but that one moment that I misunderstood, changed our lives forever. We all see and experience things differently... I.still recall that memory the way I remember seeing it play out as a child. My brother can tell me it.didn't happen that way, but... I.swear it did!
ReplyDeleteRob, I agree. For the most part whether I'm right or not, doesn't really matter. The memory is either a great time in my life or something I carry with me. A clarification of facts isn't always helpful.
ReplyDeleteHeath, a good point. I know there are things I "remember" that I know I was too young to really recall. I know my mom cut my hair after someone commented I was such a pretty little girl. It feels like a memory, but it's not.
Mike, what if your dad's wrong? Will either of you really know.
Sabrina, no way to tell who's right. You're probably both wrong and right, shaped by assumptions, experience and the emotions of the moment.