How Far Back Does Your Memory Go? (page 7)

StAnn

(I was pissed off even as a baby).

LOL at KoolAid!

StAnn

AWAKE&WATCHING

I was around 2, not sure exactly how old though.

I was jumping on the bed and landed on the floor resulting in a broken collarbone. What I actually remember is flying through the air and seeing my mom and my grandma through the doorway.

There is nothing quite like returning to an old neighborhood that you had moved away from as a young child and having it all come back to you. That happened to me when I visited Stone Mountain, Georgia a few years ago and saw things I haven't seen since I was 6. It was amazing seeing certain buildings, certain hiding places, certain bends in the road, and realizing that I remembered them even though I hadn't seen or thought about them for thirty years. And it was funny remembering some things that the locals generally didn't remember. In 1975 or so there was a big fire in the main street along the railroad tracks and I watched it burn to the ground from a grassy knoll on the opposite side. I walked into stores in that area and asked people if they remembered that event. Only one old lady said she remembered it. And I noticed even little things that changed. I used to be able to see Stone Mountain from my house but in the 30 years hence the trees grew tall enough to block out the view.

I have so many memories from my life there, from when I was 5 and 6. It annoys me a bit when my bf doesn't believe I can remember back that far; he doesn't remember anything from that time in his childhood. But I can remember maybe a hundred or more memories.

coffee_black

I think I was around 2. I still slept in my crib....I remember all the details of my room.

Coffee

Lady Lee

Leo

By 5 or 6 it is very normal to recall many things.

I too have gone back to some of the places I lived.

When I was 5-6 we lived over a Kodak store It was still there after 40 years and still had the Kodak sign over the door. Our "backyard" was the roof of the back of the store. And while I thought it was very high as a kid, when I went around the back of the building I discovered it wasn't even a normal sized building. Our "yard" was no more than 5 feet off the ground. I could easily draw a floorplan of that and almost place we lived in after that.

slimboyfat

We live in a hyperreal age.

What's the earliest news story you can remember?

I think I can remember when the Brighton bombing happened. I was about two and a half. I can't think of any news story before that. And I can remember the miner's strike that went on into 1985.

(Link in case the Brighton bombing is a bit parochial)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton_hotel_bombing

rebel8

Interesting question, slim. I remember Charles Manson's trials, and one of my friends making marks on her forehead and writing Helter Skelter on my chalkboard. I was 2-4.

I have memories from age 1.5 when I had medical procedures--verified the details years later, and they were not details we had been discussing in the interim. They were very frightening and I felt as though I needed to be aware of exactly what was going on so I could make sure no one was doing the procedure incorrectly. My mom said I learned to talk very young and she thinks this is why, as I had these procedures quite regularly for a number of years & felt the need to understand and communicate.

I believe my Child Psychology courses discussed the propensity of eldest children in families to have greater recall of early childhood, due to being exposed to more adults. I don't know what the current research has found.

Leolaia

I remember watching Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977. Is that the earliest? I can't say I recall Vietnam or Watergate. Oh I know, I remember when Freddie Prinze died. I was so shocked and everyone was talking about it at school the next day. That was in January 1977. Hmm, same month as Carter's inauguration.

PrimateDave

I have a few memories from when I was 2 years old. I remember playing outside the house my family lived in. These memories are rather hazy, but I know they are mine and not events recounted to me by my parents later. I have much clearer memories from 3 years of age. I remember going to the KH, the mobile home my family lived in, the neighbor's kids, the first time I ever saw and held a turtle. I remember taking a long trip. I remember the first song that caught my attention: "Fool on the Hill," the version by Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66. By the time I was 4 we lived in a different city. My memories of that time are much clearer still. Vietnam and Watergate were in the news. I learned that other kids would lie to me. I remember the next door neighbor had a really big dog, probably a Saint Bernard. I remember my first real snowfall. I guess I could go on and on.

Dave

StAnn

I don't remember my first news story. I just remember that Walter Cronkite was a fixture in our house. We watched him every evening.

Well, my dad watched Cronkite. When he wasn't home, my mom watched what I called "Hunkey Brinkey."

I was born just a few months before Kennedy was assassinated (John, not Robert) so I think that's when TV news really took off.

StAnn

How Far Back Does Your Memory Go?

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