Memories

As promised, I wanted to remark a little on memories. Why do some events mark themselves so indelibly in our minds while others are totally forgotten? Some of my oldest memories are:

• Just starting to toddle around in Japan, I remember this huge rock that was difficult for me to climb up on. It was black, relatively smooth with nooks and crevices, relatively flat on top and I remember it was great fun. Looking back at pictures in albums, I have come to realize this huge rock was only 18 to 24 inches tall and probably 2 1/2 feet by 4 feet in width and length. Not really so huge.
• I have a memory of looking over the rail of a ship, I assume it was a ship as the wall below me looked like it was rusted metal, people on the left and right were dumping buckets of small fish over the rail and into the water below. Other fish were rolling over themselves and jumping to eat the small fish as they were dropping down. There were also many seagulls trying to snatch the small fish before they fall into the maelstrom below. I believe we travelled by ship to Japan after I was born and I believe this is the only memory that has stuck with me from before the age of 2 or so. Other clues are; I distincly remember it was my mother holding me up to see the feeding of the fish and don't remember anything about my father during this event.
• Later in Japan, I remember that the morning after the 4th of July, we were burning sparklers the night before and dropping them to the patio edge on the other side of the railing. The visual illusion to a 2 or 3 year old was one of great height over the bushes below. I remember climbing over the decorative block rail and picking up the spent sparklers while stretching my hand up, to hold onto the edge of the rail.
• I got my first bike when I was 7. It was an adult 3 speed and after my Dad finished putting it together, I layed on the floor by the pedal chain sprocket and looked up at the bike. The visual illusion I remember was one of a bike that was 10 feet tall. Of course this was not so, but why do I remember it as such?

My memories start to come back strongly after the age of 6 or so. The more I dwell on a certain age after 6 the more I remember from those times. Some of the dredged up memories spark others from earlier times that I thought were already forgotten.

Maybe we only have a limited number of memories allowed by the pathways we have developed in our brains. Forgetfulness may just be our bodies way of making room for new memories. I don't know and this subject is getting a little deep for 10:54 pm.

Time for me to get ready for bed ... More to come for sure -