The Fog of Memory

Post #101

I've been participating in an art project with some artists I don't know. Their project sounded interesting and now that I am in the thick of it I have some real memory work to do.

I've been asked to answer one or both of the following questions:

Please tell us about a happy childhood memory

and/or
Please tell us about a traumatic scene from your past.


It's a lot to think about... so I don't know what stories I'll choose to tell.

My siblings and I fought a great deal... There were a few run-ins with glass doors and such... my sister threw a hammer at me once - with great force! Luckily she was a terrible shot. I fell out of a tree sneaking out the window one July 4 or 5. There was the time the ladder collapsed with Mom on it and my Dad, who is handicapped was trapped holding the lapper up with spilled paint over his head.

Of course none of that compared to the stigma of being the weirdo arty kid in the public school system. The traumas of junior high and highschool scar some people for life: friends betraying friends, bullys making fun of others... being picked last for any team sport... even my beloved husband suffered as a boy when a young black kid threw rocks at him (and he was a very good shot).

Weirdly enough the traumatic memories flow like a river but I have to dig deeper for the happy ones. My siblings and I loved the Beverly Hillbillies. We were somewhere between toddlers and preschool in age range when this program was broadcast weekly. My mom would use it as a reward for good behavior. As soon as the Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs theme song started playing we all three would go beserk! We would wiggle all over the floor and do belly rolls... jump up and down... it must have been something to see - and this was when the world of television was black and white! Oh, there are more but few are as sweet and pure as that one. I do remember being so excited about Christmas that I literally couldn't sleep the night before.

Addendum:
Its hard for me to think of anything in my life as traumatic compared to the horrors I read about in the paper. The Harvey's, Katrina's wrath, the tsunami... one thing I wish the news could do is make people realize how friggin lucky they are to have food, shelter and the freedom to do whatever they want in their lives instead of blaming "the man" for their lack of happiness or success.