28 March 2009

Memory

I am beginning to wonder if this project - Eddie's idea that I should write 'memoirs' - was really such a good idea.

The problem is that the thing has acquired a life of its own - and the first few have had kittens. The other day, I was wondering what all to write about next. There are the obvious things - school, beginnings of music, etc - but I began thinking of rather more specific things - incidents, friends, adventures, interests, and so forth.

Here is a list that I wrote down in a few minutes at that time, just off the top of my head. Most of them will mean nothing to any of you, though a few may ring the odd bell in Peter's recollections:

  • first aeroplane sighting
  • earthquake (1952)
  • Robin Dalley
  • Karen Stone
  • Mary Carol Street
  • Being a crossing guard
  • Tommy Stanton
  • Jimmy Wallace
  • YMCA camp
  • Scouting
  • Daryl Rush
  • Stephen and John Dewey
  • Patsy Edmonds
  • Debbie Johnson
  • Donald Langston
  • Trip to Canada
  • astronomy
  • science fiction
  • piano
  • cornet
  • Pismo Beach
  • Union Avenue Plunge
  • Crosley
  • Lincoln (?)
  • 'woodie'
  • Zephyr
  • Austin (?)
  • icebox
  • mushrooms
  • bicycle brakes
  • cardboard labyrinth
  • pet monkey
  • pet mice
  • pit in vacant lot
  • spelling bees
  • Bronx orange trees
  • San Diego Zoo
  • Disneyland
  • Pius XII
  • Korea

Not that most of those bits and pieces could be a whole paragraph - but they are all bits of memory, and as I put them down more and more things float to the top - flotsam that I don't know what to do with.

I know what I'll do! I won't write about any of them! (this time, that is :-)). Instead - having just read Susan's little post for today - I will explain a bit of what she is referring to.

But I will do that in another post...

2 comments:

Edgy said...

Still seems like a really good idea to me :) just start chipping away at it, it doesn't need to be perfect just present... Maybe after a year or so you will have got through your childhood and started on your adult life.... I'm sure it ill get VERY interesting :)

John Thayer Jensen said...

I'm sure it ill get VERY interesting :)

not that interesting. There's enough bad stuff on the web already :-)