Finding my childhood by Patricia A. Smith When my sister and I were children, we used to spin the globe that sat on its pedestal in our family room (or “library” as my parents used to call it). The game was simple. One of us would close our eyes and have our index finger against the globe, while the other one gave it a furious spin. Wherever our finger stopped was “where” we were supposed to end up visiting. I always ended up at exotic destinations while my poor sister seemingly repeatedly got stuck in Cleveland. Damn, that globe was truthful and good to me. She ended up living back in Cleveland if that’s any indication. I recently reconnected with an old friend whom I haven’t seen or spoken to in almost 30 years. That may seem like a long time, but when you get to be my age, it really only seems like yesterday. And in dog years, it’s a couple of centuries, so I’m not complaining. Between the two of us, we’ve covered a lot of territory on the world map. When it comes to relationships though, certain countries light up as if they caught fire (Italy, anyone?) when either of us visited. Not for nothing, but there is a black hole when it comes to places like Dubuque, Iowa, which neither of us have ever visited or seen. Coincidence? I think not. As we caught up on our respective life histories, she mentioned the globe that she vividly remembered and how fascinated she had been by it as a youngster. She also eerily (and accurately) reminded me of details about our house that I hadn’t thought of, much less ever considered, in years. And then she brought up that globe. Bernadette has my mom’s entire collection of Vogue magazines that she amassed over several decades, which were gifted to her before she went off to study fashion and design (where else, but Italy?). She claims that she can draw (to scale) a complete (and accurate) rendering of my childhood home where so many memories still live inside her mind, while I can barely remember details of this afternoon. Sometimes, finding your childhood requires somebody else’s recollection. I’m glad she has a photographic memory. I can’t wait to see what I’d like to remember.
Posted on: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:50:12 +0000
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