Memories

As my recovery continues my long term memory is slowly returning.  I wondered if the various chemotherapy treatments I have had would permanently suppress my memory. Getting older also has taken a tole on all our memories, I suppose.

Last week Rachel visited while she tried to attend several Millsaps College committee meetings.  Rachel has often had an effect on my memory in a good way.  Maybe it is because she was such a big part of my life growing up.  So many of my recollections are not necessarily of Rachel, but of our family and the life we had together. I can remember details about people and places that most would think uncanny.  In fact, she was amazed at my memories because she was right there when the things I remembered happened but she did not have these memories. So it begs the question. Why can I remember such small often insignificant details of things that happened 50 years ago? How do I remember the places and the tiny details of locations? I really don't know the answer but usually enjoy these memories.

Because I have this memory for past times and the stories of our life growing up I enjoy "story telling" or story writing. Some of my memories often get confused with the stories that I heard from family members like my mother or an aunt or uncle or grandparent. So when I write or tell a story you may realize that I tend to embellish the truth. That's OK as long as I'm true to the people and places who were there. So it it that my memory of the classic Andy Griffith comical record album in the late 1950's is offered.  This record was done before the fame that he enjoyed on television when he was a country spun comedian and singer. I present one of the great story tellers of my youth presenting a classic:  "What It Was, Was Football"
It was my memory of our house in Meridian and the living room where the stereo console record player was located that brought back that Andy Griffith memory. We owned that record along with many others including a racy recording by Brother Dave Garner entitled "Kick Thine On-self". The five of us in my family would gather in the living room and enjoy listening to records together. Later, Daddy remodeled the house and added two new bedrooms and a bathroom. He also converted part of his basement workshop into a full-sized den complete with a wood burning fireplace. The new den was located directly under the living room upstairs so he installed two stereo speakers in the den's ceiling that were connected to the living room stereo. In that way we could remotely play our records and music without having to have a new record player in the den.

These two memories happen for me because I learned to unlock my memory by using a "key".