Early childhood memories

In my Facebook group Randomness of a Paulinerose I did a little discussion board about people's first childhood memories.
The reason for this was lately I been noticing my kid remembering things from when she was two or three. It is just odd for me because when I think about my earliest childhood memory I come across to scattered pictures of random things. I see a clear ashtray full of butts and a round table with a plastic table-cloth on it that has like blue and green flowers. I have no idea where that came from but I know I was small because I can see the underneath of the table. I remember touching the cold steel of the legs as well and hiding under there. I remember a big fluffy cat but that has to be from a different house because that memory is not associated with my memory of this table at all. I remember sitting on my grandfather's (that I referred to as PopPop- my mom's father) legs in his chair as we watched Bonanza . I remember that it was a black and white television and that every so often the reception would go out and if you just banged on the floor it would come back. I remember the old antennae to sitting on top of the television. This was an era with no remotes and antennas where you had to adjust them to get anything in. I remember him smoking cigars and the sweet smell that came from some of them. I remember his oxygen tank and how my grandma came in and rubbed his shoulders. It was a weird memory. I remember my Aunt Shirley when she had some wild-looking hair. It was literally two different shades of colors. I remembered this before I recently even seen a picture of her with this hair. In the picture she sits with my cousins and her ex-husband and me all dressed up and I think it is Christmas. I think this is one of the last memories I have of a big family get together and I hope to have more of those in the future. I remember baby Charlie but I don't remember Uncle Charlie who gave him to me. I remember yellow curtains that smelled of smoke and now that I am thinking of it maybe they were white at one time and the nicotine got to them. I remember a short square woman in a leather jacket with a short tight curled hairdo. I have no idea who she is. I remember a woman who smelled of Gardenia that had long brown hair next door to us at some point. I remember the apartment I used to live in. I remember waking up and coming home to my whole apartment smelling of smoke, the air thick and pungent. I remember crying. I remember my mother holding me. I remember my father in a cab smiling at me and waving as he left for work. I don't have just ONE really good memory. I just have bits and pieces. So, I was curious as to who had what and what people truly remember.


I got only one response but it was such a great response. This is an early memory of Shanna Brice:

" My first memory was when I was about two years old. I was at a picnic somewhere, think maybe my grandmother's, when this dog jumped up on the table and stole the chicken off my plate. I got upset and had to tell everybody "Dog thole thicken!" Which, because I was OCD at obviously at early age, I suddenly had this sense of having to keep saying it or something bad would happen. My mom claims I repeated that line for about two hours until I managed to pass out on the floor in the sewing room."


I love how we remember things. I love what it is that makes us remember. Every so often the smell of something in the air, the sound of something like a car horn or television show that just shocks us into remembering things. It is interesting how our mind truly works.

What is your earliest childhood memory?

To end this I leave you with a YouTube video of Bonanza :

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfULKwf1uqw&fs=1&hl=en_US]