Sunday, November 3, 2013

When It Comes To The Past...


When it comes to the past everyone writes fiction...  Stephen King
 
I just finished reading a new Stephen King novel, Joyland. It's about a college student and his summer working at a carnival.  By King standards it was very mild.  It brought to mind the games and festivities I grew up with living at a beach resort.  I really liked the quote, it made me think.
 
Now that my children, have children I have taken to sharing their childhood personalities with them. Their children are a lot like they were. My son was extremely bright, determined, and straight forward. My daughter was charming smart, loved people.  She also knew how to get what she wanted. 
 
I have countless stories, anecdotal's, and even their baby book quotes ( the bible of facts) to prove my points. They  question whether these things ever happened.  Of course they happened. They happened the way I tell them 25-30 years ago.  They don't remember. If I can add enough background info my son usually says , ok I think I remember. My daughter, accepts the story, but has no memory of it.
 
We had a phrase in kindergarten that was,  " that's about the size, where you put your eyes".  That's  what   the past has come down to. We view the world through our  unique lenses. I see what I see, I hear what I hear, and that is not necessarily what you see or hear. My memories, fiction for you even if you lived them right next to me.  Are you confused?  He ain't Stephen King for nothing.

1 comment:

  1. We are all stars on the stage of our own life's play, a rephrasing of Shakespeare. What we remember reflects our priorities and values, our subjective needs and personality, colored by our biases, even when we struggle to give a strictly objective report. Thus "eye witnesses" give radically differing accounts. I am constantly amused at a childhood friend's memory of my maternal grandfather. She had no living grandfather. She even refers to mine as Grandpa, which often causes me to pause until I realize who she means. But her memories are vivid and demonstrate how children absorb everything adults say and do. I am thankful that she has such happy memories that she shares with me of some stories I do not remember. I sometimes wonder if he told her stories when I wasn't present. Regardless, I enjoy hearing those stories now.

    Barbara

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