Family gatherings always allow for the conjuring up of old memories. Grown up siblings begin their tales:
Sister says, “Remember when we lived over in east Columbus and we put the Christmas tree in that front window and…
Brother interrupts, “No, we didn’t live in that house. We put the Christmas tree in the front window after we got to the new house.”
Sister insists, “No I’m sure it was in east Columbus.”
Another family member interjects, “Well anyway what were you going to say about the Christmas tree?”
By that time no one remembers what they were going to say about the Christmas tree and another family tale goes off in some other direction.
A speaker once pointed out that people remember events from their own perspective and in their own way. They are at the center of their own memory so it’s especially fun to listen to sibling memories. Often times an older sibling can fill in the spaces of younger siblings’ memories. Sometimes it just fun to hold on to the way you remembered your own memory.
A conversation on the diets of children led to Sam’s sharing at their house having a coke was a luxury that didn’t happen very often. In fact each child had their own glass water jar they were responsible for filling and putting in the refrigerator or else they’d be drinking tap water. Sam said, “Mine was a pickle jar. I remember that.”
I wondered about a pickle jar for drinking water. It’s almost impossible to get that pickle smell out of a pickle jar. Maybe that’s why Sam doesn’t care for pickles to this day.
Sam’s family, Mom, Dad, and the three kids, spent a lot of holidays traveling to relatives’ homes. Returning through Macon the family would stop at an old service station and Sam would get a NuGrape. He described the soft drink as the best thing he ever tasted and said he downed the whole thing before they left the parking lot.
I suggested he not drink a NuGrape again and leave the memory. “Remember the Zero,” I warned.
Returning from a MSU baseball game in Hoover we stopped for gas and a snack. Sam picked up a Zero candy bar, “I remember these from when I was a child. They were the best tasting candy bar. I think I’ll get one.”
Sam is normally a Snicker’s bar fan but that day he chose the Zero.
We hadn’t even gotten on Highway 82 when he said, “This is not nearly as good as I remember. I’m so disappointed. I hate I ruined that memory.”
When Sam’s sister, Rose, arrived for the Thanksgiving I asked her about the water jars they kept in the refrigerator. Rose said, “Yes, we all had jars. I remember being about 6 years old and drinking Sam’s water, I tried to refill it before he found out and I broke it. I cut myself and had to get stitches.
Sam said, “I don’t remember that.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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