Freewrite #1 - My Earliest Memory


Okay this is my first freewrite, so I'll try to not make myself sound too foolish. My first memory happened when I was around 18 months to 2 years old. It is in the first house I remember growing up in, on Boland Avenue in the Lee Park portion of Wilkes-Barre, PA. It was evening or night time, since I remember it being dark outside, but I don't know what time of year it was. I just remember feeling very small. I was in the front room of the house, which was a two-story house on a small side street in a quiet neighborhood. The front door opened, and in walked two, what seemed like giant men, carrying large wooden speakers that went with a stereo system my parents had bought. I remember still having that stereo when we moved to another house, and playing Christmas records on the turntable - not CDs! The records we played on it were mostly 78 speed vinyl records, and later 45 rpm. But back to the first memory - I just remember how very small I felt in the world. I think I was wearing only a diaper at the time, and was in awe of these giant men delivering these giant objects to my house. My parents were nearby, but I don't remember seeing or hearing them speak. I was in my own little world at that time and completely focused on the delivery men. I don't know if I even knew at the time that they were bringing something we had bought. I may have filled in those gaps later as I grew more aware of the usefullness of these giant objects. This was probably one of the happier and more normal memories I have from my childhood. I do have quite a few memories from my time at that house, where I lived until I was four years old. I can remember rolling down the stairwell from my upstairs bedroom for fun. It was carpeted with a red carpet runner to soften the roll! I also have an early memory of a dream about a giant Mr. Peanut Man, who was in my kitchen talking to my Mom in the dream when I happened to wander in upon rising in the morning. At least I hope it was a dream and not some man dressed up like Mr. Peanut Man! If you don't know who he is, he was the icon from Planter's Peanuts. I must have seen the sign along another street in the city, where we had a Planter's factory!