Well, that was a wild experience…
My absolute oldest memory is from when I was barely two years old. It’s been the only memory from being that young that I’ve been able to recall for as long as I can remember. Years ago, by describing the locale of the memory to my parents, there was zero question of where and when the memory came from: the apartment we living in at the time in Tempe, Arizona.
This past week, after a completely unrelated dream, I’ve been on a little bit of a nostalgic kick regarding my very young childhood. So, just on a whim I decided to see if I could find some photos of that old complex (as well as several other locations from that time in my life) on the web.
I not only found the apartment complex, but it still exists, was recently bought out a real estate company, the entire complex remodeled though structurally unchanged, and they have a virtual tour of an apartment… which by some insane coincidence, is the exact same apartment we lived in (made obvious by the specific unique view through the windows).
So… then it happened. The place has been modernized (from over 40 years ago), painted, re-floored, and remodeled, but virtually every core element of the structure and layout is the same. As I walked through the virtual tour, an insane trove of lost memories just suddenly… unlocked (?), like a tidal wave.
The spot I where I was sitting when I first accidentally learned how to whistle, spilling the bowl of black olives in the kitchen because I was trying to stick one on every finger for some reason, the spot where my yellow checkered playpin with the multi-color balloon pattern sat in the living room, playing with wrapping paper tubes with my Dad and how hilarious I thought it was when I would peek through to see him looking through the other end, pulling ‘fuzzballs’ off the fabric of the brown/black zigzag pattern couch we had, and what I think must have been one of my first daydreams and how it spooked me, and… well, a lot more.
Of course, I realize this is all sort of meaningless to anyone but me, but it feels like I just suddenly discovered a past life or something. I’m actually a little bit shook (just a little bit), but enough that I’m compelled to post about it.
The human brain is so weird.