# How Far Back Does Your Memory Go?



## fmdog44 (Mar 25, 2018)

My memory kicked in when I was 5 years old. Oddly, it started on the day we moved to a new home. I recall almost nothing prior to that day.


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## Capt Lightning (Mar 26, 2018)

I do have some memories from when I was very young.  I didn't think that you could have memory going back that far, but some things obviously do.


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## Mizzkitt (Mar 26, 2018)

Bits and pieces from about 6 or 7 years old. None of it really clear so could be my over active imagination filling in the blanks.


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## Lara (Mar 26, 2018)

What was the question again?  Seriously though, I do remember my sweet "Gammie" in Ft. Lauderdale Florida taking me to a toy store to buy anything I wanted in the whole store. I picked out a doll and then she took me next door to the Howard Johnson's for a chocolate "Frosty" (milkshake). I was about 4 or 5.


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## rkunsaw (Mar 26, 2018)

I remember bits and pieces from before I was five. Now where did I put my cup of coffee?


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## Cap'nSacto (Mar 26, 2018)

I have a few memories that go back to when I was about 2 and a-half. My baby brother was born, I met my uncle for the first time (he'd come to live with us), and I discovered a food-storage shed and 4 or 5 huge crocks behind my great-grandmother's house. The crocks were used to keep meat, eggs, and olives. I remember these things very vividly. I even remember the smells in the food shed and around the lids of the crocks; primarily vinegar, salt, and dried alfalfa. I remember picking up potatoes from the straw beds in the shed, and biting into one. I took it to my mother, and she got very upset.

Between that time and my 5th birthday I only remember a few times that I spent talking with my uncle, and the times my little brother was very sick. He had bad asthma, and had to stay in a hospital a lot. But I have many more memories of things after age 5...a wider range of things. I think that's when your world suddenly gets bigger. At age 5 it seemed vast to me, and so populated.


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## TonyK (Mar 26, 2018)

I remember being taken to the hospital in a taxicab when I was around 2 or 3. I had the croup and after coming home had to breathe the fumes from a machine. I remember hearing adults talking about my sickness in the next room.


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## Myquest55 (Mar 26, 2018)

My first memory is of a winter outing.  I had a red snowsuit and was sitting on a sled while my parents ice skated around a frozen pond.  There were other people there and my focus was seeing the branches of shrubs & trees frozen in the ice.  I was younger than 2.  My father corroborates this.  I have other memories of single events all along the way. My younger siblings remember nothing before about 5th grade - interesting.


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## twinkles (Mar 26, 2018)

i can remember back when i was 3--my mom went to the store and my older sister was watching me --i was suppose to stay in the house untill she got back--i went out side and climbed the  clothes line pole i tried to get down and got hung on a hook and tore my new under wear-i stuck a pin in it but she found it come was day


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## Deucemoi (Mar 26, 2018)

somewhere around 2 or 3. I used to go down the street to a bar and play the pinball machine and drink cokes. I couldnt see the ball but I could see the back board light up. when mom came to find me she paid the bartender for the cokes and said it was cheaper than a babysitter


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## C'est Moi (Mar 26, 2018)

I'm guessing 4 or 5... before I started to school.   I remember my older brother and sister got to ride the school bus and I had to stay home.   We lived on a farm and my dad sat me up on a horse that then got spooked and ran away with me hanging on to the saddle horn.   My brother happened to be on his horse and chased us down.  

So just bits and pieces of things, but that's how I remember most of my life.


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## Gary O' (Mar 26, 2018)

my first ever vivid recollection was learning to swim


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## delawarelady (Mar 26, 2018)

I started remembering things at four years old  We lived in a long white ranchstyle house in Newport RI  I remember cows in the back yard


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## SifuPhil (Mar 26, 2018)

I remember ... 

... everything was horribly hot, and the swirling proto-planet was just then forming out of stellar dust ...

Seriously, I'd have to say I have a few spotty memories from around 4 or 5 years old. Playing in my room with the cat, reading Dr. Seuss, stuff like that.


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## AZ Jim (Mar 26, 2018)

My first vivid memory is from when I was two.  My folks took me to see the Hollywood Santa Parade in 1938.  That was magic to me.


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## NancyNGA (Mar 26, 2018)

It's hard to pin down a date for memories. Some memories when you are a kid are not very "memorable" events. lol

I remember the first time I was old enough (or tall enough) to turn on the light switches.  Freedom at last!!! 

And when one old picture was taken, that looks like I was about 3, but I can't judge kids ages very well.


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## Gary O' (Mar 26, 2018)

I do have one genuine unforgettable memory spark;
sticking a fingernail file into a light socket

(not kidding)


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## Marie5656 (Mar 26, 2018)

*I would say 4 or 5 years old.  I remember kindergarten...as it was in an older school that was closed a year or two after I went there.  I also have memories of my grandmother, who died when I was 5 years old.*


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## Lon (Mar 26, 2018)

I can remember squinting at the bright lights and hearing nurses voices in the delivery room where I was born.


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## MarkinPhx (Mar 26, 2018)

I think I remember bits and pieces when I was 2 or 3 but not sure if they are true memories or not. The first vivid memory I have is when I was around 4 and almost had the top part of my finger chopped off by an axe that was left out by one of the neighbors parents. I was in the backyard and one of my friends took the ax and hit it on my finger. I still have the stitch marks from it. I remember the crying and the visit to the emergency room. I can pretty much piece my memories together since then but not as much in detail as I use to be able to remember them.


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## john19485 (Mar 26, 2018)

I remember, me and dad at the old home place , he was Navy WW11, first time I ever saw him shed a tear, was when I boarded a plane to go back to Vietnam


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## RadishRose (Mar 26, 2018)

MarkinPhx said:


> I think I remember bits and pieces when I was 2 or 3 but not sure if they are true memories or not. The first vivid memory I have is when I was around 4 and almost had the top part of my finger chopped off by an axe that was left out by one of the neighbors parents. I was in the backyard and one of my friends took the ax and hit it on my finger. I still have the stitch marks from it. I remember the crying and the visit to the emergency room. I can pretty much piece my memories together since then but not as much in detail as I use to be able to remember them.



OMG that's brutal! No wonder you remembered it!


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## RadishRose (Mar 26, 2018)

john19485;7953I remember said:
			
		

> So touching John! I hope he was able to welcome you home and not worry too much.


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## RadishRose (Mar 26, 2018)

I remember things way back, things my mother said I couldn't possibly remember. Even now, I sometimes dream I'm in a place we lived and moved out of before I was four. I remember sleeping in a crib.

I remember being in a chair, behind what I now know was a cake and 2 candle flames in front of me, but I can't remember the colors of anything- mostly the 2 candle flames.


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## moviequeen1 (Mar 26, 2018)

I was 6 or 7,walking to the local elementary school which was 3 blocks from our house. My siblings and I would come home for lunch every day,for some reason I couldn't understand why we had to go back in the afternoon


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## fmdog44 (Mar 26, 2018)

The red head actress on the TV series Taxi has a memory that enables her to remember literally everything. I watched an interview with her and she stated their are several people with this type of memory. Example; if you asked here what she wore on any date in her life she can tell you or any grade she got in first grade etc. I am not sure that would be a good thing.


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## Pappy (Mar 26, 2018)

I can remember most things from 4 years old and up. I had a vivid imagination of things I did as I didn’t have many kids to play with until we moved into town for a couple years. My main problem now is, I can’t remember what I did yesterday.


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## Camper6 (Mar 26, 2018)

Gary O' said:


> I do have one genuine unforgettable memory spark;
> sticking a fingernail file into a light socket
> 
> (not kidding)



Wow.  I remember a rotary switch in the hall which when you unscrewed the knob,  the inside was exposed and we would touch it to get a shock.  I don't know how I ever survived childhood.


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## Olivia (Mar 26, 2018)

My most vivid memory as a young child about seven years old that has stayed with me all my life, was when I lived in Hawaii that time. And at the property behind the house I lived in was kind of a tin house. And myself and a couple of my friends would go back there to play.  I do remember one time that the front of that house was open, and me looking in saw a very old man seated in a wheel chair and at that moment, both of us locked eyes across the room. It's odd but as I said I always remembered that. And I'm sure at that age, I didn't have any wise thoughts about it. But looking back, it was a very young girl at the beginning of her life connecting with a man near the end of his. Just thinking about it makes me emotional.

Anyway, the next time my friends and I went back there, he was gone.


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## jujube (Mar 26, 2018)

I can remember an event that happened when I was 20 months old.  My mom verified my age and that it had really happened when I was that age.


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## ProsperosDaughter (Mar 28, 2018)

My first memory occurred at about 18 months. I told my mother what I remembered and she told me when it happened.


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## moviequeen1 (Mar 28, 2018)

fmdog44 said:


> The red head actress on the TV series Taxi has a memory that enables her to remember literally everything. I watched an interview with her and she stated their are several people with this type of memory. Example; if you asked here what she wore on any date in her life she can tell you or any grade she got in first grade etc. I am not sure that would be a good thing.



HI,the actress you are referring to is Marilu Henner who played"Elaine' on Taxi'78-'83. I agree with you,there are some things in my life I rather not remember,too painful memories Sue


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## Falcon (Mar 28, 2018)

Looks like Gary'Os'   memory  is the best.  Hope his Ma  and  Pa  cleaned up that mess.


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## hollydolly (Mar 28, 2018)

I was 14 months old. 

This particular event had never been spoken about in our family at all by anyone, least of all my parents. I was 15 years old when I mentioned the memory to my mother, although I had no concept of my age . I'll never forget the look on her face as she spluttered, but you can't possibly remember that, you were only 14 months old.

She quizzed me a little and asked if I remembered anything else from that particular period and I was able to clearly recall 3 separate events that happened over a period of several days ...she was astonished


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## SeaBreeze (Mar 28, 2018)

I don't remember any exact age or circumstances, but I remember I was still in the crib but standing up.  I always shared a room with my brother or sisters, so I was listening and watching what was going on around me, luckily nothing bad.


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## LoneRogue (May 10, 2018)

hollydolly said:


> I was 14 months old.
> 
> This particular event had never been spoken about in our family at all by anyone, least of all my parents. I was 15 years old when I mentioned the memory to my mother, although I had no concept of my age . I'll never forget the look on her face as she spluttered, but you can't possibly remember that, you were only 14 months old.
> 
> She quizzed me a little and asked if I remembered anything else from that particular period and I was able to clearly recall 3 separate events that happened over a period of several days ...she was astonished



Interesting for sure. My earliest memory was getting my tonsils removed. It is only that I was later told that it was when I was 4YO. I've always thought that I should remember earlier things but that they were just not that noteworthy as being told that I would be able to eat all the ice cream I wanted. (g)


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## Keesha (May 10, 2018)

This topic is really strange because I remember more than the average person. 
I was born in England as a blue baby. I choked on the chord and it was traumatic for both my mom and I. 
While I don’t have vivid memories of it , I do have feeling memories of it. 
When I was left in my crib for too long I’d manage to find a way out after a while. I’m not sure how old I was but I did have vivid memories of looking around my room etc., I don’t remember details. 

One day I met my mom chatting with the store clerk down the road which wasn’t far.  She was mad. I remember breaking my brothers collarbone by jumping on his back from a front porch. School was also something I enjoyed and remember. I went to school at 3 years old for the entire day and learned more then than I did in kindergarden when I got older. We learned words like ‘LOOK’ and my teacher told me to fill in the O’s like eyes and I never forgot that. There was a big stone fence around our school that I always wondered about because I couldn’t see over it. I remember a LOT from way back. The double decker busses, the milkman, the fields down the road, foggy days, our fat cats Nebby & Frisky.

There are many things I remember that has always surprised people but according to my parents, my memories have been accurate. Oddly enough my short term memory is horrible ! Lol


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## Manatee (May 10, 2018)

I was 3 when my father bought a brand new 1937 Chevy.  I still have the bill of sale around someplace.  It was around $700.
My most vivid recollection was of my big sister coming in and saying "The Japs bombed Pearl Harbor".  I knew vaguely who the Japs were, but had no idea where Pearl Harbor was.


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## Meanderer (May 10, 2018)




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## JaniceM (May 14, 2018)

fmdog44 said:


> The red head actress on the TV series Taxi has a memory that enables her to remember literally everything. I watched an interview with her and she stated their are several people with this type of memory. Example; if you asked here what she wore on any date in her life she can tell you or any grade she got in first grade etc. I am not sure that would be a good thing.



For me, it's only hairy when interacting with people who don't have that ability-  a fact I didn't even know til I became acquainted with the internet.  But for me, it's less about 'memory' than a very different concept of time and time-frame than most people have.


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