Recalling my first memory

I guess a good way to start off writing about my life is my first memory from childhood. As you may have noticed, I enjoy writing rules for me to live my life. I guess that's one of the many things that forces me to live as a loser, so I have rules for what should constitute a first memory.

1. There cannot be any photos, video, film or audio recording of the event you describe.

2. No one can have told you about the event before you start remembering it.

3. You watching a historical event on TV does not count. However, if you personally experienced the historical event, I will grant you some leeway.

4. It helps if you can recall the period of time when the memory took place, but I won't knock off points for not knowing the exact date.

Some people will make claims about their first memory at the age of two or three, but I'm certain if they did some research, they would find that there was some sort of image regarding that memory. The question becomes: Do they actually remember what happened or do they just remember the image?

So, here is my first memory. I have pinpointed the exact date, although I have to admit I was unaware of how the date system worked at the time. Anyway, it was 12/19/1969. I was 5 and Loyd was 2. My family lived next door to the school where Dad taught the 5th grade. He brought us to school with him one afternoon. It happened to be the last day before the Christmas break and the class was having a Christmas party. Loyd and I sat in the back of the class. I remember receiving a brown bag that had an apple, an orange and some nuts inside it. I know that I was aware that it was the Christmas season and that Christmas meant Santa Claus. To the best of my knowledge, no one back then would have had a camera to take pictures in the classroom.

Now, I do have other memories of things that took place before then, but they go against my rules. I remember the moon landing in the summer of 1969. I do recall that I was rather disappointed in the images from the moon because they weren't in color. Yes, landing on the moon was not high-tech enough for me. Even though I remember that little tidbit about my feelings during the moon landing, and I never shared them with anyone at the time, it doesn't count because it is tied to a huge historical event. Please keep in mind that even though I remember the moon landing, I knew nothing about Woodstock or Charles Manson at the time.

I also remember a summer when my parents went to college to work on their Masters degrees. They would go up every summer and we would live in campus housing set aside for families. Once, they told me I was going to school. Maybe I was 4 at this time. I recall that I spent a couple of days talking with some woman. We mostly stayed outside. If we weren't talking, I would so some reading. It didn't really seem like what I thought school would be. Years later, my Dad told me that at about that age, he and Mom were concerned because I wasn't talking very much. So, they had someone from the college meet with me to see if there was anything wrong. After those meetings, the response was that I could talk fine. I just didn't have anything to say. Again, I didn't remember any of that until he told me. That sparked the memory, but it's still fuzzy, because I don't remember if it was only one day that I did that, or if it took place over two days. Even enhanced memories are not 100% clear.