The picture above is one of the pictures from the batch I was working on. It was taken in the summer of 1968 in South Bend, IN. Mom had driven us west that summer to visit her family in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. The picture must have been taken by Aunt Ruby in her living room.
Aunt Ruby owned a two family house in South Bend and the upstairs apartment was rented out to Notre Dame students, so in the summer it was vacant and that is where we stayed. My trips to South Bend and Buchanan, MI as a child are all mixed up in my head. I know we visited Notre Dame, went swimming in Lake Michigan, visited Grandma in the nursing home and visited other family members but I don't recall what we did on which trip.
The one thing that I do remember about the trip in 1968 was that my sister took a tumble down the stairs from the apartment. I don't remember how or why she fell but I remember being frightened. Aunt Ruby must have been out because Mom put us all in the car and drove to the hospital. My brother and I were left to sit by ourselves in the waiting room while Mom went with our sister to be seen by the doctor.
They seemed to be gone forever and I remember sitting in the chair and blubbering away. There was an older woman there and she did her best to comfort me even though I'm certain she must have had worries of her own. I know my brother was there but I can't "see" him.
My sister had a concussion but was otherwise fine. I don't remember leaving the hospital or anything else for certain from that trip.
I know that lots of people have very clear memories of their childhoods. All I have are little bright flashes that seem to be all jumbled up.
1 comment:
Interesting. I don't remember much about my childhood, before I was 11 or so, either. I remember the apartment above the funeral home, we lived there till my grandma died in 1957, when I was sick. But I don't have any details, or coherent events. Flashes, like you said, is a good way to describe it. Mom was forever saying, "Remember when?", but I never could. My brother also often asked "Remember when?" when Mom was sick, I guess reminiscing was what we were supposed to do between emergencies. But I didn't remember most of the things he did.
Post a Comment