This was inspired by humanodon's post about the snapping turtle, where I left this comment:
- One of my odest memories is of this guy named Phillip that was a teenager when I was just 5 or 6 years old. I was walking passed his house on my way home from school and he had caught a giant snapping turtle in a big turtle trap. It was an aluminum box the size of a large microwave. He and his friends had released the turtle in their yard and had surrounded it in a circle. They put a large stick in it's mouth and it had a strong grip of it. They pulled on the stick, elongating the neck and chopped it's head off right in front of me. I remember the eyes still moving in it's head and the body of the turtle still walked around for a bit with it's head chopped off.
It was horrible.
They made soup.
I have one other memory that sticks with me above all others that I'll leave in the comments after someone else dives in.
I was 4, maybe 3. We were visiting a cottage and had gone boating on the lake. My mother got off the boat first. My father and his friend lifted each of the three children out of the boat onto the dock. The two men were busy securing the boat to the dock. My brother and sister had run to the beach after my mother. I was standing on the dock, briefly, and then I was sinking. Into the deep. My head was underwater, and I was not touching bottom. All I could think to do was hold my breath and put my hands up - My mother, over on the beach, on the other side of the dock, saw me fall in and ran to the edge of dock, knelt down, found my hands and pulled me up. jeeezuz -- what were they thinking? It's so easy to lose a kid.I have one other memory that sticks with me above all others that I'll leave in the comments after someone else dives in.
Speaking of diving in - how about falling in?
- When I was four, I really wanted to go to school since my brother could and I couldn't. I saw a bus go by in the window [not a school bus, but I was too young to know the difference] so I quickly ran and put on my shoes hoping that the bus would wait. It didn't, astonishingly. - When I was five [2002] I remember seeing the year anniversary of 9/11 on television. I was confused as to what I was watching, then my dad told me that someone flew a plane into the Pentagon, but that it happened a year ago. I incorrectly concluded that if you set the date on your television to a year ago, that it'll play shows from a year ago. - When I was six, I remember passing a nuclear power plant on a road trip. I asked my dad what it was, and he said it was a cloud factory.
- When I was six, I remember passing a nuclear power plant on a road trip. I asked my dad what it was, and he said it was a cloud factory.
Once again, your dad sounds like a really interesting guy with an active imagination. Good on him for attempting to pass that along.
I have a few, although age/year may be a little off. - About 6yo, up the north coast of NSW Australia; family holiday, and we went fishing in the beach town we were staying in. For whatever reason, my rod fell into the water (maybe 2-4 feet deep); I still recall my rather jumping in to retrieve it, and the spiralled orange plastic loop on it meant to hold attach it to your belt; shining through the water. - About 6/7yo, I'd gone to a fete/garage sale at my school and bought what I was sure was a toy gun - metal, wood handle, 6 chamber revolver style; naturally, I took it to school to play with, and by elevemsiesnit was confiscated and I was in the principal's office. Was it a toy? Don't know. Did I get it back? Not a chance.
I think I was in 3rd grade and I was good friends with a girl I'll call "AJ." She wasn't like other girls. She was kind of a tomboy and really acted like one of the guys. She knew a bunch of dirty jokes and was tons of fun to be around. I think she was the only girl I invited to my birthday party. That summer she called me up and asked me to the beach. I asked if any of our other friends would be there and she said "no." I started getting sweaty and feeling kind of sick. I asked her to hold on and went to ask my dad, because I didn't know what to do. Being my dad, he teased me about it and then I made up some excuse and didn't go. Now when I like a girl, my mind flashes back to that moment. Nice one, 9 year old me.