Day 377 - Mrs. Kruger Visited Me

Allow me to share with you a personal memory lane visit. Last night at physical therapy the candy dish on the counter caught my eye. Candy doesn't catch my eye and seize my attention often but it did then. It did last night because there was a certain Strawberry hard candy in the dish.

You see it pictured there. The wrapper of this candy has not changed since I first saw it as a toddler. That wrapper, that candy, is the connector to many of my early memories. Funny what triggers memories.  

Every time I see this candy, immediately I remember back to 1969, 70 and a neighbor of ours, Mrs. Kruger. We lived in Chicago on the 3rd floor of a large apartment building. Our back porch (if you could call it a porch) was shared by our neighbor next door, Mrs. Kruger. Picture Mrs. Cunningham and then visualize what she would have been like as a Grand Mother; that is Mrs. Kruger.

Several of the memories that occupy the wing of my brain which holds my earliest memories involve Mrs. Kruger. One of my favorites is her love of prunes. It was not uncommon for me to wander over to Mrs. Kruger's side of the porch and peek in her back door. Often she'd be sitting at her tiny kitchen table eating a bowl of prunes. She let me try one once and of course I thought it tasted like yuck!

For some reason I liked talking to Mrs. Kruger, I wish I could recall what we talked about. Being Mrs. Kruger she wasn't going to let me sit there while she eats alone. In 1969 what did you feed a fidgety four year old? That's right, candy! Mrs. Kruger also had a love for hard candy, specifically strawberry hard candy. She must have, because she always had a bowl heaping with just this strawberry hard candy nearby.

It would come to be that if I caught her while she was eating her bowl of prunes, she welcome me in to sit next to her at the table, she'd place the bowl of candy in front of me, and we'd eat and talk. After a few pieces she'd take the bowl away and that was good timing. Remember I was four, as nice as Mrs. Kruger was I only had the capacity for a few minutes of chit chat before I had to get going somewhere else to play.

I also have memories of the neighbor down stairs, Mrs. Heller; but they have nothing to do with candy and they aren't fond memories either. Perhaps another day I'll let you back into that wing of my brain for a Mrs Heller moment. More likely though I'll share more of Mrs. Kruger, actually, mark June 14th on your calendar for another Mrs. Kruger snippet.

Memory triggers... strawberry hard candy triggers fond memories for me.

What is it that when you see it (or hear, smell perhaps), what is it that triggers distant memories to instant recall for you?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!

Day 305 - Memories Are So Odd

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Today is day 305 of my mission. Yesterday 304, tomorrow Lord willing will be 306. Now that I have the math out of the way allow me to entertain myself, and you, with why the number 305 is bouncing around my head like my niece bounced around my family room this past weekend.

How often does 305 pop up? OH it does at times when channel-surfing the TV, or when the amount to be paid is $3.05, or when a crash in the race I'm watching occurs on lap 305; the number really does pop up more often that one would expect. Whenever I see the number 305, my mind instantly reminds me that my 3rd grade classroom number was 305. I cannot tell you what my 2nd grade, or fourth grade classroom numbers were, or any other grades room number.

What happened in room 305 that burned that number into my memory so?

Dumplings. Anytime I see Chicken & Dumplings on a menu, on a buffet, or served at a dinner party; where ever it may be I almost always pass up on it. I know there is no way, NONE, they could be better than the dumplings my Great Grandma Bella used to make. When I hear the word dumpling, I think immediately of her. I'm sure she'd appreciate knowing that is how I remember her best.

We're her dumplings really that amazing that passing all other dumpling opportunities is justified?

Pencils, you may recall for Hanukkah I shared this story of my encounter with Sheldon Reese with you. To this day when I see a freshly sharpened pencil, or hear a pencil sharpener doing its thing; I instantly am reminded of Sheldon and look upon anyone armed with a pencil with a cautionary glare.

I have other memory triggers which I find odd. But those are enough to give you sense of how my mind looks backwards as well as forwards. We do need to leverage our past experiences, our memories, to help us forge better results ahead. But for the life of me I cannot figure out how 305, Dumplings & Sheldon popping in my head as they do does much for forging anything more than a smile and occasional chuckle.

Got Odd Memories?

Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!