Well, I have to say this about children. Not many people that I have asked have had memories from when they were infants or toddlers.
I do because I started reading at barely 2+, so I strongly remember the night I was sitting in my "Paw Paw's" lap (step-grandfather, essentially) reading to him from a book that I later found on the 'Net for my own daughter to read, the "Read It Yourself Storybook" from the early '70s..
:read-it-yourself:
I distinctly remember the first time I was able to put the letters together that I learned by myself from Sesame Street to form words, and could *actually* read them. This was a big deal and big goal for me as an infant/toddler, I STRICTLY REMEMBER this, because it WAS a BIG DEAL. Yet they mostly thought I just remembered the pictures and pages, and was just reciting shit.
So at age 3 or so I started reading the Holy Bible (among other things.) To me, even at that age, it sounded like utter horseshit. More fantasy than the fucking fairytales that I had started reading back to them, and had been read to. But I digress...
I have memories from having Measles around age 6mos, and distinctly remember my mother's sister holding me in a rocking chair as I felt like I was burning up, dying.. I was later told that my fever was incredibly high. This was no doubt exacerbated by my later immune problems that lead to tonsil extraction around age 5 or 6, and the loss of probably 30% of my hearing because of the constant infecfions..
The picture of this poor child was probably much like how I was.
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link to en.wikipedia.org]
I remember being in a crib and feeling like I was on fire, and everything I saw was BURNING RED, like it was glowing hot, Hellfire. And with a bizarre memory that was much like the boat trip on the Willy Wonka movie that I would see years later..
(Just found it, from 20 seconds on...)
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link to www.youtube.com]
There's no earthly way of knowing..
Which direction we are going..
There's no knowing where were rowing..
Or which way the river's flowing..
Is it raining, is it snowing?
Is a hurricane a blowing?
Not a speck of light is showing..
So the danger must be growing..
Are the fires of Hell a glowing?
Is the grisly reaper mowing?
YES!!!
The danger must be growing!
For the rowers keep on rowing!
And they're certainly not showing!
Any signs that they are slowing!!!That shit burned into me like a fucking fire, because I essentially experienced it, in a way.. Awful..
I don't know why I mention this, I guess I never mention the deep-down shit from early on in life, but strangely it becomes relevant some 30+ years later?
Weird.