Flashbacks

Last week I had a most remarkable flashback to an event in my childhood that I had all but forgotten.

I was getting ready for bed, undressing while standing in my walk-in closet in front a several laundry hampers (whites, colors, heavy, etc.) Dress pants that don’t need cleaning after one wearing are hung up. Most everything else goes into one of the hampers. On this night I had stripped down to just a t-shirt. That's when I noticed a stain on the pants I had just hung up. So, I took the pants off the hanger, pulled the belt from the keepers and put the pants in the hamper.

It was at this point that I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror to my left. Naked except for a t-shirt holding a belt by the buckle in my left hand I was transported back over fifty years to my grandparents house in Ohio. I was six or seven and had just been spanked by my grandfather. Not satisfied that I had been punished enough my grandfather had sent me up to his bedroom to fetch a leather belt from his wardrobe. When I opened the wardrobe door, I was startled when I saw my reflection in the mirror attached to the inside of the door. I was wearing only a t-shirt and I was an obviously sorry, sad little boy. I don’t have any memory of the spanking itself but I’m confident it was a good one. I do remember getting his belt from the wardrobe and taking it down the stairs to him. But I don’t remember the subsequent whipping. This triggered a wave of emotions that swept across me. A combination of sadness and shame. I did find myself feeling my butt cheeks just to check if they felt OK, which I found funny.

To me, the most remarkable thing was the triggering event. Standing, in only a t-shirt, holding a leather belt, seeing my reflection in a mirror to my left triggered such a clear memory.

I mostly wanted to share this remarkable event.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

What a good post John. I hope others chime in as I want to read them. I don't have any such memories that I can recall. Thanks for the share.

Mashie

For me , smell seems to be a trigger, a box if old broken crayons I think of kindergarten, wet leaves I think about walking home from school in the fall, Irish spring soap instantly brings back memories of getting my smart maouth washed out, to the point of gagging! Some men's cologne will also bring back unwelcome memories, some I've forgotten completely.

Very well written, John.....you constructed a great visual. I saw you standing there with that belt in your hand. Hey! --at least you were spared the added memory of the thrashing that may have followed after taking the belt back down to Grand-Pa.

the boxcar

Interesting topic! I sometimes get flashbacks just by visiting Zity, and a memory is sparked. A random example. As a young man, I found one day that I was living near a male sauna. (The entrance in a busy main road was not easily spotted.) One weekday afternoon, I decided to try it out - although never having been inside a sauna before. The short of it is that I somehow got chatting with an older, but pleasant guy who invited himself back to my place. It turned out that he was visiting Melbourne from Mildura on the Murray River. He said I would be welcome to stay with him up there, and a few weeks later I took him up on his offer. It made a brief but enjoyable holiday for me. For those of you who like salacious details, one night he asked me to let him photograph me nude! I wonder now what became of those photos!

- Ken

For me , smell seems to be a trigger, a box if old broken crayons I think of kindergarten, wet leaves I think about walking home from school in the fall, Irish spring soap instantly brings back memories of getting my smart mouth washed out, to the point of gagging! Some men's cologne will also bring back unwelcome memories, some I've forgotten completely.

I agree with this. Certain soap smells bring back my youth. My grandmother used Fels Naptha soap for certain things and I have run across it in the store once or twice since then and it brings her instantly to mind. We spent countless hours fishing at the lake. Now if I go somewhere where I get that lake smell it brings back my youth. I also like the smell of Ivory since that was our daily soap as a youngster.Mom did use it occasionally in the bag as well although that isn't my primary memory.

Smells are probably the most frequent triggers for memories. I read that smells are processed in more primitive areas of the brain. Smell and memory was important to survival. Eat/don't eat that, danger near, mate near etc. That's why I thought my visually triggered memory was unusual.