After getting Nefarious settled in summer camp I headed down to the airport (bumping into Rick Mercer on the ferry) and went flying… I’m working on getting my pilot’s license finished off quickly this summer. A friend of mine flies for relief organizations in Africa and I figure it can’t hurt to open up my options to finish off my training.
My first memory, which is quite clear and vivid, is of being in the womb, which may come as a surprise to people who know how spotty much of my recollection has been traditionally and how little of my early childhood I can picture. The reason that I remember it so well is that I dreamt about it when I was a baby, and that dream became recurring and I had it over and over and over until it was permanently etched. I recall both floating in a dark, warm, void, full of low rushing sounds and dull waves of colour, as well as the tactile and conscious-without-consciousness experience that’s harder to put into words. Today when I was talking to Nefarious as we drove home from the airport, I asked her what the oldest thing she could remember was, thinking that it would be a story from Mexico or something in that era. To my surprise, she began, “I remember floating in the purple water…” and went on to describe a very similar experience to what I remember it being like. I’ve never told her about my own memory (although I did after she told me this), so her answer was completely unprompted and I am fairly certain it’s genuine. I don’t think these memories are common, but maybe it runs in the family?
I’ve been chugging along on my book, writing chapter after chapter. For now, rather than doing it in a linear fashion, I’ve been choosing topics and writing them start to finish. Late on they can be edited either as is, or be brought together into a more traditional structure. I’m very much enjoying it, but I have to admit that I’d be mortified to have anyone read it! I’ve been completely open and honest, and told many stories completely for the first time, so it’s going to take some bravery to actually release it (to say nothing of having to OK the personal stories that include other people’s secrets).
So far I’ve got most of the story told up to about January ’97, and fragments up to 2000. So I suppose I’ve got it 1/4 on paper so far, if that. I have no idea if my stories will be interesting to other people, but getting it all down reminds me of how nutty and fun my life has been.
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Number of words: 38,100
Number of letters and digits: 164,950
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