Stage 2. Middle Childhood – The Explorer in the Garden
In the Interactive Table I say this is when I was 6-12 years old. The “Garden” was the West Hollywood neighborhood where I went to grades K-5 of elementary school. A major neighborhood feature was the city playground whose huge lawn was directly across the quiet street from our house. The “Explorer” was me as a very active and curious little boy, toward the end of this period exploring with my baby brother.
Age unknown. On the sidewalk in front of our house in West Hollywood. Just outside the left frame is the narrow street and the big lawn of Poinsettia Park.
One of my first memories is of playing along with records, with a pair of drumsticks on a little green wooden footstool. I was six years old in 1950, and really loved my dad. We would spend long hours together, with him playing his collection of jazz 78’s, and me drumming along on my little wooden stool. I had certain favorites, usually happy up-tempo Dixieland numbers. Somewhere around the house I still have the home disc recording he made of me playing along with “South” by Pete Daly and his Chicagoans. It’s old and scratchy enough to be almost unlistenable now, but it still has that infectious bouncy beat, and there’s my enthusiastic sticks tapping along on the wooden stool, in and around the beat, an innocently joyful sound that could make any cynic break into a silly grin.
Excerpted from Dad and Drums
I am sitting at the dining room table in grandpa Charlie’s and grandma Sophie’s house 2 doors from my own house. I am 7 or 8 or 9 or 10. We did this for Passover all those times. My core family was 100% secular, no Jewish observances whatsoever. At grandma Sophie’s annual family dinner I don’t recall any specific mention of Jewish ritual or culture. The conversation I remember was all about the movie business. The strongest impression is the rich mingling of smells of brisket, chopped liver, matzoh ball soup, etc. The sharp taste of the horseradish on the gefilte fish. The crunch of the little matzoh crackers and the texture of the chopped liver that held it together in your mouth. The warmth of the broth and the pungent smell of the perfectly textured matzoh balls in the soup.
#2 of From Memories to Memoirs
Lying in bed one night when I was maybe about 10, I was thinking about the solar system and the planets, and the universe beyond the solar system. I tried to imagine all the way out, but at the outer edge I encountered a scary barrier. When I tried to peek outside the outer edge it caused a kind of flip in my mind. I experienced a sense of awe at the mystery of boundlessness. That moment has resonated throughout my life.
From 1A. EXPERIENCES
#1.1 in SA1. Before College
This experience shaped my life by giving me a glimpse of infinity, boundlessness and awe that I was able to reflect on. The wondering about wonderment inclined me to seek out transcendent experiences. This has continued all my life, definitely into present time. This tendency changed my view of other people by making me want to scratch at their surface and see if they are open to acknowledging a transcendent dimension. Whatever they are willing to reveal is where I will bond with them. My view of the world changed implicitly to living in a world made up of boring surfaces and fascinating depths.. My lifelong quest was for the windows and doors of transcendence, the fascinating depths.
From1B. ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF EXPERIENCES, #1.1 in SA1. Before College