#tbt: Apparently it’s quite The Thing on Twitter. I’ve been thinking about reblogging some of my posts from The (Old) Stream of Conscience, and “Throw Back Thursday” seems as good a day as any, yes?
When deciding what post to reblog, I took a look at my 34 categories. How to choose? Why, my old favorite, of course, Random.org. (I also used it to pick the style for this blog.) It spewed out 14, which turned out to be the ubiquitous “Life & Musings,” i.e., pretty much any damn thing. Since the blog covered 5½ years, there were 9 pages of posts to peruse; yet, the one I chose was on the first page.
It was written on December 8, 2012, in response to WordPress.com’s Daily Post challenge, which asked “What is your earliest memory? Describe it in detail, and tell us why you think that experience was the one to stick with you.” Mine was easy-peasy. (I’ve edited only slightly.)
My Earliest Trauma Memory
And how appropriate for the season!
Harken back to a slower, quieter time: the mid-20th century, an age without digital cameras, when it took a few months to fill up a roll of film and get it developed.
Christmas day: One 2½-year-old went to bed the night before, thinking of Santa Claus on his rounds, and worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep for all the excitement.
But I did fall asleep, which made the night pass more quickly.
As usual, I was the first one awake Christmas morning. But I had orders not to go downstairs until my parents and older brother woke up. It’s amazing that such an unruly, difficult child would obey. But Christmas was special, and waiting just prolonged the happiness.
When the time finally came, we rambled down the stairs. The (colored) lights were twinkling on the Christmas tree, and several presents which hadn’t been there the night before beckoned us. My mother put on a pot of coffee for the grown-ups, but we kids didn’t need any additional stimulation.
One medium-sized box was the last to be opened—a Jack in the Box! I put my face close to the lid and turned the handle. A familiar tune played.
All around the Mulberry Bush
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey thought it was all in fun.
POP!…
Oh no! It’s the devil! Right in my face!
…goes the weasel.
It scared the living daylights out of me! I began to sob and continued for an indeterminate amount of time.
Eventually I calmed down and took a closer look. It wasn’t the devil, it was a clown with a red felt hat. In my defense, though, it was a pretty ugly clown. And a little scary, especially when one’s face was just a couple inches away.
Turns out it was a pretty good present. I played with it for hours that day. Not too many months later, the clown’s felt hat had been torn off, but the music still played, and the clown still popped out on cue. It continued to entertain me for a very long time.
When I look back, I’m always amazed that, even at that young age, I knew about God and the devil, and the true Christian meaning of Christmas. It’s something we tend to forget in this modern era of materialism and over-commercialism.
Stream of Conscience 
That photo hooked me. It could have been my living room when I was 8 or 9.
Hee!