Once upon a time

Isn't it funny how memories can be triggered by the most arbitrary things? The smallest object can trigger a memory that has been gathering dust for years. Memorabilia, or things we keep around to remind us of times past, can be very nostalgic. Like when you find an old trophy you won or hear a song that you haven't heard in years. As I mentioned in class it is a joke to try and trigger these nostalgic memories in my video game design class. Mostly we try to use songs to trigger flashbacks. Say we might play a really old Legend of Zelda opening theme which has us all gasping as we flashback to a different time. Almost like time travel when you think about it. Now a flashback can be like stopping and thinking of that moment you have been taken back to or actually having to stop and relive that moment in your mind. I actually experience option two an innumerable amount of the time. I may hear a song that takes me back to my childhood and suddenly I am nine years old again watching Disney movies. Well the thing is today while I was out shopping with my father he bought me some Skull Candy earphones and what better way to test them out then on Youtube. For whatever reason the song "Once Upon a December" from "Anastasia" crossed my mind so I looked it up. Suddenly I was a child again watching the Disney movie "Anastasia" as Anya tries to remember her distant memories from the past. Thinking about my childhood as I got home I began to sift through the disgusting mess known as my closet and found my old Pinewood derby race cars. Carefully, I lifted them from their coffins and stood them next to the trophies they won. Suddenly I am an even younger child than before crossing my fingers as the gate is released and the cars scream down the track. It was the Pinewood Derby and this time I had modified my previous car's design to be sleeker and faster. I looked like a blue wedge but I was mighty proud of my creation as it trumped the competition. Now it was a fight for first between me and two other cars. I hold my breath as the cars reach the finish line. My Blue Phantom rolls into second place sending me off to state. My Blue Phantom wasn't looking good after the town competition. The wheels were sticking and popping off so I glued them in and greased them up as best I could. I remember watching helplessly as my car veered off track on a crash course. It careened with the wall and then was sent flying through the air as I stood frozen in horror. I tried to lunge forward to save my car but it was too late as it slammed on the ground with an audible crack. The Blue Phantom would never be seen on the race track again after that day. A little boy hides his shame and lets his tears fall as his father helps him walk out with what little pride he has left cradling his Blue Phantom race car. As I look back even now I can still feel that heart shattering pain buried deep down as I walked away from that competition with my my shattered dream in hand. The Blue Phantom was placed in a shoe box coffin but would never receive a proper burial. No matter how hard I try I can never get myself to get rid of these old lumps of wood. Mostly because when I look at them I don't see a child's toy but a stadium full of people with my father smiling at me from the crowd as I hold my breath watching my car. I see a small boy with a dream of designing a car that will be faster than all the others. I see a heart stricken boy carry his shattered dreams away letting the pain flow out. Things as arbitrary as a small toy from a decade ago can bring back the past to the present allowing us to relive our old memories. What feelings they evoke depends entirely on the past you may share with that item. What items can you name that not only make you think of but relive the past that you share with that item.