Our memories are fluid, and our brains change them as we age. Days and months and years get grouped together, and specific are lost as events become generalizations. We also tend to remember happy events with more clarity than sad ones. As a result nostalgia – the reminiscence of past events – becomes increasingly positive, and we typically remember our youth as better days.

Our brain sometimes fabricates memories as well, and since they are ‘stored’ in the same parts of the brain as real memories we have no way of determining which are real and which are fake except by comparing with others. This process can happen surprisingly quickly, and some specific details in the memories of what you did yesterday may even be incorrect!

I have a childhood memory of visiting a mall far from home. It was with Bernard and dad, but I can’t recall if mum was with us. We did take one or two vacations during school holidays with dad only, so perhaps this was during one of them. I recall the mall as being much bigger than the ones I was used to in Newcastle, which at the time was probably just Kotara Fair since I don’t think Charlestown Square had been built.

While walking around the mall we spied – from an upper level – a cluster of arcade games in the gallery below. We went down and played some, including one I had never seen before (or since), which involved shooting spiders on webs. Doing some research now the game was probably Spiders or Frog & Spider, both of which were released in 1981.

Perhaps one reason I remember (parts of) this visit so vividly is because we were each allowed to purchase an action figure from a toy store, and both of us chose a Star Wars figure. I picked ‘R2D2 with Sensorscope’ and (I believe) Bernard picked an Ugnaught. Both figures were initially released in 1981, but remained available for several years afterwards. We opened them both in the car afterwards, and I’m sure we were both very excited.

And that’s it! Only fragments of this memory exist, and to me it’s notable they are related to video games and action figures. If this was 1981 then I hadn’t started buying books yet (this began with Warlock of Firetop Mountain in 1982), and my world would have revolved around games and toys which is why they’re so strong in my memories.

But as for where we were, and exactly when this occurred, I don’t know. Are these real memories or fabricated? I don’t know either. But since I can close my eyes and picture the view from the gallery to the games below, if this didn’t ever actually occur then my brain has done a wonderful job making it up 🙂