I have so many childhood memories that flash in my brain almost every day. Do you have the same? When these memories pop up, what feelings do you experience? Happiness, joy, sadness, longing, regret, fear, anger, contentment? I’m convinced that some of my memories had a very significant impact on molding my life, and even today as they flash vividly in my brain I feel an impact from them as if I just experienced them yesterday.
Some of my experience were 100% my doing (or my fault) and others are 100% the result of a person or event molding me in some way. I affectionately call these people and events…
purple cows
Most of the memories burned on my brain are from the 1970’s in South Nashville… Mill Creek, The Guard Pool, 100 Oaks Mall, Giant Foods, Dr. Kirby, The Dairy King, Seven Oaks Park, The Games Store, Fair Park, Opryland, Taylor’s Pharmacy, The Boys Club, Ashley’s Outlet, The Glenview Dragons, a day out of school for the State Fair, The Peanut Shop, the downtown library, backyard football, tennis ball cannons, Port O’ Call Records,…, and yes, of course The Purple Cow.
I know, I know. You have no idea what I’m talking about. Unless you grew up in South Nashville with me and ran with the same family and friends, most of those locations and activities mean nothing to you.
Let me explain. Dad used to pull me in on projects around the house and I always loved to work with him. I learned different ways to work with my hands and also different ways to persist through planning and completing a project. Dad was always tinkering and building things around the house. On more than one occassion I remember a late Saturday afternoon after a long hot day of working on a project we would go to The Purple Cow, a little market on Thompson Lane near Mill Creek. He would buy me a Coke as my reward. Little did I know at the time he was getting off CHEAP for all the sweat and toil of the day, but that Coke meant so much to me… and tasted so good!
This small memory is burned on my brain and I will never forget it. Those Cokes have motivated me for decades and I think of the Purple Cow whenever I drink one.
What are your purple cows and how are they still shaping you today?
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On a completely different note, I recently saw this video and loved it. Please take a moment and enjoy it yourself. Sometimes we just need to enjoy life’s magic moments like this monkey does!
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