54)Memories

My very first memory is going to the maternity hospital to see my new baby sister. As I am only 3 years and 4 months older than Adele it is obviously a pretty early memory. I remember that I was with my Aunt Emily and I think my Grandmother was there too but I’m not so sure of that. I don’t remember seeing my mother, I don’t think I was allowed into the ward but I think I was sneaked into the nursery by one of the nurses. I’m sure it would not have been allowed in those days.I remember the nursery was a long narrow room with windows all along the one wall and against the opposite wall there was a row of tiny cots. They were folding wooden frames that had a cloth attached to them to cradle the newborn infants. Pink ones for the girls and of course blue for the little boys. I don’t remember what I thought of the babies or my feelings about having a baby sister but as I was not even 3 ½ I suppose I was not old enough for such deep thoughts.Whenever I see in a newspaper or a magazine one of those articles of questions and answers to well known personalities I feel compelled to read them. You know the kind of thing – 20 or so questions to famous people like 1) what is your earliest memory? 2) What was always on your school report? 3) What did your mother always tell you? 4) What was your most embarrassing moment? 5) What makes you angry? 6) What was the happiest moment of your life? 7) What was the worst job you ever had? 8)Did you always know that you want to be an actress/model/politician/scientist/author or whatever? I have been wondering for a while why these articles always catch my attention when I often have no idea who the interviewee is or why they have been asked for their memories. I have come to the conclusion that I am more interested in the questions than the answers. I feel that I need to be ready with the answers in case I am ever approached by some magazine editor with that list of personal questions so that I am not taken off my guard.Well I have already told you of my earliest memory and what was always on my school report was “Marina could do better”. My mother always told me to wear clean underwear ‘in case I got hit by a bus’ and not to believe everything I read. I am not going to tell you my most embarrassing moment; I don’t want to have to re-live that. What makes me angry is the huge gap between the rich and the poor. There have been so many happy moments in my life I don’t know which one to pick . The worst job I ever had was selling Biltong from a barrow in a very cold spot in the open air and as I have never become an actress /model/ politician/ scientist/ author/ or whatever I cannot answer that last one. I know as a child I used to tell people that I wanted to be a nurse on board a sea liner. I started off saying I wanted to be a sailor but was told that I could not as I was a girl. Someone told me that the liners employed women as hairdressers and nurses during the cruises and I thought that this might be the next best thing.So now the questions are all answered, the magazine editor will not come knocking on my door and I can now give up reading those articles and getting ready for my moment of fame.