What's your favorite childhood memory?

Joyce Yarrow Thanks for the question, Christine.

In my favorite childhood memory I am six years old, despondently playing a game of jacks across the street from my house. I feel lonely because my best friend has gone away and it is too early for any of the other kids to come out and shoot marbles or play hopscotch on the sidewalk.

I imagine some friends of my parents, who live in Queens, have come to visit. Their presence always cheers me up and prompts my parents to make more of an effort to get along. I close my eyes, wishing Max and Ruth would appear, walking arm-in-arm around the corner on their way from the subway.

Suddenly I hear my mother calling. Looking up, I see her leaning out of our sixth-story kitchen window. “Joyce! Come up! Max and Ruth are here! I’m happy and amazed. Also convinced that my wish had conjured up this miracle. Years later, I begin to write stories – longer and more complex wishes materialize on the page. Many characters appear.

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