When I'm reading I'll often have a sudden and vivid recollection of an unrelated moment from my life. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm reading: it could be a dry slice of library science or Clive Barker's Books of Blood. Mid-sentence and without warning, my mind's eye will train on, say, the curve of the cul-de-sac** where my family's first home was located, or the green face paint I wore the year my friend Taylor and I went as Ninja Turtles for Halloween (I was Raphael, but neither cool nor rude). I don't have a name for this phenomenon. I have no idea what triggers these visitations. It seems likely that other people are prone to these surprise screenings, 24 frames cut from a longer reel of memory and spliced into the present.

#reading #random