It's somewhat conjecture that mine isn't true but take my word for it; it can't be.

I was an Air Force kid. And when I was little, I was sick a lot with some gastrointestinal thing that would put me in the hospital about twice a year. When I was five and six we lived in Columbus Mississippi and one Thanksgiving I wa in hospital there. I remember a number of things, including having my arm strapped to a board so I couldn't pull out my IV, and a little windup toy chicken that a nice man bought me (back then parents couldn't spend all their time there so I was alone a lot). But the other thing I remember is Mary, a little black girl who stood in the corner of the room with her face to the wall, crying. That's all she did, the onl memory I ahve of her.

As I said, it was Mississippi in about 1960-61. I can pretty much promise you there was no little black girl rooming with me. The fact I know her name after all these years impresses hell out of me. I think she might have been a dream, or a really lonely scared little girl's projection of her frightened self. But I've always wished I could give Mary a hug and let her know everything would be all right.

this is a GREAT story, and i've thought about something similar to this a lot

sometimes we share someone else's dreams or fears and it just floods us with emotion...i don't think that is "not true," it might be the truest part of being human

Memory is extremely malleable and gets modified every time you recall an event. I suspect that only an outline of the event gets stored. and that at recall time that bare outline gets filled in with new material to pad out to a full event. It sure seems real, though, even iin those cases where there's absolute proof the memory is false.

I've had memories associated with a particular song being on the radio, for example, which I then recall whenever I hear that song again. I later determined that that particular song didn't even come out until several years after the event being recalled. Absolute proof that the memory is false. And yet, I'm almost not convinced even so... It just seems so real still.

Another example, for men in particular. when you recall talking to your friends before your voices broke, do you remember speaking in the squeaky voices you had then or with the adult voices you now have? Definitely the latter for me. Even the language spoken is wrong in some recollections.

It's fascinating stuff.

you were a kid, it's easy to invalidate your memories

sisters are just as guilty as parents (you'd know to be skeptical if it was a parent), my sister assured me that my mom never went hiking with us as kids, yeah, whatever, like my mom suddenly becomes a day hiking fiend in her 70s catch a clue!

just because your sister "reminds" you of something, it doesn't mean HER memory is right, maybe yours is the more accurate version

also i just read ron obvious's post and what he said...totally true...if you ever get a hobby dealing w. memory you will soon learn HOW true

oh one more thing, if it was a metaphysical event, just because she said "yes" she saw it...doesn't mean she EVER witnessed what you saw (can you tell i went thru a UFO chasing phase)

I won't get into whether it's me or her that got it wrong, but it happens a lot.

on one person and not the other(s).

And family members are very prone to amnesia when you remember something that reflects badly on them.

For example:

"Remember the time you shot me with a shotgun?"

"I don't remember that!"

A slight exaggeration, but you get what I'm saying.

he tells stories about things I supposedly did, or events where I was, and I wasn't. Sometimes its just pointless to correct him. Funny thing is he wasn't there when the stuff actually happened, he just seems to recall his version.