My first Memorable Episode of De'ja' Vu

"Science" doesn't cover all possible reasons for de'ja' vu.

The first instance I remember having de'ja'vu was when I was about 4 years old. To spend any time with both parents we had to go to a different city to do so. (long story) I remember getting out of the car and walking down the street holding each of their hands and knowing I'd been there before.

I asked them if we could go to the ice cream shop. They both said they didn't know if there was such a shop and I insisted there was one at the end of the block and across the street around the corner. I told them I wanted a banana split if we could go there. They laughed and said there was no way I could know that and my mom gave me one of her stern looks when she wasn't pleased with something I was doing. In this case I guess she thought I was making things up. But I KNEW I was right.

Sure enough, we got to the end of the street and there it was. My dad said "Well it looks like we are going to the ice cream store." They both asked me and each other how I could possibly know where the store was. I didn't know other than having the certainty that I'd been there before. Once inside, I got my banana split, a coke from the rotating coke dispenser, back when coke came in small bottles with a crispy tasty flavor that doesn't even exist anymore. Then my father coaxed me to sing "Take me out the the ball game" for the shop attendant and he gave me the banana split for free for the song!

Why do I remember this now still? Was it because that was probably the only time in my life I held both of their hands? Was it due to the unusual feeling of deja vu? Was it because I was delighted that I did something my parents didn't think I could do? Maybe it was because I got something free. Really I have no idea, yet here I am many decades later writing about it as if it happened just yesterday.

I've had many instances like this in my life and don't attribute most of them to what science says are likely causes due to the importance or accuracy of the unfolding events afterwards. That leaves a lot of possibilities of causes that are wondrous to consider.

This is the town - but it was in summer not winter when this event happened.

Taken from City Data