MY first memory was a family trip to Hilton Head, North Carolina when I was 2, so 1985-6
Specifically, this narrow storefront with a brick front and a striped pink/white awning, and a door on the left a half-floor of steps up from street level
And when you went in some kind of cafe with a curved glass display case running the depth of the room, with workers on the right (non/door side)
And there was a box of something in the case with the Ralston-Purina checkerboard logo on it and I was like \u201cthat\u2019s pet food!\u201d
And looking it up this was probably the 80s merger-mania period when R-P had just acquired Continental Baking
and all the adults laughed but also nodded at my connection-making, and within the year my mom realized I had taught myself to read when I started quoting the \u201cmore flavor!\u201d blurbs off a Rice-a-Roni box in the supermarket
so point being, I\u2019ve always been like this
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