Got a good one for ya. What are your earliest memories about the world around you? Warning—. They can be a little fuzzy.
Unfortunately, the first significant one for me is my dad being wheeled out of our apartment on a gurney. He told me to take care of my mom. It was the last time I saw him. He had suffered a second heart attack at age 39 and never came home. It was 1943, and I was four years old. I think I achieved his wishes. At least I tried in the next 21 years that my mom lived.

The next couple of major memories involve the war that was going on.
I was riding on a bus with my older cousin, Addie, and reading the political cartoon signs aloud. They were caricatures of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito, with mustache, fat cheeks and buck teeth. Next to it was another sign saying, “Give blood.” My cousin was amazed that I could read and pronounce “blood” correctly. Yeah, I was a smart ass already at 4.

Next, I vividly recall air raid wardens running down the middle of the street shouting something I didn’t understand. And my mom calmly telling me it was just a practice.

I totally recall the death and funeral of our beloved President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Remember, as a kid growing up in New York City, my mom’s hero and therefore, my hero, was FDR.
Then, I remember the surprised and seemingly unprepared, Harry S Truman, being thrust into history at a crucial time for the world.  No, I didn’t know any of that at 6 or 7 years old. But I remember my mom and other adults talking about it. 

Much more vividly and happily, I remember the end of the war after Hiroshima. The car horns were all blaring and everyone was cheering on VJ-Day. The war was over and our troops were coming home.
When I visited my Aunt Gert and Uncle John in New Rochelle, my friends and I would go to the nearby lot where troop trains passed and we would chase souvenirs the GI’s would toss from the slow moving trains. I did get some medals and a Swastika flag I really loved to stomp on.
Remember, our sources of news were newspapers, radio and Movietone News at the movie theater. No 24-hour news or TV.
Finally, I am issuing a challenge to all readers to share your earliest memories of the world around you in comments to this post. Enuf