As I ponder the task before me of telling my life story, I have decided that the best place to start is to recount my earliest memories. I suppose most of us can’t recall too much before the age of three or four. I think my earliest memories were when I was about four or five. Here are five vivid early memories—and I will do my best to explain why I think I have those memories.

Walking to school. I was five years old and in kindergarten. I don’t remember too much about the routine of walking or even how far I had to walk. What I remember most clearly is meeting and walking with a little black girl. And it was a pleasant memory. I suppose the memory has stayed fixed in my mind because she was black and different than me, and because I enjoyed her company. At…