Lots of people are still abuzz over the new year. Me -- I'm wondering where the time went.Todays finds me in a small town in East Texas, staying overnight for a work appointment in the morning. I drove up from Houston and was able to visit my hometown, see my parents and see familiar things like my old high school, before driving up the highway to the hotel I'm in now.
And on the drive up, I realized how different everything was. Buildings and new construction now stand where virgin forest once stood; the old Texaco station is now a super-McDonald's-adventure playland (or something like that). And along the way, I realized how much I had changed since growing up in my little corner of the forest.
I drove past the headquarters of the place that gave me my first-ever college scholarship -- $1,000. I remember getting it before high school ended, and I used it to buy contact lenses in addition to school-related stuff. But it was the beginning of my consciously trying to leave the past behind and become someone else. Anyone else.
I swore that I hated where I grew up and would never go back... that I had ambitions that were too sophisticated for that little town. That although I knew good people there, none of them were "from" there... but a whole lot of people around me had settled down and never escaped. I would be different.
Many years on, and I miss my small town. It's grown every bit as much as I have. Walmart Supercenters are the order of the day, along with streetlights where there wasn't even a road before. Business found my part of the world; on the other hand, it was I who had to go out and find the world.
But even with all that change, some things remain constant: towering pine trees that give comfort and solace; the smile and warm hug from my mother; the goofy speed traps up and down a major highway because they can.
Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing about how I grew up. It taught me that people are more important than things, and that anyone can do anything if he or she chooses to. Even if that means coming back after a while.
2 comments:
What a great post. Are we seeing a new, less cynical Brian? I totally feel where you are coming from. The acres of trees where I used to live are now cleared with a neighborhood on one part and a new school being built on the other. I miss the great days of riding my bike through the many trails in the woods. I guess that it the price of progress, though I wonder if sometimes the price is too high? Do we really need a super Wal-Mart every 5 miles?
Hey Andy!
No, once a cynic, always a cynic. No worries — just as snarky as ever. :-)
Just decided that I wanted to post every day, and so far, this week has been a reflective one. Hope you're doing well!
P.S. I was thinking about where I used to ride my bike too when I wrote that! There's something about growing up in the woods that is pretty special.
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