it just hit me that 'You can't go home again'.
I was looking at the rebuilding of the local railroads in the area and thought about getting off it at the nearest stop to the old family manse.
Then I realized I'd just be another old man that would probably be lost even though I still know my geographical way around town.
It's been fifty years and everyone I knew has either died or moved other than one or two people that may/may not still be around but even that is questionable.
About 10 years ago I went down the old street and nature called. I saw the old thicket that was still there and started to make a mental checklist. Paper? Check. I had paper towels. Then things went 'click' and I realized I wasn't a youngster anymore and the liklihood of getting caught was higher that it used to be and people are certainly less forgiving so I made a beeline for the Dunkin' Donuts a couple of miles away and answered nature's call there.
Change is inevitible. Progress is not.
I'm not going to judge if the old neighborhood has progressed but I would he a fool to say it hasn't changed.
Ten or fiften years ago driving past the old manse would have been kind of a nostalgic thing. Nostolgia isn't what it used to be so now it would be more of a curiosity if I drove past the place.
Fifty years is a paradox in a way. It's either the largest part of a lifetime or it's a fleeting minute. To me it's now both.
As for a trip to the old manse via railroad? Why bother. I'd just be getting off the train as a faceless old man and have to grab an Uber or something to get around. It's not worth the time or the money.
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