Do you ever miss where you grew up?

[The_Karen_Cooper_Incident]

I grew up in a small town southwest of Cleveland Ohio.  It's absolutely nothing fancy by the strangest stretch of imagination.  It's actually very boring.

But lately, with no explanation, I miss where I grew up.  I do have some friends there still; people who never moved and established families there.  My best friend to this day still lives there.

And while I miss my friend, it isn't where I imagine living (until recently).  

There are pigs, security prisons, local politics, tons of farmland and a few eating establishments.  But honestly, nothing is there other than past memories and a few friends.  Yet, the idea of living there again, consumes most of my idle thoughts through out the day.

If I ruminate the idea, perhaps it's the quiet nature of the place.  My mind is always racing; trying to find the next boogeyman.  It's always seeking the next issue to worry about.  It almost never stops, unless I find myself in a mild form of meditation.  

I miss the quiet town.  The quiet thoughts.  The peace of mind.  The nearly extreme serendipity of quiet mornings of birds chirping, instead of the noise of 490 outside my bedroom.

Shu Fang

 

 

[Wilbur ★]

Every day..  Where I grew up, no longer exists. 

[Page Turner]

...the place I grew up is now fully converted over to one of the more violent ghetto areas of Washington, D.C.  I think the number of shootings over in SE and Anacostia is higher than anywhere else in the city at this point, but I'm not sure.

I could look it up, I guess, but it's too depressing. You can't go home again.  

[late]

I do, but I still live here.

We used to have thousands of lovely elms. Portland was known as Forest City because of them. They arched over the streets, making a hot day pleasant. They were gorgeous, and then they were gone. And what was left was ugly, and had no charm.

[Page Turner]

9 minutes ago, Shu Fang said:

If I ruminate the idea, perhaps it's the quiet nature of the place.  My mind is always racing; trying to find the next boogeyman.  It's always seeking the next issue to worry about.  It almost never stops, unless I find myself in a mild form of meditation.  

I miss the quiet town.

...you take who you are with you.  You can't go home again.

[Chris...]

No . 

 

[Longjohn ★]

I have always lived within 50 miles of where I do now. I like where I am.

[ChrisL]

13 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...the place I grew up is now fully converted over to one of the more violent ghetto areas of Washington, D.C.  I think the number of shootings over in SE and Anacostia is higher than anywhere else in the city at this point, but I'm not sure.

I could look it up, I guess, but it's too depressing. You can't go home again.  

Have you been there recently?  It’s really come a long way in the past 10 years.  I spent time at Ft McNair in the 80’s  so yeah know what you mean but it’s not the same now.

[ChrisL]

I live in the same city I grew up in less than a mile from my childhood home.  No I don’t miss it.  I sometimes wish I could walk in my moms house just to see what the new family did to it but I don’t miss the house.  We had an opportunity to buy it and have the means to do so but we passed.

I am fortunate to have spent time in other parts of the country but always knew I’d come back. When my wife & I were dating she knew she couldn’t keep me from SoCal and so joined me here.

[Page Turner]

11 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Have you been there recently?  It’s really come a long way in the past 10 years.  I spent time at Ft McNair in the 80’s  so yeah know what you mean but it’s not the same now.

...no.  I haven't been back in maybe 20 years.  Once I got my mother moved out here and situated (which was an epic struggle in and of itself), she was pretty much a full time job until she died a few years ago.

I still have some cousins there that I should probably visit, but I was always kind of a black sheep, so they don't expect much from me.   The cross country air trip is a killer for me.  I am large person, and seats are small to tiny. And If I sit too long, or don't keep up with exercise routine and stretching, I tend to lock up in unexpected ways. So a nostalgia visit would be costly.

I did enjoy growing up and being educated in the nation's capital.  But even 20 years ago when last I visited, it had lost much of it's charm.  My overall impression was just another American megalopolis, with commute traffic coming in from places like the farthest reaches of Montgomery county, and a Virginia suburbs that reaches out to  all the really cool places we used to camp with the Boy Scouts.

 

They still send me the quarterly newsletter from my old Catholic high school (asking for donations).  I have noticed that when they have the reunions, the photos of my graduation year are considerably thinned out.  I graduated in '67, so I guess there's a few things going on that would limit attendance.

 

 

[Kzoo]

No

[Randomguy]

37 minutes ago, Shu Fang said:

I grew up in a small town southwest of Cleveland Ohio.  It's absolutely nothing fancy by the strangest stretch of imagination.  It's actually very boring.

But lately, with no explanation, I miss where I grew up.  I do have some friends there still; people who never moved and established families there.  My best friend to this day still lives there.

And while I miss my friend, it isn't where I imagine living (until recently).  

There are pigs, security prisons, local politics, tons of farmland and a few eating establishments.  But honestly, nothing is there other than past memories and a few friends.  Yet, the idea of living there again, consumes most of my idle thoughts through out the day.

If I ruminate the idea, perhaps it's the quiet nature of the place.  My mind is always racing; trying to find the next boogeyman.  It's always seeking the next issue to worry about.  It almost never stops, unless I find myself in a mild form of meditation.  

I miss the quiet town.  The quiet thoughts.  The peace of mind.  The nearly extreme serendipity of quiet mornings of birds chirping, instead of the noise of 490 outside my bedroom.

Shu Fang

 

 

What town?

I am near the Paris of Ohio right now, in a small town southwest of the Paris. 

[Page Turner]

Just now, Randomguy said:

What town?

i am in the Paris of Ohio right now. 

...are there sidewalk accordion players, strolling past the street cafes ?  I would enjoy that.  

[Randomguy]

2 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...are there sidewalk accordion players, strolling past the street cafes ?  I would enjoy that.  

Yes. They give red balloons to little girls as they walk by. 

[The_Karen_Cooper_Incident]

3 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

What town?

It doesn't matter.

Shu Fang

[ChrisL]

4 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...no.  I haven't been back in maybe 20 years.  Once I got my mother moved out here and situated (which was an epic struggle in and of itself), she was pretty much a full time job until she died a few years ago.

I still have some cousins there that I should probably visit, but I was always kind of a black sheep, so they don't expect much from me.   The cross country air trip is a killer for me.  I am large person, and seats are small to tiny. And If I sit too long, or don't keep up with exercise routine and stretching, I tend to lock up in unexpected ways. So a nostalgia visit would be costly.

I did enjoy growing up and being educated in the nation's capital.  But even 20 years ago when last I visited, it had lost much of it's charm.  My overall impression was just another American megalopolis, with commute traffic coming in from places like the farthest reaches of Montgomery county, and a Virginia suburbs that reaches out to  all the really cool places we used to camp with the Boy Scouts.

 

 

We buried my brother in Arlington Cemetery in 2015 and I saw the changes then.  We were visiting my in laws and they said it’s becoming the hip place to live now.

When we worked the gates on grave shift we wore body armor due to the numerous drive by’s...  I rolled up on a dead body under the 395 bridge on my way back to Ft Myer once.  Took DC Metro an hour to respond to a deceased body in the middle of the street...   They said it was a low priority...

[Page Turner]

Just now, Randomguy said:

Yes. They give red balloons to little girls as they walk by. 

...oh joy !!!  

[Randomguy]

Just now, Shu Fang said:

It doesn't matter.

Shu Fang

Nothing else matters.  

I will walk there if it is close. 

[Page Turner]

1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

We buried my brother in Arlington Cemetery in 2015 and I saw the changes then.  We were visiting my in laws and they said it’s becoming the hip place to live now.

When we worked the gates on grave shift we wore body armor due to the numerous drive by’s...  I rolled up on a dead body under the 395 bridge on my way back to Ft Myer once.  Took DC Metro an hour to respond to a deceased body in the middle of the street...   They said it was a low priority...

...this reminded me.  I did fly back with my mom's ashes to inter them in a ceremony at Arlington (with my old man) when she died.  But it was such an ordeal, and I had little time for anything except arranging for the ceremony and talking to relatives.  I could hardly wait to get back here and start cleaning up all the stuff that needed to be done when someone dies.

[Page Turner]

5 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

I will walk there if it is close. 

...make sure you get a red balloon, even if you have to buy it.  I will pay for it.  

[BR46]

The house that I grew up in is only 6 miles from where I live now. Although a lot of the farm land is now subdivision a few of the family's that were in the area where I grew up are still there. 

Sometimes when I'm out for a bicycle ride I will ride through the hood and stop and talk with the people that are still there. 

[maddmaxx ★]

I grew up only about 15 miles from here.......but 60 years ago.  That place in space and time doesn't exist any more.

[Ralphie ★]

Sure. But there is NO economy, so it is becoming a ghost town. I like nothing, and it has lots of that.

Not far from lomgjohn, but not nearly as rural. John Mellencamp's small town. ;D

 

[Airehead]

Yes every day. Not sure it would feel the same. 

[bikeman564™]

I miss the great times with friends  when we were kids.  Always great fun and shenanigans ?. We were outside from sun up to sun down.  I've ridden down my old Street.

[Allen ★]

I live in the house where I was born. 

God willing, I die here. 

[shotgun]

Not a chance. It’s a very small town with nothing going on. Going to school there as one of the smallest boys in my class was not a good experience. I don’t miss most of the people there. 

[Further]

It would take a novel to scratch the surface of my feelings to home town & family.

I thought as I got older everything would make sense.

That hasn't happened. 

[Page Turner]

22 minutes ago, Allen said:

I live in the house where I was born. 

God willing, I die here. 

...go Allen !!  

[petitepedal ★]

I have good memories and bad of my home town..the area is somewhat depressed and their political choices have changed to opposite of what it was when I was growing up...I miss my mom...but not that small town...on the otherhand...I wouldn't mind finding a smaller community outside of the metro where I could have a yard...and ride a bike..without mega traffic...

[MickinMD ★]

After both of my parents had passed away and I decided to retire, I decided to downsize, sell my house, and buy my siblings interest out of our parents home.

Several childhood friends from our block have done the same thing or else simply inherited their childhood house and moved back in.

Right now, my old bedroom is my TV room and I'm sitting about 10 feet from the spot where my bed was when I had the measles around 1960 that I mentioned yesterday.

[Zephyr]

I still get to go back to where I grew ip it has not changed that much, so no I do not miss it, but living on the west coast, I miss the people I grew up with.

Recently I got re-aquainted with my boys from growing up.  They were the first friends I had that did not live within site of my house and we were close riggt through school until I moved away and lost touch.

This was getting together for the first time in a long time, and like we were never apart

[Scrapr ★]

Not really. We do a bit of work there so I am over there a couple times a year. Always take a look around to see if i know anyone. Not yet. Do see a few contractors that live in town. The kids sold off Mom & Dad's house that we built when i was in High school. They did not change much in there. Blue-green shag rug anyone? LOL. The folks that bought it did a pretty major remodel. It would be interesting to see what they did. But i only lived there for like a year & a half. 

And I put flowers on family graves a few times a year. Went last week as was Mom's birthday. 

I am much more rooted in the 'burb that we raised our family. Though we moved across the State I feel good when we are back there

[jsharr ★]

I bought the house I grew up in from my parents 

[Kirby]

I loved my neighborhood when I was a kid.  You could walk to just about anywhere you needed to go, so kids had a lot of independence.  It was perfectly normal for grade school kids to roam about the neighborhood visiting friends and shopping on their own.  You could easily walk to the library, the big shopping street with great delis, pizza places,  and bakeries, Woolworth's, your friends houses, and a nice park. I walked a block to school and my Mom knew just about everyone in the neighborhood.

However, I'm afraid to go back to the neighborhood now.  It doesn't seem safe to me now, and I'm sad kids don't have the freedom that we did as kids.

[sheep_herder ★]

Not really, but enjoy seeing some of the people when we have high school reunions.  Last time I lived in the area was 1962. I still visit with one lady from the neighborhood, which reminds me, I need to give her a call.

[The_Karen_Cooper_Incident]

Meh, I was joking.  I can't stand where I grew up.

Shu Fang

[Tizeye]

No, but only an hour (with traffic more likely 1.5 hours) away and mother and sister still live there.

[Longjohn ★]

My dad had a pre-fab three bedroom house built about the time I was born. Three bedrooms was enough bedrooms but they were tiny.  I remember my dad and one of his brothers building a cement block two car garage at the back of the property. We outgrew the house and for a year or so my parents struggled with the decision to add on to the house or move. They eventually bought a house in the same school district that had more room in the house but on a lot instead of some acres like the first house.

After I grew up they did a major road improvement project that went right through my dad’s first house. The garage is still there and being used by one of the neighbors. I often wonder how all that played out

[tybeegb]

Yep.  Except I live only 13-16 miles from there.  The first home I lived in is gone, They were WWII era cinderblock apartments for the Liberty ship builders.  The other house is still there, about 200 yards from where the first house was, and it was built in 1957.  That area is built up a lot more but the core part still remains.  I pass by it frequently when going into Savannah.  Since I went to grade school downtown that part is still there and I cruise through it every now and then reminiscing.  So I've never lived more than 16 miles from where I was born and grew up.  It's nice to be near your roots.  

[BuffJim]

I’m about 15 miles away. I’ll sometimes poke around the neighborhood as I’m passing through. One time I stopped and talked to the current owner and he gave me a tour of the house. My brothers took a liberal view of the second amendment, shooting bbguns and pellet guns in the house. Even .22s in our makeshift shooting range in the basement. When we moved in 1987, my parents hired a neighbor friend to pick bbs out of the drywall upstairs. 

Good times. 

[Page Turner]

9 hours ago, Shu Fang said:

Meh, I was joking.  I can't stand where I grew up.

Shu Fang

...I live 3,000 miles away from where I grew up, straight along US highway 50. I could get a little farther away by moving down to the coast, but then I'd have to deal with all the coastals there.  The coastals were one of the reasons I moved in the first place.

[Randomguy]

10 hours ago, Shu Fang said:

Meh, I was joking.  I can't stand where I grew up.

Shu Fang

This is a lie, if you are from the Paris of Ohio.

[Page Turner]

3 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

This is a lie, if you are from the Paris of Ohio.

...maybe he had an unhappy childhood.  You have to admit that would explain a lot.

[Randomguy]

6 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...maybe he had an unhappy childhood.  You have to admit that would explain a lot.

I reject this theory, I have dined with Couch and his living ancestors.  It was weird, though, as there were too many people around on my side of the family, and I couldn't pay requisite attention to Couch and relatives like I wanted to.

[onbike1939]

I have wonderful happy memories of where I grew up.... which was in the middle of the country with everything a boy could want.......fields to run in and a burn where we learned to swim. However, being a bit dim I decided to go and see it again after seventy-odd years and it was horrible as of course, everything had changed.

I keep doing this and a few months ago visited a website dedicated to finding my former Airborne comrades. It was really depressing, as all but one I knew were dead, apart for one living in Perth Australia.......which I'm told is exactly the same as being dead.

[Randomguy]

7 minutes ago, onbike1939 said:

one living in Perth Australia.......which I'm told is exactly the same as being dead.

I liked Perth in few days I was there.  I wish I could have explored more.

I got pulled out of the ocean by a yelling man with bright lights on his boat there.  He said there were two great white's patrolling the beach I was swimming in 40 yards offshore. He seemed angry I ignored the signs on the beach, which I didn't see because it was nighttime and I didn't have my glasses on.   Some people are rude, though, I didn't let it bother me.

[onbike1939]

And quite right too........I mean they probably wanted to be friends.

[The_Karen_Cooper_Incident]

2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

..maybe he had an unhappy childhood.

Stop overthinking this, my dear hippy friend.

The place was and still is a dump.  I don't dislike the place because of some awful childhood.  I dislike the place because it's a freak'in dump.

Now, apologize to me.

She Fang

[Prophet Zacharia]

No. It’s a 5 hour drive from me and I haven’t been back in maybe 18 years. It’s near Philadelphia, for God’s sake.