Listening to Take Me Home, Country Roads this early morning while drinking my first cup of coffee. It does give this country corn fed boy the feels for home.
But that home from my memories no longer exists.
My mother passed years ago. All my aunts and uncles are now gone. Most cousins I was close to moved away from there like I did. Those that didn't I wasn't all that close to, but one. I do have two brothers that still live there. One stays in touch with me. A third passed away years ago.
Home just ain't home anymore without the people that made it that.
What's Left
Not to mention time has turned it into a cesspool like most small midwest towns. Lots of drugs and criminal activity on the rise. What used to be a town with a handful of factories and lots of work has turned into a town with little to none. Almost all closed or downsized years ago. Moved overseas.
That's the story of a lot of places like where I grew up. Hollowed out. Left behind.
But It's Nice to Remember
The lazy days sitting next to the Wabash River with my Uncle Harv. Fishing lines in the water. Or running a trot line with my Uncle Fred. Those were the days I remember most.
That river cutting next to the town. Flowing between it and the Illinois state border. I loved being on that river so much. I've asked my wife and sons to spread some of my ashes on it when I die.
Not sure what purpose that serves other than to make me feel better. But it makes me feel like I'll be more connected to that place I loved so much as a kid. A place where I had such good memories and enjoyed so much.
The place is different now. The people are gone. But the river is still there. And I guess that's enough.
Where's the place that still pulls at you even though it's not the same anymore?
Thanks for reading,
Joe
Notes:
-All content is mine unless otherwise annotated.
-Images are my own unless otherwise noted.
-Photos edited using Linux photo editor and drawing and/or iPhone SE.
-Page Dividers from The Terminal Discord.
