My Hometown

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A few weeks ago we went to North Collins for dinner. Josif’s is the restaurant in the center of the village and it used to be Speedy’s - our old stomping grounds bar - where I did a lot of drinking after softball games and in days that ended in Y.

When I walked in I thought about my 18th birthday and doing shots with my buddy Jeff. I could barely stand and he was showing zero signs of intoxication.

The next day he told me that he was tossing the shot over his shoulder after we did the toast.

That’s what I thought about when I walked in and it made me smile.

Then I looked around the near capacity restaurant.

I didn’t know a person there!

This week, I drove out to visit Mom and I went the long way around, down Shirley Road.

I passed by the home of a childhood friend who died young. I drove through intersections where horrific accidents claimed lives.

The kid up the road had been struck on his bike - was just five years old when he died as a result of his injuries.

I saw the world through the eyes of the boy I’d been back then.

And each house that I passed on Shirley I thought about my friends who had lived there.

A couple of the homes were in absolute disrepair.

Everything seems bigger when you’re a kid.

When I drive through town now I wonder about how poor a place it appears to be.

I didn’t see any kids out playing.

When I roamed Shirley Road with my buddies the street was alive.

Kids everywhere!

We played every sport…usually at my house.

I pulled into the driveway of my childhood home and looked out at the basketball hoop.

My God we played hard on that patch of concrete.

The Diamond shape of the infield of the baseball field has long since grown in, but I could almost hear the laughter.

I felt both happy and sad.

There are certainly no regrets…

…we emptied the tank and loved every moment…

…but thought about life flying by again.

When you’re back where it all happened the mind plays a bit of a trick…

…was ten minutes ago, I thought.

As I drove home, I took a different path…

…straight through the heart of My Hometown.

“Take a good look around. This is your hometown.”

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