I wasn't in a hurry and I'd decided since I was in the neighborhood, I was going to pick up a batch of fresh corn from the farm we always bought from. It's sweet and fresh from the fields this morning. As I headed that direction I drove past our old house, very happy to see that all of the beautiful trees we planted are thriving and providing a very shaded spot for the new owners. They seem to be taking great care of it and it looked loved with the planters along the front porch and the bend still in the carport frame. It looked almost like it did when we lived there, almost.
As the pups and I drove around I found myself a bit numb. There was a few places expanding, okay, gas stations were expanding and at $4.99 a gallon I guess so. But everything else was sad. So many businesses were closed. Sitting silent and vacant. Huge buildings with even bigger parking lots simply abandoned. The mall looks to be fairly deserted also, there was a time it was the cornerstone of that town. I noticed that 2 huge fitness centers have forever closed their doors, leaving more gaping spaces.
The roads were horrible, so much of it torn up and crumbling. Most of the businesses I remember are gone. Replaced by a combination of wig shops, vape shops and pawn shops, everywhere... also shops that had huge phone card signs in their windows - not really sure what those would be called.
The movie theater is closed and a couple of hotels appeared to be closed also, or under questionable ownership. Definitely weren't places that I would consider staying in and they were new when we lived there. A lot can change in eight years.
The area was struggling to find itself when we left, but things were still open. Now, it's a shell. An extension of the next town over, that had also been left behind with the times. I simply don't understand it.
I hadn't really intended to write today. My brain felt empty, my to do list long. I didn't feel compelled to write. I'm sure folks become weary of hearing about my gardens and hobbies. So today, I intended to simply run my early morning errands and spend the rest of the day working on the two quilts that I need to get done. It's going to be super hot and being in the cold basement sounded like heaven.
One of the reasons I don't go often is that it is 45 minutes each way, to me that seems like a long drive to a place I didn't really leave anything. The only reason I ever lived there was because my sweet Hubs did. Those are his roots, not mine. In fact the only reason I still go there, is because I absolutely LOVE my bank and I like doing business with them. I will not leave them as long as they are there, so occasionally, I have a long drive to make. They are worth it.
Driving through I started to question and wonder. Will all of the towns start looking like that? Even my current town is starting to have a few more places boarding up their shops, leaving the area. They are closing for a variety of reasons. No workers, no inventory, lack of customers... how many of these places only exemplify the state of our economy. When the only places expanding are selling gas?
Where I currently live they are in the process of building an Aldi. I am quite please about that, because it's one of my favorite places to shop. Mostly out of nostalgia (it's German - I grew up in Germany), but also because it is a reasonable place to shop and I can often get things that remind me of Germany. Yet as I was working on canning the plethora of blueberries my friend and I picked on Saturday I was listening to a program that started out with the statement that Aldi is closing stores across the country. Various reasons were given. A few were simply located in neighborhoods that are not going to shop their venue. I mean, lets be serious it's not considered high end. But others, too many others, were talking about the need to close because they were being stolen from to a level that they simply couldn't afford to stay. Some couldn't find employees to work. And some were a combination of location, theft and lack of employees.
Reason number two broke my heart. I'm sorry, but I can't condone theft. Even if you are starving, there are other ways. If you haven't earned it, if it isn't yours, you shouldn't take it. It feels to me like more and more folks are wanting something for nothing nowadays. They aren't wanting to be part of a solution, at least not in large metro areas where the give me mentality seems so much stronger.
I've been spending a lot of time in smaller areas, more rural, areas where folks work for what they want and need. And where they give each other helping hands, not the government doing the helping. The mentality is so much different in those areas. The atmosphere and environment is so very, very different.
I think we need to wake up. Sooner as opposed to later. The view in my old neighborhood, was shocking and hurtful. I wonder if those still living there can actually see it, or if they have simply become accustomed to the view?
I know it will be a good long while before I go over there again. I miss speaking with the ladies at the bank, the ones that remember details about you and your pups even if they only see you a couple times a year. The ones that speak to you like a long lost family member, our little bank that belongs in the fictional Mayberry. I do not miss the rest of it, not in the least.
Our world is not in a good place. Our world is suffering. I can't even say just our country, state, town or community. It's global. Are you paying attention? I'm starting to feel more and more drawn into myself, my family, and my tribe. I feel too many times like the bell ringer on the corner saying be ready to people that cannot and will not heed the warnings. We each have our own journeys to walk, our own reasons for being here. I hate when people suffer, I don't want to see anyone suffer.
I might not be the old bell ringer, but I am definitely becoming the crazy old lady down the road that keeps to herself and talks to her plants. And works in her garden. Don't mind me... I'm just walking my path in this life...
love and peace...
Good one! 381+
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