From off-Broadway to breadcrumbs thoughts about small town and the future

 BROADWAY, BAR ROOMS, AND BREAD CRUMBS

So we’ve revisited  the park and the lessons learned there, however other things emerged on the most recent trip to my old stomping grounds.  Where does that term come from?  Why did we do so much stomping  back then?  It seems that everybody had some stomping grounds...didn’t we dance, and skip, and jog, and hopscotch, and just plain walk in days of yore?  Heck I even remember a cartwheel or two.  

Okay then..On this visit I did some reflection  on places  I’d spent some time and visited some of them.  I did not stop by my elementary school/church or house/neighborhood in West Burlington on this trip, however it was on my mind.  Now my thoughts  were of “uptown” in WB where there was a bank a general store and grocery store a gas station a bar a drug store and a post office and... of course the criminal justice and public safety hub—or better known as the water tower where “Barney” Herald L.  Parked the cruser some of the time and where the noon whistle marked the days.  I’m pretty sure there was a new and used furniture. Place and a barber shop but one of our neighbors. Had a bowl and set of clippers so our hair stylist needs took place in their basement and that was fine.  

As I recall there were essentially  two or maybe three neighborhoods  in that little town.  More accurately there were two Catholic neighborhoods and some other people  who existed only on the margins of our consciousness..   

Anyway... I have a million memories about that small town, yet what came to mind is the irony of one of today’s concerns—privacy.  Now we think Google and Facebook track our activities and whereabouts?  Every one of the Catholic moms in that town could give a master class in tracking kids and passing that info  along the network immediately.  News traveled blocks in microseconds and if you were in trouble in school your whole neighborhood knew every detail before you were half way home.  When the streetlight came on you’d better be on the way home and everyone  knew what every porch light meant and which. Mom expected what response when she or he yelled.  Some kids could yell back “what” when hearing their mom, but others had to yell “coming” and better be on the run.  There were no global satellites, but you were being tracked 24/7.  So this concern we have about privacy...well a little late for some of us I’d say.  

By the way “Broadway” was the Main Street in that small town and I’m giving my regards to it right nowWe lived on Spring Street and the next Street. Over was Summer... then I guess they got tired of seasonal names.  

Now for the Bar Rooms ... I visited a couple while  in B-town  and of course there are some micro-brewery type places that aren’t bad and some bars that  have been there forever... I don’t really have a favorite but by and large the beer was cold and the drinks were healthy... so they met my standards.  I really noticed I can’t drink as much as I used to—then again nobody can.... 

finally...bread crumbs...

You know the old children’s tale where the kids leave bread crumbs so they can go back from where they came?  Well I realized that I hadn’t really put down many bread crumbs in some of the places I’ve been and couldn’t really ever go back even. If I wanted.  I wasn’t aware.  Now  I am and feel like seeking peace and joy may require  marking parts  of my journey for review and maybe revisiting.  Maybe I can bring some new meanings to these places and experiences if I take the time to build better relationships that can be connections to memories that haunt  or amuse me.  When I was young. And my heart was an open book so to speak I didn’t want to leave the crumbs wither for me to go back or to feed those  who might follow.  Well I missed some opportunities  to retrace and learn more so while I won’t live in the past I can learn.  From now on I will leave a few crumbs here and there.  

One last post about my trip ...coming tomorrow and then it’s back to the future. Doc.