Cities and Towns

I have always loved to see new places. Frequent relocation during my childhood just gave me a thirst for exploring unseen vistas. Nostalgia for a past home remained each time we moved to a new one, but that one would soon become familiar . I love visiting a city for the first time, though that experience cannot equal a return to a hometown from the past. Places may deteriorate with age, be revived by restoration or demolished altogether, but the memories never escape. Watching a college football game yesterday between my alma mater and a college located in a town where I once lived awakened memories of childhood. The back yard of our house was adjacent to the marching band's practice field. In my head I can still hear the drum major's cadence as the drummer clicked out the rhythm. Early morning practice was always sans music, but late afternoon would ring with the full instrumental compliment. Sitting beside the birdbath in the back yard, I dreamed of one day attending that university. Plans made at age ten sometimes must be replaced by the reality of "out of state tuition", but those happy childhood thoughts can come trickling back in at the strangest times.