This past weekend, a friend of our son's stopped by unannounced. His family had moved away back in the 90's and the boys had kept up, intermittently, as best they could. He was in town doing research for a history paper on our county courthouse, and was headed back to college a couple hours away.
We had a nice chat for an hour or so, and we asked if he wanted to tour the house, see our deck, and so forth. It was interesting watching him look at various features that were obviously triggering memories (in our house, many things pretty much remain in place, like museum pieces, for years). He noted the Nerf ball backboard in the kitchen and ordered us "Do NOT take that down!" He repeated what he had said during his last visit, a year ago: he missed the swing set in the back yard, long ago replaced with a garden. So here is this 6-foot-4 college junior, pining for the swingset of his youth.
My work takes me to a lot of small towns, and I often hear about the "brain drain" and the loss of the community's youth - most of whom look forward to seeing the big ol' world once they graduate from high school. Indeed, most are looking for the excitement, activities, and opportunities that beckon in the big city. But there is another phenomenon, where we see a decent portion of them coming "back home" at some point, maybe to raise a family, perhaps to be able to take those night walks listening to the spring peepers. Those folks who are rooting for their small towns and their survival hope those youth feel a strong enough bond with their home town, as they follow their dreams, career goals, or college plans, that they return, in their thoughts, if not in person. Whether Michael ever settles back here or not, I think I caught a glimpse of that bond last weekend.
3 comments:
Very nice post, Ben. I agree that kids who have happy memories of life in a small community are more likely to return there. Sometimes after they have seen life in the big city, they realize how much better it was in the small town that they left behind.
Ben..
I too am seeing the very phenomenon of which you speak. Before coming to Denver, I lived in small town rural Alabama.It was sad seeing the Seniors graduate and head off to college..or to the larger southern cities looking for jobs which were non existent at home.
But as you said..there is a migration back to their roots to raise their families near loved ones... to rekindle the values of small town living..while bringing their business skills and knowledge home to breathe fresh breath to these dying towns..
Who says you can't go home? If not in person, then always in my dreams!
warm hugs
Loui♥P
Cities are older than the suburbs surrounding them and so have even more of the connections you describe, although there is always change interjected into this as well. It is amazing how we all seek to bond with our roots. We become who we are very early in life and are always seeking confirmation. Thank you for a great take on this.
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