Very shortly here it will be 31 years that I have called this place, this NEPA place, my home. A lot has happened in those three plus decades, that’s for sure.
When I came here I gave the people I worked for an ultimatum. I would be outta here in two years.
Obviously it didn’t take. They left, I stayed.
Of course it’s not been as simple as all that. I left too, several times. I lived in NH (Twice) moved to Scranton (THAT was a disaster) but I have been pretty stable lately. I guess the old idea about putting down roots has some credence after all.
There have times when I thought I hated this place. Couldn’t wait till it was in my rear view mirror. Other times when coming back felt like coming home.
My youngest son was born here. I got divorced here. Married a girl from here. Owned two houses here. Bought and sold cars, took up and discarded lifestyles, habits and jobs. I have a lot of history here. Made enough money to buy…well not Miami, but I did piss it away pretty fast. Worn many a magnetic stripe thin on the credit cards of life.
Possibly it’s the passing of another year, what with my birthday just going by. Maybe it’s just the time of year. It was about this time of the year when I first came here to live. It was a heady time of my life. I put a lot on the line back then, but it all seems like a dream to me now. I don’t really understand how we did all that. Pretty much me and my American Express card ran the show here for quite while. It seemed easy at the time. I could never do it now, it would kill me.
Of course I was 27. I could do a lot of things back then that I couldn’t dream of now, more is the pity.
Wow. 27. Was I really?
Now my mind writes checks that my body can’t cash. And I sit here at the kitchen table, laptop in front of me, long-suffering wife buzzing around getting ready to go to work.
New life, new day. It’s all still an adventure.
