6.14.2006
Goin' back to Indiana...
I visited Indiana last summer with my daughter (11 then) to show her where I grew up. We rolled by the high school, the junior high, along Philadelphia Street, past the Putt and Gallanar homes, and out to my boyhood home in Shadowood Village. I had not been back in over a decade and through many mixed emotions I realized you really can never go back. No matter how hard you try and no matter how hard you want to, nothing and no one will be the same as it was for the moments and years you were there. YOU are not even the same and you can never return to that. And I'm not talking about the added pounds, hair loss, or any cosmetic surgury. Mentally, we were all at different stages and we were maturing at different rates into who we are today.
So as I drove around Indiana last July, I tried to recall the wind blowing through my hair as I would ride my ten-speed into town along Warren Road; tried to recall swimming out at the bridge across Two Lick Creek reservoir; tried to recall softball games on a makeshift diamond at the corner of Warren and Barclay Roads; tried to recall the shows I worked on as a Sendracs member; tried to recall a simpler time for me before I grew up and life got much more complicated.
But as we left Indiana, I couldn't help but feel things have worked out well for me. I am pretty darn happy here in Morgantown with many close friends. The trip made me appreciate all the more what is right here in front of me right now, and how sometimes you have to leave to remember what you had in the first place.
For those that return to Indiana this weekend, I hope you all enjoy the trip back in time. Laugh it up, enjoy the company, and needle Dave Tabish on entering retirement.
So as I drove around Indiana last July, I tried to recall the wind blowing through my hair as I would ride my ten-speed into town along Warren Road; tried to recall swimming out at the bridge across Two Lick Creek reservoir; tried to recall softball games on a makeshift diamond at the corner of Warren and Barclay Roads; tried to recall the shows I worked on as a Sendracs member; tried to recall a simpler time for me before I grew up and life got much more complicated.
But as we left Indiana, I couldn't help but feel things have worked out well for me. I am pretty darn happy here in Morgantown with many close friends. The trip made me appreciate all the more what is right here in front of me right now, and how sometimes you have to leave to remember what you had in the first place.
For those that return to Indiana this weekend, I hope you all enjoy the trip back in time. Laugh it up, enjoy the company, and needle Dave Tabish on entering retirement.
# posted by E-Mann @ 12:11 PM 
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Being a Shadowood alum, I must agree we had the BEST neighborhood, none of that Monticello hoity-toity-ness, but boy does Shady drive (the big circle) seem small now. E-man were you at the ball game (I think there's a Sheetz where we used to play) when Todd Cover hit me in the mouth with the ball and chipped my tooth? I also remember those darn mini bikers who would run us off the trails. Ah...nostalgia makes me digress.
My own kids are among those still playing ball at the corner of Warren and Barclay Roads. We've all grown and many have gone, but there are still tons of kids all around here doing exactly what we did all those years ago. Kid of comforting, huh?
Wow. I think I was there when your mouth got in the way of the softball. Lotsa blood, right? And screaming, IIRC. Todd and I were decent friends way back then. He sure could hit.
It was interesting how different the personalities were between areas. You mention the Monticello vs Shadowood thing, but there was a bit of a difference between Shadowood and Warren Road as well. I recall lots of times playing with a roving gang along Warren Road, but as I progressed through High School there was less and less of that. In fact I remember pleading with my parents to move into town so I could be closer to my friends. That's the kind of grip Ian had me under...And Dave Putt, and Jimmy Gordon, and Chippinjoe, and Scott Brown...a'nat.
I know a convenience store went in at the corner of Barclay and Warren Roads, but I don't think it was a Sheetz. Sheetz built on the old Stefanik property at the corner of Warren and Ben Franklin Roads.
Nell, do your kids play in a convenience store parking lot? Or is there a field behind the business that is shoehorned between pavement and backyards?
It was interesting how different the personalities were between areas. You mention the Monticello vs Shadowood thing, but there was a bit of a difference between Shadowood and Warren Road as well. I recall lots of times playing with a roving gang along Warren Road, but as I progressed through High School there was less and less of that. In fact I remember pleading with my parents to move into town so I could be closer to my friends. That's the kind of grip Ian had me under...And Dave Putt, and Jimmy Gordon, and Chippinjoe, and Scott Brown...a'nat.
I know a convenience store went in at the corner of Barclay and Warren Roads, but I don't think it was a Sheetz. Sheetz built on the old Stefanik property at the corner of Warren and Ben Franklin Roads.
Nell, do your kids play in a convenience store parking lot? Or is there a field behind the business that is shoehorned between pavement and backyards?
I'm going to add my neighborhood in as well...the old Sayers's Pond hangout...did anyone else hang out there?
Dr. Sayers let us have free run of his entire property all year round...and his kids had been grown and long gone...
He stocked the pond for us in the spring (where I ALWAYS caught the most fish but refused to touch the bait or the fish); he had a little boat for us to row; we iceskated all winter; the shouts of "SNAKE!!!!!" were the only thing that could clear the pond when we were swimming (in about 2.2 seconds!); the field right below the house hosted some kind of athletic competition every single night: baseball, wiffleball, kickball, football, release...and there were always fights ...but Dr. Sayers never told us enough was enough and it was time to go home...
And does anyone remember the really cool two story playhouse with real working windows and doors and an actual staircase inside??? We had the life!!!
Indian Springs road was actually considered the boondocks back then...now it's the center of suburbia and traffic congestion and my once favorite place to be is now a gynocologist's office...
I cry every time I drive by...but the memories...wow.
Dr. Sayers let us have free run of his entire property all year round...and his kids had been grown and long gone...
He stocked the pond for us in the spring (where I ALWAYS caught the most fish but refused to touch the bait or the fish); he had a little boat for us to row; we iceskated all winter; the shouts of "SNAKE!!!!!" were the only thing that could clear the pond when we were swimming (in about 2.2 seconds!); the field right below the house hosted some kind of athletic competition every single night: baseball, wiffleball, kickball, football, release...and there were always fights ...but Dr. Sayers never told us enough was enough and it was time to go home...
And does anyone remember the really cool two story playhouse with real working windows and doors and an actual staircase inside??? We had the life!!!
Indian Springs road was actually considered the boondocks back then...now it's the center of suburbia and traffic congestion and my once favorite place to be is now a gynocologist's office...
I cry every time I drive by...but the memories...wow.
Okay, to set the record straight: there is a Sheetz at the corner of Warren and Ben Franklin Roads. My kids play in a decent sized grass field just down from the corner of Warren and Barclay Roads. There is a large parking lot nearby for Dr. Bob's Weight Loss Clinic. We use Barclay Rd. as an access to Country Lane which is the back way to our home.
Right you are Nell! My sister actually lives on the corner of Warren and Barclay across from the Blair's.
Yep Emann, you were there. Todd was a slugger and my tooth is still chipped to prove it.
Jay-nine, I remember us riding bikes to tennis lessons at Mack park. I had the farthest to ride, getting from my house to your house then on to the park, but I was so proud of my yellow wooden Billy Jean King tennis racket!
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Yep Emann, you were there. Todd was a slugger and my tooth is still chipped to prove it.
Jay-nine, I remember us riding bikes to tennis lessons at Mack park. I had the farthest to ride, getting from my house to your house then on to the park, but I was so proud of my yellow wooden Billy Jean King tennis racket!
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