There’s an old adage, adopted from the title of a 1940 Thomas Wolfe novel, that states, “You can never go home again.”
The saying is meant to infer how itnostalgia causes us to view the past in an overly-positive light, and how humans tend to remember people and places from our upbringing in static terms.
It also hints to the notion that perhaps nostalgia can be preventative of progression, and that the truest sign of maturity is acknowledging things for what they really are.
This week I tried to figuratively go home.
After I headed back south from Anomosa, Iowa, I stopped at a few more familiar towns of my youth, Keokuk, Iowa & Kahoka, Missouri.
There were a few familiar sites there that I remembered but as expected there were so many changes with the years of progression.
In Keokuk, Iowa there was the George M. Verity Paddle Wheel River Boat which still looks about the same as it did in 1969...
But... the little park I don't remember...
The old train depot is now being refurbished...
An earlier pic
Of course the Locking Dam was still there and operating.
I remember Kahoka, Missouri as an 11 year old (6th grader).
The houses and area we lived has changed drastically.
In fact I could not locate the exact place we resided.
The laundry and little burger joint just a block from where we lived is not there any longer. In fact new growth has obscured the area so I have no idea.
However, the town square I recognized with the old substantial buildings that are still there.
The town square with the center gazebo is still there with memories of two gangly youths walking around together during a town festival. My first puppy love.
The towns were the same and yet nothing at all like many of my memories.
Yet I feel very appreciative to still have this exceptional day to relive those times of my youth!
Nana
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