There’s something about places you grew up that can be unsettling. My folks moved to Glens Falls at the beginning of my junior year in high school – not a great time to have to change schools. Trying to become part of a class when the whole town is pretty class-oriented is tough. I joined lots of groups, but never really seemed to fit in. My folks bought a boat and moored it at Lake George, so we spent a lot of time on the lake.

I never liked either place. We went to Lake George and Glens Falls on the trip and felt unconfortable in both places. The school is larger, and the auditorium has  been redone. The same haunts are there but with absolutely no appeal. Even the Fribble at Friendly’s was different than I remembered it. Lake George is even more touristy and crowded than it was 40 years ago. While the lake is still beautiful, I only have lousy memories. We had a nice dinner, enjoyed the fife and drum at the fort, but it wasn’t enough to overcome all the younger memories.

So I’m done visiting there. I have no more need to see that area. All it brings back are lousy memories, so why bother any longer. There are many more wonderful places to visit from the past, and I want to focus on those and new jaunts. Life is too short to focus on unpleasantness in the past. Too bad it took so long to realize that!

The other thing that is becoming obvious as we hit the Northeast is that we have to stop saying “when I retire…” Neither of us wants to wait that long. We need to start doing some of these things and visiting a whole lot sooner. I don’t want to let 16 years go by again until I see some old friends. We’re “old friends” in every sense of the word! And if we move east in three years, well….I don’t have to go out when it’s snowing, so all the arguments about winter are no longer valid. And…my skin really likes the humidity!

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