Visiting my family for Easter weekend I decided to run my old neighborhood. I was quite aware of the potential nostalgia of this run. My parents have lived in the same home for almost 50 years, thus this is the home I was raised in all my life until I got married.
I decided to run the "back-way" out of the subdivision towards the "new" Seven Eleven. (This is what we called this particular Seven Eleven because on the front end of the subdivision is the "old" Seven Eleven. Both are over 30 years old now!) It is a one mile trek to the "new" Seven Eleven and when I was a child I had to have favored permission to go there on my bike and usually it was an exhilarating trip if I was allowed to go. I always felt like it was dangerous venturing "out of" the subdivision by myself. I got to say I felt empowered to be just running there as an adult. It's crazy, the paradoxes of childhood/adulthood re-do's.
Running that day was no problem as my mind was occupied with recognition memories. First was the Prinkey's house where I had Brownie Troop. I hated Brownies. I knew no one in my troop and there were thirteen girls and everyone had their best friend so I was always odd-man out. That troop was the nesting ground of all my insecurities I would fight for many decades to come! Then Marla's house, my only church friend in the neighborhood and I spent the night many times in that house. I once was riding a miniature motorcycle and ran it into the side of her dad's car because I didn't know how to shift or break and that was the only way I could stop! He had to pry it out from under his tire wheel.- good times!The next to the last house before the Seven Eleven was a girl's house that I knew in Middle School. The only personal contact I had with her was in band class when she showed me her rolled up pot and offered to give me one free to try. Just looking at them made me feel guilty and I thought in my head there was no way I would even just try it with my magnetism to getting caught in the least of infractions. Immediately I referenced getting nailed for shooting a lima bean with my spork in fourth grade lunch and sentenced to silent lunches for a week. Fourth grade taught me there was NO WAY I would risk trying it!
I ran to the Seven Eleven making my loop back toward home feeling energized and toyed with the thought of continuing toward my Elementary School but reconsidered to save it for another time thinking that run alone would make an awesome separate blog! I had another goal - go by my best friend's Nancy's house which would be at the end of mile two. I hadn't been by her house in over 20 years and I was trying to recall the cut through street all the way there. I found the street and spent the mile thinking about my time with Nancy.
Nancy had the same birthday as I did and we had a couple combined parties at her house. Her house at the time had the largest residential pool in Orlando and it was featured in the Orlando Sentinel. Her family was orginally from New York and were the wealthiest people I knew personally. They had a huge Lincoln Continental that always had Frank Sinatra playing. I rarely saw her dad but her mom was fascinating to me. She was the only woman who proudly flaunted her nose job and I recalled her wearing her bandage for weeks after her surgery. I spent the night A LOT at Nancy's house and we shared a love for singing, music and Barry Manilow.
When I reached Nancy's house I saw it was vacant and for sale. The large front window was open for viewing in and I took a long look through the living room (where her brother eventually killed himself and the family moved shortly after), peering into the kitchen with a glimpse of the pool porch where we spent so many summer days. I thought I could hear Barry Manilow singing "Even Now". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX4xIgb_oMw&feature=fvst
I set off for my home street into my third mile and as I passed my house decided to push a powerful sprint all the way to "Gail-Gail's" house for old time's sake. I thought briefly about taking off my shoes and socks and smacking my feet on the asphalt all the way there but didn't want to break my focus!
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