I visited the old homestead.
Well, I was feeling a bit claustrophobic being holed up in a roach motel in Houston. I decided I would go for a ride and smoke a cigar. I decided my path would take me to visit the house that I had grown up in until I was about 7 years old. I didn’t remember the house number so I guessed. I punched “5300 Lawn Arbor” into the GPS and it routed me there. 26 or so miles and a lot of stop lights later I turned on the road I grew up on. The neighborhood was obviously affected by Hurricane Ike and the power was out and there were several large trees down. I immediately recognized the house when I came to it. It had changed quite a bit but the facade was still the same.
Well it is amazing the memories that it brings back. Everything seemed much smaller than I remember, the streets were narrower and shorter and the trees were taller. The wide driveway I remember riding my bike up and down no longer seemed wide enough for a car. The fence that led to the garage was gone, but I remember it as it was. I used to pick unsuspecting lizards off that fence and play with them. I remembered the back yard with the century plant that used to eat play-balls like popcorn, quickly deflating anything that it caught.
Even the sewer grate in the front yard has memories. My brother fishing in flooded streets as the water swirled into the drains. I remember coming home with a new toy boat and letting it sail in the waters that ran down the street after a neighbor had a water line burst. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough one time and that boat was soon lost forever. The truck and trailer it came on was never as interesting after that.
Down the street was Mrs. Grimace’s (spelling) house where she had a virtual wildlife refuge and a never ending supply of guppies. I would take a glass to her house and she would give me all I wanted. The parades that took place on that street at the whim of a child banging a pot or decorating their bicycles for a 4th of July parade seemed a distant past.
I drove by our old church Prince of Peace, and the country club that served the neighborhood. I also went by the schools we went to Greenwood forest elementary, Klein Middle School, and Wunderlich where my brother and sisters went.
Low and behold the home was for sale. http://www.har.com/926865 A lot has changed but some things are still the same. The fireplace was the centerpiece of several Christmases. It was also where, after we received beanbags for one Christmas, my career as superman ended after I broke my foot flying across the room and landing on the bricks.
All in all it was an interesting trip down memory lane. The area was not as shiny as I remember from my childhood. I guess we tend to put a certain polish on the memories of our childhood, it was a bit disappointing to see that polish rubbed off.
