Going back home to a "smaller" world.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I had moved away from my boyhood town 50+ years ago. One of the things that got me, when I went back for a visit was how small things were. There was a "huge" tree across the .street. But, now, it wasn't that big. In my mind's eye, the streets were long and broad. But, now, the streets were smaller, the buildings smaller, the town smaller. When I was a kid the largest building was the hospital. Now, it's been added on multiple times, and that "huge" old section is a tiny part. I don't know if it was because we we small, and the world large, but now I'm struck by how small things were?????? maybe, you noticed how small things were we you went back home?
 

I think it's what we get conditioned to seeing. If you visit the Empire State Building, the large building in a small town just can't compete and would seem pretty small. It's like scary movies. The ones that frightened us in our youth seem pretty tame now after seeing much much worse over the years. People were terrified when the first Frankenstein movie was released in 1931. Now that movie would bore us. :sleep:
 
I think when you're a kid everything looks larger than life. You go back & things just look different. I think what threw me was the day I discovered they put in a stop light in town. Thirty some years & they put in one stop light. I ran it before I realized it was there. The speed limit there is 20 mph. I'm used to going 30 - 40 mph as the avg speed here where I currently live. It's like driving through snail country.

Fewer open businesses too. I wouldn't be surprised if my home town becomes unincorporated as the older generation dies off. The younger generation is all moving away.
 

fuzzybuddy said:
I had moved away from my boyhood town 50+ years ago. One of the things that got me, when I went back for a visit was how small things were. There was a "huge" tree across the .street. But, now, it wasn't that big. In my mind's eye, the streets were long and broad. But, now, the streets were smaller, the buildings smaller, the town smaller. When I was a kid the largest building was the hospital. Now, it's been added on multiple times, and that "huge" old section is a tiny part. I don't know if it was because we we small, and the world large, but now I'm struck by how small things were?????? maybe, you noticed how small things were we you went back home?
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Yes! I have had the same experience and found it to be confusing and disconcerting. Also a similar phenomenon with time...seems as if things were slower and took longer when I was a child.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I had moved away from my boyhood town 50+ years ago. One of the things that got me, when I went back for a visit was how small things were. There was a "huge" tree across the .street. But, now, it wasn't that big. In my mind's eye, the streets were long and broad. But, now, the streets were smaller, the buildings smaller, the town smaller. When I was a kid the largest building was the hospital. Now, it's been added on multiple times, and that "huge" old section is a tiny part. I don't know if it was because we we small, and the world large, but now I'm struck by how small things were?????? maybe, you noticed how small things were we you went back home?
Click to expand...
I was a young child, around age 5 or 6, and had been over playing at the neighbours next door while my mom visited with my friends mom. A terrible storm had whipped-up and torrential rain was coming down, along with thunder and lightening. I remember the mad dash mom and I made out the front door of the neighbours house, running through their yard and our yard to get home.

Whenever I think back on it now, it seemed like we had to run two football fields to get home, there were trees, and large expanses of grass, our house seemed as if it were miles in the distance, yet years later when I was older, the dash we made that day equated to nothing more than a quick hope, slip, and a jump.

I find everything related to my childhood seemed much bigger, riding my tricycle to my friends at the opposite end of the block seemed like an all day affair, as did walking to and from school.

What great memories reminiscing about this! So much fun to think about.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I had moved away from my boyhood town 50+ years ago. One of the things that got me, when I went back for a visit was how small things were. There was a "huge" tree across the .street. But, now, it wasn't that big. In my mind's eye, the streets were long and broad. But, now, the streets were smaller, the buildings smaller, the town smaller. When I was a kid the largest building was the hospital. Now, it's been added on multiple times, and that "huge" old section is a tiny part. I don't know if it was because we we small, and the world large, but now I'm struck by how small things were?????? maybe, you noticed how small things were we you went back home?
Click to expand...
My old high school seemed so small, insides of the homes seemed bigger (bedrooms, living rooms). Mansions back then are small now.
 
traveled back to homestead, there wasn't room enough to sling a cat

also, back then my father would bend down to tie my shoe (first pair of shoes with laces) he was ten-twenty feet tall, that's the way it seemed to me.
 
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I haven't been back to my old town....Many years have passed....My home isn't there anymore....The college bought every house on the block..
My parents got more money for the house then when they bought it when I was born...
I have to look for the pictures and reminisce.
 

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