Friday, October 06, 2017
How Small Is The Road Of My Past...
By: Donovan Baldwin
In the last few years, I have returned home to Pensacola, Florida often. I usually take a moment to visit the house I grew up in at the corner of Cary's Lane and Bayshore Drive.
On those visits, I was struck by how small, how narrow, and how shady, Bayshore Drive is compared to my memories.
It was always peaceful and shady, but seemed even closer, narrower. After years of wondering about it, it struck me.
The train tracks were gone.
I knew the train tracks had been taken up decades ago, but had not realized the difference. The railroad had maintained a right-of-way for the tracks and the train. Since the tracks were taken up, good ol' Mother Nature, with the help of landscapers, had been allowed to reclaim her land.
Things change.
Big things, little things.
Even we change.
As this change goes on, it's natural that perceptions change. I've been coming to think of Bayshore Drive in the "new" way.
Suddenly, remembering how it was, with the train running by once a day, brings back a flood of memories.
Not just how it looked, but, how life was back then.
Nice. Quiet, except for the train whistle, and the occasional jet from Pensacola Naval Air Station.
I was a kid again for a moment, seeing it with a kid's eyes, but, nice.
Wish I could wave at the engineer and get him to blow the whistle again.
But, Bayshore Drive looks nicer now...prettier.
Even trade, I guess.
On those visits, I was struck by how small, how narrow, and how shady, Bayshore Drive is compared to my memories.
It was always peaceful and shady, but seemed even closer, narrower. After years of wondering about it, it struck me.
The train tracks were gone.
I knew the train tracks had been taken up decades ago, but had not realized the difference. The railroad had maintained a right-of-way for the tracks and the train. Since the tracks were taken up, good ol' Mother Nature, with the help of landscapers, had been allowed to reclaim her land.
Things change.
Big things, little things.
Even we change.
As this change goes on, it's natural that perceptions change. I've been coming to think of Bayshore Drive in the "new" way.
Suddenly, remembering how it was, with the train running by once a day, brings back a flood of memories.
Not just how it looked, but, how life was back then.
Nice. Quiet, except for the train whistle, and the occasional jet from Pensacola Naval Air Station.
I was a kid again for a moment, seeing it with a kid's eyes, but, nice.
Wish I could wave at the engineer and get him to blow the whistle again.
But, Bayshore Drive looks nicer now...prettier.
Even trade, I guess.
Labels: Bayshore Drive, donovan baldwin, memories, Pensacola, train, train whistle
# posted by Donovan Baldwin @ 5:53 PM 
