22 January 2010

Home

I have never really been from anywhere.

I was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but that's not my home. I was raised in Clarinda, Iowa with a short nine month side trip to Houston, Texas. Neither of them are home either.

In my Navy service I lived in Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, and Florida. I visited dozens of places around the globe, both in the US and not, and none of those places were home, either.

I currently reside in North Carolina, but that's not home. It will do for now, because that's where she is, and wherever she is home is there also. But that has not always been the case.

I can't really explain my feelings on the subject, but it has always seemed to me that life was transitory, and that wherever I was at the moment I was sure to be somewhere else later on.

Maybe some day I will find that mystical place, but until then I am an American, and wherever the flag flies that will be home.

2 comments:

EllenB said...

Best of luck creating your new life, Larry! You could have done worse than to grow up in Clarinda... home of Glenn Miller, 4-H, the Jeeper's Creeper that auto mechanics use. Beautiful little town, with a courthouse in the middle of the town square and a divided boulevard that runs around the entire town, four blocks out from the square. At Christmas, strings of red and green lights stretch down from the top of the courthouse to the tops of the buildings on the square. Sweet little place.

Larry said...

You are speaking of the Canopy of Lights (don't forget the star on the top of the courthouse), what used to be called the Promenade (and is now just called The Boulevard), and Lisle Corporation, who's products can be found in almost every auto parts stores from coast to coast. Sounds like you are familiar with Clarinda, it's a nice little town and my parents and younger brother still live there (my sister lives nearby).
Thanks for stopping by Ellen!