I Want To Go? Home?

After being social, and writing about it, I was mentally tabulating the questions asked by people when going through the societal equivalent of the dog butt sniff.

The one I threw out a couple of times was, "Always lived here?"

To me, that is a very telling subject.

It brings up this weeks topic... Is it better to have moved around, or have roots in one place.

Having Roots : Pros

It is your town. You, and probably generations of your ancestors, have been a part of that community since it's founding. There is a legacy. Your name is known.

The sense of community also has a security blanket feel... Anything out of the ordinary will stand out like a sore thumb. The sense of "routine" also provides a layer of comfort.

You are friends with your neighbors... They have been your neighbors since you can remember. Kids from all over the town play together from sun up, to sun down...

When confronted on where "I grew up", my knee jerk reaction is Kansas. Hey... it worked for Clark Kent! Having moved around, it was easy to pick out who would remain after graduating. Until leaving this world... Going back to the 20 year reunion, I was correct on some, mistaken on others.

I envy the people who stayed at times. That existence is a known quantity. Life would only be as complex as YOU made it. The "hustle and bustle" does not exist in places like that. I am in no way, shape or form saying it would not be hard...

It would be rewarding. You could provide for you and yours. You could raise a family there. You could have roots.

Having Roots : Cons

The family legacy... sure... That's swell if they were all model citizens. Now, if your great, great, great Uncle Claude was a goat fucker... Your family legacy is one of livestock raping. Your name is known all right.

Sense of community? People know the color of your shit before you do. Rumor is currency, regardless of factual accuracy.  "A sense of routine"... Blogger, Please. That is the nicest way of saying, "SAME SHIT DIFFERENT DAY!!!".

Neighbors... Well... Good fences make good neighbors...And now that I am older, if I saw a gaggle of young kids roaming the street, I would remark at the parenting. Not condemn, of course... "That one kid comes from a line of goatfuckers, or so I heard..."

I am pretty sure every smaller town or community has that one Dairy Queen, that one Whataburger, that one diner, where the local gentry coming for their coffee every morning, and due to dementia, have the same conversation. I worked at the lumberyard next to the Dairy Queen... Saw them in there... Every. Morning. That was another big reason I joined the Air Force. Was time to GO.

There is a whole big ass world out there... You can sit in one place and watch it go by... Or...

Moving: Pros

The exhilaration of striking out... The pioneering spirit... The wanderlust quenched... If you don't challenge yourself, you won't grow as a person. Test your mettle! They say that moving is one of the five biggest stresses one can face. Conquer that shit!

You get to meet all new people that you would have never interacted with. Afforded the opportunity to get acquainted with new mannerisms and colloquialisms (Spelled that word correctly, first attempt... I don't care if this blog sucks donkey balls... I am proud of that shit!) native to the region. You almost can't help but have them become a part of you.

I learned to be self reliant for my own entertainment because of moving around. I discovered the love of reading. I learned how to make friends. The move to KS. in my freshman year, it was fun to have the "new kid" mystique on my side. There were all manner of rumor swirling about my past... Some I entertained, some I had to squash pretty quick...

Also, the folks did realize that moving was "difficult" on the kids... So... BRIBES, BABY! "I want my own room... I want a pool... I want a four wheeler..." Two out of three ain't bad, yo.

Moving makes you tackle the unknown... If you can tackle the unknown in one facet of your life, then the fear of it will be easily vanquished in other parts.

Moving: Cons

Um, "Pioneering Spirit"??? Really? Tell that to the Donner Party. Striking out on your own, or dragging your family along, is sooooooo fraught with peril... I used to play "The Oregon Trail"... I died of dysentery so many damn times that I looked it up.

dysentery : noun : Infection of the intestines resulting in severe diarrhea with the presence of blood and mucus in the feces. Brought on by moving.

Okay.. The last part should be amended to say "to Oregon... by covered wagon... in the 1800s.", but still...

You have to meet people. Ugh... In the vast phalanx of shaven monkeys on the planet, you are going to get along with about 4%... on a good day... You have to learn things like "smoking cigarettes" to blend in... Peer pressure is a bitch, yo!

Why do I have "Subdivisons" by Rush in my head??? "Be cool or be cast out!" Thanks, Geddy, Alex, and Neil. You get me.

Self reliance is neat and all... Turns you into quite the anti-social bastard in your later years. When asked what I do in my "off time" recently, I noticed that all my activities were pretty solitary on the participation scale. Gym, writing, bike riding, listening to music. Yeah...

Don't get to comfortable... May have to move tomorrow. Go to sleep thinking about that... Sweet dreams, pum'kin.

_______________________________________________

I talk to Moms, and she and Dad have wondered if they did the right thing by moving away from all the family in Michigan to Texas, when us kids were all really young. I was four...

I resounding tell her "YES! Hells Yes." Michigan sucked.

She does not wonder about moving the whole fam damily to Kansas when I was a Freshman... By then, Texas sucked.

When my then new bride (X1) and I made the decision to join the USAF, Kansas sucked.

Staying in a place, having a HOME... vs. Venturing out, always moving... Neither is better, neither is worse. I think back to some of the wisest words I have ever heard,

"No matter where you go... there you are." 

Thanks, Buckaroo,

d

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