Don't get me wrong....I love living in Kansas City. There are so many things to see and do here and over the past 15.5 years we've made a lot of friends that I am so blessed to know. Still, every so often I get hit with this melancholy feeling of "what if?"
Not that I wish I'd never gotten married or had kids, but "what if I'd done that and stayed in Strafford?" Would I be happy? Yes, I think I would be...I was always pretty happy there, and for as many friends as we have up here, we probably had twice as many in the Strafford/Springfield area.
My biggest regret in moving away is that I've lost touch with so many people over the years. While I still hear from friends occasionally, it's just not the same as being there with them. I miss my friends and family sometimes.
I'm a gregarious guy... And so, when I was in High School and College, I didn't have just one best friend...I had about 10. (granted, one or two of them were my best, best friends) It wasn't unusual for 10 or 15 of us to go to Pizza Inn on Glenstone and spend a couple of hours just laughing and talking on a Friday or Saturday night. Sometimes we'd hit a movie or go to Putt Putt and play golf or ride the go-karts. Other times we'd go back to my house and play pool...Drink Dr. Pepper and eat Kool Ranch Doritos and little Debbie cakes...
My crowd included Sherry, Steve, Klauspeter, Klaus, Martin, Jeff, Marty, Deanne, Tim, Mark, Angel, Paula, Gayla, Shawn, Debbie, Dave, David, Dennis, Dan, Jeff, Jill, Jeff, Mark, Jennifer, Ross, Steve, Mark, Elaine...And people that I worked with at the video store and/or Frankos at North Town Mall... There were a bunch of us. Now, we didn't all run around at the same time, necessarily, but there were plenty of times that we'd all meet up somewhere and just hang out. (If I've left anyone out of the above list...My apologies....I'm older now, and it's late...So I'm forgetfull.) Many times people would bring other friends along, so who knew "who" would show up?
Strafford was a simpler time...A youthful time. Other than buying gas (at 67 cents a gallon!!!), I didn't have a lot of bills to pay, and I could spend money on Sherry, or go out and eat with friends a couple of nights each week.
Strafford meant peacefulness... Strafford meant safety... Strafford meant "the good old days..."
I love my life now, but how can you not get nostalgic over the time spent with friends so long ago...In Strafford.
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2 comments:
I think everyone has those moments when we wonder what if we had taken a different path. And it is hard with work, especially those of us who work two jobs, and kids (plus all the activities involved in their lives) and having any kind of time to do anything outside of the household is a challenge.
Meanwhile all those you want to keep in touch with are having the same issues.
One of my best friends from college once said to me, don't think for a minute that I don't think about you, I do all the time. I just don't alway pick up the phone when I do.
Mary
Thanks Mary, very well put. I think even though we're happy with our busy lives, we still wish we had more time...and when we do have more time, we don't always take a moment to pick up the phone... Sad, but true...
Thanks,
David
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