After my business meetings in Florida I took the opportunity to stop back home in Ohio and arrived yesterday evening. The weather here being around 30 degrees certainly isn’t that of California or Florida which came as a shock. It felt as though I was stepping back in time to Christmas when we were here last. There was even a light dusting of white to add to that Christmas feel.
It is always good to be ‘home’ although I have three places I consider home now: Pacifica, Saitama and Columbus. I’ve been thinking about the march of time and how everything changes. I wonder how far into the future I’ll even have ties to Columbus. I’m talking about retirement age, perhaps 15 years from now. My sister had mentioned that when the kids are out of the house they are considering moving out west when I had thought they would remain in Grandview in perpetuity. If my sister were to leave then that would leave only a few cousins here as most have moved away as well. I think about how sad it would be to not have any immediate family here, no place to stay. A place I’ve considered home for my entire life would feel like a chapter gone by. My favorite places such as the Grandview pool, the library, Golfview Woods, old acquaintances will all still be here but I’d have no personal connection anymore.
This idea first started to occur to me when the parents of some childhood friends finally moved away. My acquaintances moved many years ago and their parents where their last links to Columbus. With my sister mentioning moving away in the future I realized that I might, some day, be in the same situation. Would there come a time when I have no solid reason to visit Columbus anymore?
In my retirement age I’ll most likely live in Japan so there may not even be a strong incentive to take trips to the USA anymore. I suppose it all depends on where my kids end up living.
Furthermore, everything continues to change. Recently Grandview lost Paul’s Pantry which is like Grandview losing part of its old identity. My parents have been going to Paul’s for 50 years and now it is gone which is incredibly sad. Over time, other longtime businesses will disappear. I’m thinking about Men’s First Hair Designs where I got my haircut in the ’90s, or Panzera’s Pizza which we would order in the ’80s and watch shows like Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. I still order Panzera’s everytime I’m home. How long either of those businesses will persist into the future is unknown.
Grandview will continue changing and my life will change as well.
