January 28, 2024

Past.

I’m reading a book that suggests by remembering how we felt in the past, we possibly stunt our growth for the future.

There are many things I miss about the past. Eating food without worrying about calories. Big metal bowls of popcorn drizzled with real butter. Grandparents that called butter “oleo’. The smiles of loved ones that have passed. The friendly faces of a supermarket cashier named Ruth. The smell of decades old books in the library. Old school penmanship. Mom yelling into the back 40 trying to figure out where I was. Riding in the back seat of a car listening to AM radio. Watching airplanes come and go from a small grass strip. Enough cash to buy things. Going to church and noticing everyone seated in the same place week after week. Shopping in a downtown. Watching the Christmas decorations go up in the village. Wondering what the rest of the country was like and resolving to find out on my own.

The past builds our present. It’s all in the soup. Can’t take it out now. Stir it in and enjoy.