life in a small town;what home means to me

Walking down the street listening to the howling of the trees on a warm summer night was the norm. On some occasions others would pass by and a casual nod or simple pleasantry would follow. Then, just as you began to immerse back into conversation with your walking partner the eruption of the engine horn signaled that speaking was to cease. Soon the thunderous rumble began to get closer and closer. Soon my eyes were witnessing mobile artwork as the engine and its cars rolled past, each one having the beautiful vibrant colors on their sides with the artist’s tags. It was a fun game to find an artist that was seen before and to watch their work change each time. Art from around the country right there in front of my eyes for free. Weekends were spent with the American tradition of Friday night football games where it was commonplace for budding high school romances to start as well as end and where friends could laugh and cheer building memories they would cherish fondly for many years after.  That red brick house with the chimney sweeping into the sky, the comfort that was felt walking through its door, the reassurance that I was safe, the place that held my hopes and my dreams and bore witness to my laughter and my tears will always be my home. No matter how the course of my life changes and as I grow older and watch my own family build lives of their own, I will always look back on the place that shaped me, the community that gathered together for homecoming parades and could brag that a U.S. president and his motorcade rolled down our main street to a crowd of over 5,000 residents young and old waiting to catch a glimpse of the leader of our nation. A place where many nights were spent in the yard catching the fireflies that lit up the night, only for them to later be entombed in a mason jar and admired by innocent youth. A place that was home to an annual fair where the aroma of fresh funnel cakes and giant stuffed animals hanging from the games brought fun for all. This place, I can proudly say is my hometown.