I moved to Fairborn, Ohio in 1977. My family spent over two years in the Buckeye State while my dad was stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and I have fond memories of our time there. After living my first 10 years in California, I had never experienced things like fireflies, blizzards, humidity, spectacular lightning storms or tornadoes.
We lived in a condominium complex that was built in the middle of nowhere. Except for the convalescent hospital across the street, there wasn't much of anything but farmland in all four directions. Even today, 30 years later, the area surrounding the complex is relatively undeveloped.
When we moved in, the complex was unfinished and half the size of what you see now. The ongoing construction made for great exploring and play opportunities, and it's a wonder nobody was killed. As soon as the construction workers left for the day, the kids would swarm into the site and everything was fair game. We climbed up in unlocked dump trucks and earth movers, took wood to build forts, and used unfinished condos for hide-and-seek. It was great fun.
I could tell stories for days--about the lightning that split a tree right behind my dad and I, about the blizzard of '78, all the times in the crawl space hiding from tornadoes, the Midwest's love for Little League, the homicidal cat, the summer adventures--but I don't have the days to tell them.
Here is a picture of me riding my 11th birthday gift in July of 1978. The grass area you see behind me . . .
. . . is circled in the photo below.
It's incredible to think we can now make that kind of connection in time and space with a few clicks of a mouse, and bring back such a flood of great memories.
Later.
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