Time it was
And what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence
A time of confidences
Long ago it must be
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you

Bookends by Paul Simons

My mother has moved back to near where I grew up. Last week I went to visit her being the good son and all that. Whilst chatting over coffee she mentioned places she had recently walked and one of them struck a chord. It was a lake, known locally as The Big Pond, and it set off a number of memories. I had swum across this lake one hot summers day with my cousin which horrified my mother, and would have no doubt got me in trouble at the time, because its wide and, apparently, deep. The recklessness of youth. Oh well, better to ask forgiveness than seek permission… sometimes.

So, full of memories I went to visit the lake that I had not seen in nearly thirty years. My mind replayed boyhood escapades. I was smiling to myself as I strolled through the trees near the water. Lost in thought. Good times reflected back. Friends (where are they now), places, moments, all long gone. You do that? Go somewhere, do something, hear something and you’re in another place?

But when I came back from my thoughts all was lost. The crowds. People on every beach space. Noisy children. Dogs, lots of dogs. And little chance of any privacy as trail bikers thundered by. There is even a shop now selling fast food in what was once a picturesque cottage. Any opportunity, ehh?

I returned to the car taking my memories with me. As Paul Simon wrote:

Preserve your memories
they’re all that’s left you

Have the very best of weeks and make some memories.