UKIAH, a blip on the map of US-101 as it winds its way through northern California. Famous for old hippies and wine grapes, crappy schools and organic pot.
So why am I here? Visiting family. Today I saw my brother, who doesn't live here either, and we gave his wife a quick tour of our old hometown. The poor girl was totally confused by the time we finished describing how City Hall used to be an elementary school, which is now occupying the old Junior High which is now occupying the old high school, although the best building was torn down.
SIL: "You both graduated from this high school?"
Bro: "Yes, when it was a high school."
SIL: "Well, what is it now?"
Me: "It's the Jr, High."
SIL: "But where is the high school?"
Bro: "I don't know."
Me: "Neither do I."
It's a blip on the map of my life, too. I was born here. And the hospital where I was born is now an office building, which is an improvement over 20 years ago when it was a mental health facility... and I can remember when the local community college was a cluster of portable buildings and trailers parked at the fairgrounds.
My elementary school hasn't moved, but it's doubled in size. The seldom-used street I used to walk home from Jr. High now has stoplights, turn lanes and traffic jams. The Foster Freeze is gone, as is The Big Orange, the A&W, the Frosty Shop. And the house we used to live in before 1964.
And, it was here I first saw Star Wars in 1977 while visiting for a weekend... Why? Because my sister said, "You HAVE to see this movie, I'll babysit." And so we went, (and life hasn't been the same since.) The theatre is still there, but it's now a 6-plex.
The only thing constant is the big "U" on top of a local mountain, the creeks are dry in the summertime, and they have the right kind of crickets... the ones that go "chirp-chirp" in the night instead of the irritating ones in Arizona that go "CHEEPCHEEPCHEEP" in a monotone...
What's the point of this blog? It really doesn't have one... except, you CAN go home again, just don't expect to find anything when you get there...
