After 20 years of being away, I finally made the trip back to Michigan. It took me a while. For the first half of that 20 years, I was making a life down here in Indiana. And, after a while of driving unsafe cars, I developed a fear of driving more than an hour or so away. The furthest I went was Virginia in 2013, but I took buses. But, after 11 years of not doing as I promised and scattering my mom's ashes, I finally went up there with Denise and William.
On the way up, after we passed the border and driving on roads that sounded like flat tires, Denise kept pointing to every pond and saying "Is that a Great Lake?" Irritating her back, I put my arm in her face and pointed at the pond, saying "That, there? No."
On the way up, after we passed the border and driving on roads that sounded like flat tires, Denise kept pointing to every pond and saying "Is that a Great Lake?" Irritating her back, I put my arm in her face and pointed at the pond, saying "That, there? No."
We finally got into the county in the later afternoon. My first priority was touring the places where I lived and went to school, giving Denise a bit of background of myself. I first went to the trailer park where I spent age 11 to 22. On the way there, I passed by the demolitions and site works business now owned by the kid that used to irritate me in middle school. It blew my mind. It was like my St. Clair County mindset was put on ice, and had woken up later; I uttered to myself "I'm in the future."
We turned down the trailer park and everything came back to me. I felt dizzy. I thought of my paper route, which seemed to be on much wider streets. I saw the community center where I had my high school graduation open house. Then we passed by my old trailer. The paint had faded back to its original wood, and the carport was turned into a garage. I felt a combination of nostalgia and panic. Denise kept making sure I was O.K. I was. Later, I told William "You know about how you think you know more about video games like Mario and Megaman? That's where I was when I first played them. I'm old school like that."
We then went onto the first apartment that I remember, a townhouse in the ghetto part of Port Huron. Though Denise didn't think it was as ghetto as I remember it was. From there, I showed her my preschool, then the place where I went to kindergarten, but it was torn down.
That first evening ended with us going to my cousin, Mike's, 50th birthday party. On the way there, I took a look at my grandparents' and aunts' graves. I panicked a bit because I forgot where they were.
We turned down the trailer park and everything came back to me. I felt dizzy. I thought of my paper route, which seemed to be on much wider streets. I saw the community center where I had my high school graduation open house. Then we passed by my old trailer. The paint had faded back to its original wood, and the carport was turned into a garage. I felt a combination of nostalgia and panic. Denise kept making sure I was O.K. I was. Later, I told William "You know about how you think you know more about video games like Mario and Megaman? That's where I was when I first played them. I'm old school like that."
We then went onto the first apartment that I remember, a townhouse in the ghetto part of Port Huron. Though Denise didn't think it was as ghetto as I remember it was. From there, I showed her my preschool, then the place where I went to kindergarten, but it was torn down.
That first evening ended with us going to my cousin, Mike's, 50th birthday party. On the way there, I took a look at my grandparents' and aunts' graves. I panicked a bit because I forgot where they were.
Continuing on, we made it to the party. It was a bonfire in the back woods, with SUVs parked everywhere, and people going to get drinks out of tents and an RV. This blew Denise's mind.
We took a quick trip back into town to pick up things, and that was when Denise got to see her first Great Lake, Huron, for the first time. She was enamored with it. I said "Now THAT... that is a Great Lake."
Denise told me was surprised that my family was as redneck as they were. I told her I was only a bit surprised, and was up for any kind of celebration. I loved the lake-effect winds. We got lawn chairs and they looked for sweaters.
We went back to the party and I remembered to bring the half-gallon bottle of Everclear I got in Indiana. I had a drink of it, refreshing the pop half-way through, and a rum drink they made.
We talked, and since Mike lived in the same apartment complex as I did when I was little, he agreed that it was ghetto. The conversation took a serious tone when we mentioned my mom's old on-and-off boyfriend. I cried a bit, in light of the conversation and having a few flashbacks earlier in the day. It was cathartic, though. We spent the night at his place.
The next morning, we went to Lexington, where we walked out onto the quay, then had breakfast. I showed them a few more places, and my elementary, junior high, and high schools (all around and near Lapeer), and then we went to see my uncle and aunt, but they weren't home.
It was then time to go home.
I got to thinking that it would be nice to make Michigan our vacation spot once or twice a year. Mike mentioned that our parents' generation always arranged get-togethers, but ours hasn't. Maybe it's time to make that change.
Denise told me was surprised that my family was as redneck as they were. I told her I was only a bit surprised, and was up for any kind of celebration. I loved the lake-effect winds. We got lawn chairs and they looked for sweaters.
We went back to the party and I remembered to bring the half-gallon bottle of Everclear I got in Indiana. I had a drink of it, refreshing the pop half-way through, and a rum drink they made.
We talked, and since Mike lived in the same apartment complex as I did when I was little, he agreed that it was ghetto. The conversation took a serious tone when we mentioned my mom's old on-and-off boyfriend. I cried a bit, in light of the conversation and having a few flashbacks earlier in the day. It was cathartic, though. We spent the night at his place.
The next morning, we went to Lexington, where we walked out onto the quay, then had breakfast. I showed them a few more places, and my elementary, junior high, and high schools (all around and near Lapeer), and then we went to see my uncle and aunt, but they weren't home.
It was then time to go home.
I got to thinking that it would be nice to make Michigan our vacation spot once or twice a year. Mike mentioned that our parents' generation always arranged get-togethers, but ours hasn't. Maybe it's time to make that change.
