FA+
Shop
My trip to where I grew up
2 weeks ago
General
My boyfriend was visiting me the last five days.
Before he came over, I discovered that a trailer park I lived in near 30 years ago was abandoned, and still physically there.
So we went to check it out - and I found my trailer. On the plus side, I got good shots of the exterior. On the downside, despite the trailer being still safe to enter (relatively), it was now owned by a big fat pregnant raccoon momma.
It was her home now.
The nice thing is, she did not seem to mind us exploring the front end of the place, but she guarded the kitchen and back so I didn't get to wander the entire length. Fortunately she was fairly chill so long as we stayed on our end, but we were on high alert anyway.
The bad news: I was too nervous about her to really relax and drink in where I was. I really wish I had calmed myself enough to get good shots of inside. Instead I just have a couple hasty, shaky videos.
The good news: I was able to enter my old bedroom. Despite it being nearly 30 years now, and there having been many families after us, the walls were the same. I could even see the pin-holes of where I had posters hung.
Standing there, in that space, three decades removed was wild. It may not seem like much to people who have a consistent childhood home in their lives, but for folks like me it was a time warp. I was able, for too brief a moment, feel my own ghost.
Most of the places I have lived in my life before 19 are gone. Literally bulldozed, and gone. That's why it was so important to me to go there. My only regret is that our raccoon host made me spend far less time and effort inside than I had hoped to. We did, however, capture her fuzzy visage on video.
Put some photos up on my BSKY- https://bsky.app/profile/cookieskoo...../3mgdda7elt22w
Before he came over, I discovered that a trailer park I lived in near 30 years ago was abandoned, and still physically there.
So we went to check it out - and I found my trailer. On the plus side, I got good shots of the exterior. On the downside, despite the trailer being still safe to enter (relatively), it was now owned by a big fat pregnant raccoon momma.
It was her home now.
The nice thing is, she did not seem to mind us exploring the front end of the place, but she guarded the kitchen and back so I didn't get to wander the entire length. Fortunately she was fairly chill so long as we stayed on our end, but we were on high alert anyway.
The bad news: I was too nervous about her to really relax and drink in where I was. I really wish I had calmed myself enough to get good shots of inside. Instead I just have a couple hasty, shaky videos.
The good news: I was able to enter my old bedroom. Despite it being nearly 30 years now, and there having been many families after us, the walls were the same. I could even see the pin-holes of where I had posters hung.
Standing there, in that space, three decades removed was wild. It may not seem like much to people who have a consistent childhood home in their lives, but for folks like me it was a time warp. I was able, for too brief a moment, feel my own ghost.
Most of the places I have lived in my life before 19 are gone. Literally bulldozed, and gone. That's why it was so important to me to go there. My only regret is that our raccoon host made me spend far less time and effort inside than I had hoped to. We did, however, capture her fuzzy visage on video.
Put some photos up on my BSKY- https://bsky.app/profile/cookieskoo...../3mgdda7elt22w
I hope you had a lovely time visiting with your boyfriend as well.
I did! I miss him so much right now.
I'm glad you got at least a bit of that old home experience again though.
I often muse on how the places we grow up end up defining segments of our likes. I've lived in many places over the years, and each one became a distinct part of my life as I remember them.
I wish I had gotten still shots of indoors, I really do.
Maybe there will come a time when you can get some stills. I do hope so; it's really not often that you can have that kind of experience.
But... One thing that does bring deep childhood memories is taking a good look at just how constantly my hometown has changed, I feel weird knowing how it all used to look like in the 90s when I was a little kid, even recalling exactly what was where.
I even remember where my parents old stand used to be in the flea market (before it got taken down and turned into a usable road, and all the merchants were moved to where I work nowadays).
So I kinda get that... Feels weird being able to feel all the ghosts of your past, your own ghost from a distant, kinder time...
I've never met a racoon tho XD which is funny cuz here in Mexico Tlacuaches (that's how we call possums) are supposed to be more common xP