Sonntagnachmitagspazergang: You Can 't Go Home Again...

My husband and I love the word Sonntagnachmitagspazergang. It means Sunday afternoon walk. In German, it is one word. My husband is a collector of odd words, so he loves this really word. I like Sunday afternoon walks. Especially in the park.
While my mom's caretaker stayed with her, Bob and I went to Gompers Park in Chicago for a Sunday afternoon walk. This park is about three blocks from the house I grew up in. In the middle of this park is a lagoon. How I loved that lagoon. My dad and mom used to take me for walks by the lagoon. Dad took me fishing there, because I wanted to go. I cried when we caught one, and insisted we throw it back in. Daddy shrugged and threw it back in. At camp we used to have sailboat races on that lagoon. I used to walk around that lagoon when I was depressed in High School. My husband and I walked around there a lot when we were dating. It was ........special. And from any point in the park you could see the lagoon. NOT ANYMORE! My beautiful view is now obstructed with shrubbery and a CHICKENWIRE FENCE! A CHICKENWIRE FENCE! Along the CHICKENWIRE FENCE there are paths between made of rock, so you can walk up and fish. THOSE FREAKING ROCKS made what was once a beautiful and safe place to play a hazard! Okay, if they had existed already, I wouldn't have said tear them down. But they have stolen something from every child in that neighborhood. Yeah, you can fish, but what about the boat races? What about being able to step into the very middle of the lagoon to get a stuck sailboat? Not if you don't want to cut yourself on a jagged rock! What about fishing ALL ALONG THE LAGOON! In the spring and summer, we were scattered all over the banks of the lagoon. AND IT WAS GLORIOUS! Some kids even ice skated on that little pond. Not me. Overprotective parents. What a loss! The old folks were right. You can't go home again...
Which reminds me of something funny, on the other hand. I recently got myself a facebook page. It is kind of neat. I have friended some blogger friends, and I have looked up some friends from HIgh School and College. I also looked up a boy I had a crush on for three years in grammar school. He now looks like my Uncle Ray. Now, I am not saying that Uncle Ray wasn't good looking back in the day, but no one has a crush on someone who reminds them of an Uncle. That is like a major EEEEEWWWW factor. Like they say, you can't go home again.....