memories of place. michelle slosser

"Attachment to place comes from what we experience there, and subsequently, what we retain in our memories." -Lane

I can recall many examples of sight and smell bringing back a flood memories, good and bad, of earlier times in my life. One of the more recent ones was a memory of my first boyfriend, brian, in high school, who was very influential in my life. Just a few weeks ago, his little brother came to town to visit, and we drove on the amphibious base in va beach to see their old house. i hadnt been there since they moved away 6 years ago, and luckily it was a beautiful sunny day when we drove though. i felt like i was going through a time warp. all the feelings that i had for brian came back, though they had disappeared for years, and i felt like i was 16 years old again. i could see their old neighbors playing around in the court, i imagined us walking around the neighborhood, swinging on the swings, listening to brian talk about his philosophy on life and God and love. i just sat there in the passenger seat smiling from ear to ear, feeling like i was in a completely different world, a different time. its not that this naval base neighborhood was anything particularly beautiful or inspiring, actually most of the buildings were clearly getting old, and most of the neighborhood kids were smoking or talking on cell phones, though clearly no older than high schoolers. in reality the neighborhood had changed, but in my head i was 16 and frolicking around without a care in the world, except the impending arrival of my mother to pick me up and take me home at the end of the day.