On November 27, the Village Inn in Milton WV closed it's doors. It was a very sad day for me. I was sad that I was not there for their final day. You may wonder why the closing of a local pizza place was such a sad occasion. The Village Inn was more than just a local pizza place. I spent more time at the Village Inn during my high school years than I did at school. I started working there when I was 15 years old. The Wallace family who owned and managed the Village Inn immediately took me in just as if I were part of their family. Billy Joe and Janet Wallace were a huge part of not just my life, but a part of the lives of about every person in our small town as well. Billy Joe would bring the catering truck to the high school where the majority of students would purchase their "half and a drink". The "half" was a half of a sandwich - a pizza bread sandwich. The Wallace's were always supporters of every club in School. They were so generous to our school. The Wallace's children all worked there at one time or another. I have such good memories of the place. I spent my 16th birthday working there. The Hurricane Volunteer Fire Dept (who were regulars) brought me in a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to me. I met some great people working there. It truly felt like a part of me died on November 27.
Today, a friend of mine who lived next door to the house I grew up in, told me that they were cutting down trees in my old yard. It was not just any ordinary tree that they were cutting. They were cutting two trees that my daddy planted shortly after my parents had the house built in 1969. They were little pine trees. On my trips back to WV, I often drive up on "the hill" where I spent my child hood. I always look at those HUGE trees and think - WOW - I remember when they were about 2 feet tall. Not sure why it made me so sad to hear that they were being cut down, but it did. I called Chris to tell him about it and I broke down and cried. It seems like there is nothing that has not changed since my childhood. I have gotten fat.... I have lost my dad....my school was bulldozed down and they flattened the hill that it sat on... the pond down below my childhood neighborhood (the same one I was baptised in) was filled and there is now a house sitting where the pond once was... The covered bridge that I cherished has been moved not once - but twice...the local pool was closed and filled in... my home town is not the same...... the owners of my childhood house have let the hillside grow over and I am pretty sure no one is going down there and fishing and catching crawdads like I used to.... businesses I grew up with are closing... some friends have passed away....
I know that life goes on ~ but I would love for some of the things from my childhood memories would stay the same. I guess that is why we cherish our childhood memories... because things will never be the same as they were when we were children. Sometimes, growing up is not fun.
