Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The new longview

I saw the new longview area last week for the first time. It is a beautiful throw-back to days gone by. Nostalgic. Businesses look like an old downtown from the 40's. The brand new homes are based on designs from the 1920's. Just being there provided a comforting feeling.

I dont know about you, but framiliar things make me feel good. Yesterday. The way it was. Memories from childhood that come to life. Grandma's house. 60's and 70's music.

Conversely, new things make me nervous. Computers! I saw my first one when I was 28. I never thought I would learn how to use one. New music. Rap= yucky. Meeting new people, crowds. Change. Kids growing up and leaving for college. It is all hard.

Somewhere in this world of changing times, my burden is clear. I need to learn how to adapt. I need to learn to see the good in things that I am uncomfortable with. Think about it. Its all good. What would I rather have, a day filled with new things and new ideas that make me nervous, or to not be given the gift of today? Someone once said that as you grow older, you can choose to become bitter or better. I choose better, what about you?

Its a beautiful day is God's world. Be sure to see the good.

1 comment:

Andrew Loos said...

I love New Longview. The alleys remind me of the stories my dad told be about his childhood in the North Denver residential neighborhoods.

My dad, a babyboomer, told me stories of young men in the 50s learning to ride bikes, breaking bottles, smashing rotten fruit on the garages of the neighbors, and my favorite, the races on something my dad called a "tote goat" (what sounds like a two cylinder mini bike). All of this done under the protection of the alleys.

While the adults sat on the front porches, visiting with the neighbors as they walked on the nearby sidewalks, the children were free to create a new world in the suburban 1950s.

That's how New Longview makes me feel. More importantly, each time I have visited New Longview, I have noticed how much the neighbors interact. I live in a very social neighborhood myself, but New Longview seems to harken back to the days of iced tea on the front porch. HEAVEN!!!