I travel and think of both the future and the past. I wonder of all the things I have done and will do. I know after 300 observations I have changed and with another 300 changes will come. I am a father now and love the life I have lived with no regrets but an understanding that time is knowledge. Mistakes will happen and I will learn same as always. We walk a short long road which I have learned only makes sense if you understand prospective.
8:15am 11/12/2025
In a few moments I will be getting on the train to the Staten Island ferry and I wonder how much of it has changed.
9:35 am
Waiting on the staten island train, I look for signs that this was the trip I needed to take. Directly across from me a digital sign reads “Your grandma want you to get a job?”.. Funny I have a job but I accept the universes sign that this trip was meant to be. I haven’t gone searching for anything specific with this trip.Just looking to see if I remember anything from 30 years ago. The smells, the sights aren’t much on train but one can hope that once I reach the last stop.
10:03am
I reached Eltingvile and a memory hits me! I do beileve this was the stop my cousin Chris and I went to get off to take a bus to the staten island mall. It was also the stop that had a church that held a Goldeneye 64 tournament. As fate would have it I lost said tournament playing Mortal Kombat on Genesis. I never liked the Genesis controller, was always a Super Nintendo guy at heart. However I did enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog and would probably have been happier with that title rather than Super Mario.
I arrived on the block I thought I remembered…But I didn’t. The place I once called home GONE! Rebuilt was someone else’s home. Nothing remained of the place, Not my fathers sun windows “Which I watched him build himself”. Not the pool in the backyard that I spent hours upon hours swimming in with family. Not the garden my grandmother, aunt and mom put together, None of the places remained. Just someone else’s new home that new memories would be made in. While it made me sad I thought for a moment about how places don’t make the memories but the people and the interactions do.
What I did find funny was that some spots on the blocks and around town did come thru with memories. Small things like statues of lions, art, and a few places that I remembered with the church holding a cool halloween haunted house. It was scary at the time but I remember going in because it was held by the boy scouts. My brother was a boy scout so how bad could it have been?! I remembered the school I went to which didn’t change much. Playing manhunt and spending hours upon hours with my cousin.
11:27 am
Having walked the town and seen what became of my old home I have come to the conclusion that really not much changes. Same silent town with families just progressing as best they can. I had a slice of pizza which was good and took the train back. We aren’t the places we grow up at. We are the people we interact with, the family we grow up with. Those are the most important things in life. I think forward and hope for the best.
