Yesterday I took a drive through the old neighborhood. The one I grew up in, in Dearborn, Michigan. I don't go back there as much as I used to when my mom was still alive and living there. I still have a brother living in the city but I didn't stop to see him this time around. This was a trip for observation and reminiscing.
The economy is pretty tough for communities all throughout Michigan right now and Dearborn is no exception. Dearborn was a community that always offered a good number of amenities to its citizens such as numerous parks and swimming pools, Camp Dearborn, Dearborn Towers, an outstanding Parks and Rec Department, neighborhood libraries, neighborhood outdoor ice skating rinks, the Youth Center, and a terrific school system. Over time and for a number of reasons that I won't go into here, the city has been on the decline. Many schools have been closed, including the junior high school I attended. Camp Dearborn is a shadow if its former self. Dearborn Towers is up for sale. The Youth Center was replaced with a Community Rec Center (not at all the same!). The ice rinks... I think all the outdoor rinks have been removed in favor of one indoor rink. The schools, well, don't get me started on that subject. Let's just say they don't provide the quality education they used to.
As a kid growing up in Dearborn, I took my city amenities for granted. I made use of them and didn't think of them as anything special. It wasn't until I was in high school that I became aware of just how unique a community Dearborn was in that respect.
Recently, I became aware that the City of Dearborn's administration was mulling over budget cuts and was planning to close down the neighborhood swimming pools. Let me tell you, that got me worked up like you wouldn't believe! Those pools are sacred to every child who grew up in Dearborn. My childhood is tethered to those pools! More than schools closings, businesses going out of business, Camp Dearborn becoming a golf course, and the libraries losing staffing, I care about those pools. I hate the thought of them being closed permanently. Fortunately, a group of current Dearborn residents has organized (on FB of course) to protest the closing of those neighborhood pools. And they have been successful in keeping them open, at least for one more year. :-)
That got me thinking... about Dearborn and all the changes that have taken place there since I grew up and moved away, and summers spent at the neighborhood pool and the neighborhood park. The memories flooded me and they are almost all happy ones. I realized that while much of Dearborn has changed, much of it is still there for me to capture in photographs... a project I should undertake sooner rather than later. I've taken lots of pictures of Dearborn in recent years, but there are still many to be taken. And lots of memories to write up. So maybe that will be my mission for this summer, to go back and photograph the old neighborhood, and write up my memories. And maybe I'll share a few non-Dearborn memories too. Maybe I'll write up a whole month of summer memories like I did my Christmas memories with the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories...
Want to join me? Want to write up your own childhood memories of summer? I'd love to read about your memories too!
And maybe, just maybe, I'll go back for one more swim in my neighborhood pool.
