Memory Lane: Gallatin, Tennessee

I spent the day with my mom. She still lives outside the town where we grew up. Gallatin, Tennessee, a very inconspicuous town. Nothing happens there outside the local druggies and teenagers who might be the same people. It was quaint, quiet. It felt like the whole world for a while, one I didn’t understand. I wanted more, craved it. This couldn’t be the place for me because I found very little that spoke to me.

One day after I picked up my skateboard, I found myself slowly edging towards a larger world that would catapult me away. At the edge of this universe, in a ditch off the side of a highway, I discovered a gateway out.

Fast forward 24 years later, and I find myself in the same town. I find that much has changed, all the while, not much has changed. New kids fill the old lockers, new old people still drive slow, candy shops turn to cafes that turn into music venues that turn back into candy shops. You question what has really happened in all that time? Did anything actually change? It only seems we can measure change by seeing where you were and seeing where you are.

Memory Lane, what a stranger you always seem to be, but one I can never quite forget.

The whole day was planned around cleaning out my moms stuff. She’s just got too much. This pumpkin has been around since I can remember. Some things Never change, but I don’t mind this one.

I didn’t even realize the town was as old as it is. Like it’s damn near as old as the country.

Also surprising, Gallatin was rated one of the happiest cities in the US? What does that even mean? Who voted? Who thought it lol??

This cozy nook though..

This is my Skateshop. This is where half my life started. I’m not sure I used this time wisely. I spent much of it playing video games instead of hanging out. Weird how that felt normal. Let’s say I quit playing video games because of this kind of things. Many many random things happened here. My first job, some tom foolery, running kids off, selling boards. What a time. Imperial, we knew you, we loved you.