you can't go back, but...

September 1970 Then and October 2014 Google Map Now

In 2007, my siblings helped move my uncle Pat from the home he built in 1957 to be near his brother and sister in Columbia, SC.  While clearing out the cluttered old house, my mind went to many Finlayson family visits to 880 Pinewood Drive.  It was a melancholy week for me that week.  My sister Jennie had already taken Pat to his new digs at Still Hopes Retirement Community in Columbia and the rest of us rummaged through his belongings, figuring out what to leave and what to pack for the move. 

There in every room, ever closet, every corner was a memory waiting to be recounted.  Westbrook would take his family to visit his brother Pat about once a year.  I remember celebrating my birthdays there (August) a number of times down through the years. Pat was a terminal bachelor.  His house was small, but seemed to be able to take on a large amount of visiting Finlaysons.  I remember as a kid, Pat sharing his bed with me.  Everyone would share beds.  There were two couches along with cots in the closet.  I don't recall anyone complaining during these trips because we were all visiting UNCLE PAT! 

Tonight I looked up Pat's old house via Google Maps.  Even though I know there is no going back there, seeing the house perched atop that familiar hill, my mind still makes that journey back there.

Someone mentioned Macon, GA this week, of course I thought of Pat.  Wouldn't it be great to see him again, even if it meant getting shanghaied into another day long sightseeing tour under the guise of a post office run?