Growing up a Spartan…

          Im sitting here, in the house of my youth, listening to the music of my past and feeling divinely content about the here and now, for it is always nice to return to the places where the concept of home was felt most prevalently in the times before now. I do not know what it is about this place, it just makes me calm and comfortable, and no matter what occurs I know that, for a time at least, I may return and just remember, after all remembering is the most simple thing to do, and it brings the most warmth. I can’t help but smile.

          The brunt of the play of my life thus far have been performed on the stage and streets of Bellevue, a small city about 7 miles outside of downtown Nashville, and it is here where I feel the most at home. Granted, it does not feel as it once did, but things and times change and I count my blessings that I may still return and enjoy the same familiarity that makes this place what it is. Yesterday I went to the Doctor, the man that has treated my illnesses from the time I was six, and had a pleasant talk with not only him but the nurses that have been there as well. After that I went and got my prescription at the Grocery store that was once Albertsons, and is now Publix. I met up with my pastor at the Starbucks my ex worked at for almost a year, and ate lunch at the Mexican restaurant my family has frequented too many times to count. I perused the harmonicas and guitars at World Music of Bellevue, and stopped in to feed the alligators at Emerald Bay Exotic Animals & Fish, got some food for the house at Kroger and ran into about 12 friends along the way. All the while, I was just breathing, breathing in the essences of places so familiar and so comfortable that they could be nothing but the place I hung my hat for 15 years.

          After getting home I was invited to hang out with a friend that I have known for a little over six years. We caught up,  watched a hilarious movie, and just reminisced about all the funny times we have had. It was great! I got home and downloaded a new cd and can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am just happy to be alive. What is it about home? What is it that makes a place so ideal, even in its imperfections? I hear people talking about “the old neighborhood” with such a reverence and a devotion that it makes me wonder if God is giving us pieces of heaven now, in our hearts, and in the places that we take our shoes off and hang our hats.

          Next month Bellevue mall, the focal point of Bellevue and the one place that holds more memories for me than any other place, is being torn down. The thought of that makes me sad, and even though I know it’s for the best, I am sad to see the beautiful place go. It was there that I worked for Hatworld and Lids and despite the HORRIBLE lack of mall traffic, took my tiny store that everyone hated on, to number 1 in the district and number 3 in the company for two quarters. It was the place I met Aaron Mulroy, my sage Tim, from the bookstore, Sean Yeaworth, and it was where I first met my brother and best friend Josh Sisson. What a place it was! I thank God for Bellevue mall and for all the memories I have had there, and I thank God for the people and places that make Bellevue my home.

          So what are my plans for today? I am going to go hang out with my buddy again and take in all that Bellevue has to offer, once more breathing in the essence of home and of comfort and of joy… Thank you God, for all that you give!