Today I returned to a building where I worked for 10 years. It's the longest time I've ever spent working in one place. It's longer than I attended any school. It's longer than I've spent in any other building, except for the house where I grew up. And I was no longer allowed in without a "Visitor" badge.
It's understandable, the badge and the security in the building is warranted. It's a place where the state's largest department has its headquarters. Many important decisions are made among its floors. A man paid to wear a badge and a gun guards its entrance.
I've returned to the building several times, each time I see many with whom I worked and many I've never seen before. There are a lot of memories in that building, some bad, a few terrible, but most good. I suppose it's like anything, a person can never really go back to the way it was before. Mr. Henley had it right. "Don't look back. You can never go back."
I always have a weird sense of displacement when I need to go back some place like that. It's nice to visit, but (almost) a relief to leave.
ReplyDeleteI am gifting you with a Leibster blog award. The info is over on my blog. :)
http://chasingrevery.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-blogging-award.html