You Can't Go Home Again

“You Can’t Go Home Again” was a novel by Thomas Wolfe published posthumously in 1940. It’s a tale of a character trying to go back to his earlier roots to recapture fond memories and their positive impacts. While the goal was to relive the positive aspects of life, going back in time tempts us to recast personal history to remove the possible downside from some experiences.

My niece recently embarked on a road trip with a similar objective. She wanted more information about the house and the surrounding area where her father had lived. Her dad was the eldest of the three brothers in the family, with I being the youngest. We had lived in a coal mining town, and I had not seen our old house for decades. My maternal grandparents lived several homes away. My niece had lived in an urban neighborhood throughout her early childhood.

Here is what we learned from the road trip:

My niece’s early childhood two-family house was once pristine and was now in disrepair and uninviting. What should have been a time for fond memories was now a time for sadness.

My grandparents’ home was essentially the same except all vestiges of farming and homesteading were gone.

My home where I was born looked picture-perfect with the garden plots and fruit trees being replaced by well-manicured grass.

Life in the coal mining town had clearly changed. My parents lived through the Depression era and devoted all arable land to growing food. My early life revolved around planting and harvesting, neighborly support during the food preserving times and family nearby who watched over each other. As I scanned the picture of my childhood home, I saw warm memories but now they had faded into history.

It is a different time now compared to the past. One cannot go back in time to relive an old memory. Our best option is to place our trust in the Lord and create a new and heartwarming memory today.

Robert Parlante

September 2017