Memories Of Things Long Gone

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My mind's eye shows me images of places which have long vanished from the physical world.

I see the chalk streets drawn on the surface of the neighborhood cul-de-sac.  Bicycle riders wove through make believe streets, only stopping, occasionally, to spend Monopoly dollars on fictional gasoline for sticker covered Schwinns and Big Wheels.

I see a wood panel in the chapel of my childhood church.  The grain of the wood looked, at least to a little boy, like God and Satan talking to one another.

I see the wide green stripe running down the center of my grade school's hallway.  One side of the hall featured a round ceilingless room, called the O.T. Circle, where occupational skills were taught.  Across the hall sat a bright yellow three sided play room, affectionately nicknamed The Mouse House for the semi-circular crawl space which lead to the school's single hoop basketball court.

I see the Orange Julius, Tower Records, and Foot Locker Shoe Store making corners of a triangle at the bottom of the mall's sloped penny fountain.

These places will exist, along with old; movie theaters, groceries stores, and video rental shops; for as long as synapses keep firing within my brain.
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