they're all gone

as i watch all these old and seemingly insignificant places being torn down and rebuilt in the name of progress, i can't help but feel that yet another piece of our country's history is lost.

perhaps more painfully, we're slowly being detached from our own personal histories. where are the places you used to go when you were young? what happened to the old playgrounds? where's the bench you sat at and had your first kiss?

i think there's a certain sense of comfort in knowing that the past, present and future will be intact and you've contributed to a part of its history.

strolling down a walkway and imagining the generations of people before you who have done the same, and knowing that things are just as they've always been, unchanged and maintaining that little link to a time long gone.

written 16 september 2011