Reminiscing: It doesn't matter where you are. It doesn't matter where you go. If it's a million miles away or just a mile up the road

I was driving through my old neighborhood the other day and it's gotten me nostalgic for the past. When I first went down good ole Bernardine Street I got sad. It's not the same neighborhood it once was. The houses look more old and the lawns and landscaping aren't well taken care of. It also seemed lonely and isolated. It didn't have the same life it used to have when I lived there. That's exactly what was missing, life. Bernardine Street was so full of life. In the past turning the corner onto Bernardine was green lawns, cars in the drive way, sprinklers running in the summer, and children playing. Growing up my mom was never worried about my sister and I if we were playing outside with our friends that lived on that very same street. Bernardine was the safest place I could be as kid. As I think about it now, I don't wanna feel sad thinking about it, because it was anything but sad there. I will think of all the good memories there and how I couldn't have had a better childhood growing up on any other street. How lucky and blessed all of us were to be able to grow up on a street with so many kids to play with. Not many kids can say that nowadays. Probably not too many had the experiences we did either. We always had something to do. Our imaginations ran wild with all the games we'd come up with. Those kids were some of my best friends growing up. They were there for me during one of the hardest times in my life. When I couldn't do much but stay in my own home, they came over almost everyday and entertained me. It was a hard time for me and they literally saved me from myself. Now we all have moved away and all reside on different streets, in different towns, and even different states. I think we all have a special place in our hearts for Bernardine Street. So when I hear someone saying bad things about Lansing I turn the other cheek. It really wasn't a bad place to grow up. In fact it was anything but. As kids we didn't know that. We couldn't wait to get out the town and claimed it was so boring. It's a statement I've heard so many say about Lansing. Really though what more was it suppose to be? I'm not sure what answers those people are looking for. What I know is that it was a place where you were able to ride your bike anywhere in town and be safe, and you knew, and were friends with, the mailman, and maybe even the garbage men. A place where neighbors were more than just the person you borrowed sugar from, but extended family. This is the Lansing I will remember, not what it has become today and I think maybe that's what people forget. Even though Bernardine Street or Lansing isn't our home anymore there truly is "No Place Like Home". With saying that though, home is where the heart is. Home is where you make it. If you are surrounded by family or friends and memories, that what's makes a home. It's not just a street, a house, or even a town. One of my favorite lines from the Wizard of Oz is when Dorothy says, "I learned that, if I ever go looking for my hearts desire again... I shouldn't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with". Every once in awhile I still like to drive down Bernardine Street and reminisce. Cause as Bon Jovi says, "Who says You Can't go Home"? Even if it is just for a short drive down memory lane.

Our house on Bernardine Street in the late 80's early 90's when I was a kid

Some of the old neighborhood gang

Here's a little movie montage I made of all the crazy video's all us kids used to make.