Get Lost in Time

I love being retired and appreciate every day as another chance to get lost in the activities that I enjoy.  I always have new things planned and we always like to have next year’s travels planned well in advance.  It’s always nice to have something to look forward to.  Once in a while though, it’s nice to get lost in time.  I always find it interesting to re-visit moments in the past.   It can be from your past or centuries past but either way there’s a value in re-examining events that have transpired for a better understanding of today. 

A friend of ours recently went back to the neighborhood he grew up in and was startled by how small it seemed to him now.  He hadn’t been back in years and was surprised by the changes that had taken place.  The people who lived in his old house had expanded it and taken down the fence he used to climb over.  The empty lot where some epic baseball and football games were played was now occupied by two homes and he wondered if the residents were aware of the historic events that had transpired on that very ground.  He related all of these observations to me along with the memories that were triggered by his visit and his conversation with me and the questions that I asked triggered new recollections that had been buried deep in his memory.  Sometimes it’s good to get lost in time as my friend did by going back in your youth and visiting the old places that held such great memories.  Life is a journey and, unless you kept a diary along the way, you can forget some of the things that were so important at one time.  Most people gain a new appreciation for the wonderful life they’ve had.  For them, it’s good to get lost in time.  For others, the memories may not be as pleasant.

There are many historic sites within our country where you can get lost in time.

We do that as a country in a way when we designate certain places as historic sites.  Some of the places mark scenes of great triumph.  Independence Hall comes to mind because we celebrate the founding of our country every July 4th.  But it’s worth taking the time to delve a little deeper into what you are seeing.  Just a little bit of research tells you that victory in our fight for independence was anything but certain.  The men who debated that document inside those walls were putting their lives on the line with their signatures on that document.  You start to realize how complex and interesting the study of history can be when you read the accounts of those debates.  The topics they wrote about were the causes that people throughout history have given their lives for, like freedom and independence.  But the topics that went unmentioned, like slavery, have another story to tell about those original founders.  Just like a visit to an old neighborhood you lived in can bring back memories that are both pleasant and painful, visits to historic sites around the country can spark those same emotions.  Get lost in time and find out.  We can know our current time better when we develop an appreciation for the past.

Even when I was eight years old, I could easily get lost in time when I was watching Davy Crockett or Wyatt Earp on television.  When I put on my coonskin cap and walked around with my rifle “Betsy” no one could tell me I wasn’t ready to go to the Alamo.  When I finally got there around forty years later, boy did I get lost in time.  I was there every day during the week we spent in San Antonio.  This building which was smaller than I had imagined and in the middle of a well-developed city, held a fascination for me that is hard to describe.  My research into the history of this battle and the subsequent Mexican War told a much more complicated story than I had originally thought.  And even though my hero didn’t quite die in the manner portrayed by that master storyteller Walt Disney, Mr. Crockett led an extraordinary life, and it was one of my first realizations of how wonderful and surprising historical research can be.  Get lost in time with the study of history and you’ll come to realize that it’s the ultimate soap opera.

The real Wyatt Earp was quite a guy as well and our visit to Tombstone was another occasion when the fantasies of childhood met the reality of history.  But it all worked out for the best because it reinforced my belief that history can be fun when you make it come alive through visits to historical sites.  Tombstone is still attracting visitors who want to get lost in time and see how real the Wild West was.  The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral has been the subject of books and movies and is still being reenacted 140 years later.  The Earp brothers and Doc Holliday will live on forever because of this event that was over in less than a minute.  That’s the magic of history.  That’s the magic of visiting the past whether it’s a moment from your past or an event in our history.  It’s a great thing to do.

Why not get lost in time.  Visit a scene from our history or an old home you used to live in.  Live in the past for just a little while so you can appreciate this wonderful world we live in today.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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