Familiar Ground

GOOD EVENING all...I am presently back East near Allentown, PA, visiting friends and my sons, as well as retracing old walks...Most of my life was passed in this area, so there is a bit of nostalgia and reflection as I see all the old landscapes again, but I am uncertain as to whether I can still call here 'Home' or if that name now applies to Warren...I am in between homes I suppose, or have two homes now, and both hold special places in my memory. Walking along these roads it is like seeing the faces of friends I know intimately, for I have spent thousands of hours walking in solitude, and the land here possesses a beauty that is ingrained into my soul. The trees here have witnessed all the sorrows and joys that my life has fated me, so I pass among them with a humble gratitude which no other place has earned. I guess it's true that the heart is the cradle of home, and no place else I live or visit will ever have the long history of this area. Still there are many places that Could be home if my friends and family joined me to create new memories...In the end it is companionship and experiences shared that give a place meaning.
While on the walk my memories of home mostly concerned my two sons-not in the sense of specifically missing them-rather in me saying fatherly prayers that they both would find happiness in their lives. My tears on the road were in wishing-against all hope- that I could protect them from the pain that each of us Must experience in order to grow. My emotional state at such moments was elemental and connected with deep sympathy for our shared human condition. As Jackson Browne writes " Oh GOD, this is some shape I'm in, when the only thing that makes me cry is the kindness in my baby's eye."...so while on the road, living at that basic, physical level, my emotions were on the surface as well, and very simple. A song overheard on a passing radio could draw me into it with a power unknown in 'normal' life. In the end, there is no place to hide for any of us, and we are all connected in our needs.