Hometown

I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream about my old hometown, Hallock, MN. I had been showing my own children some of my favorite places. I haven't been back to Hallock in such a long time. My family moved shortly after my dad remarried, and although we went back that way to go camping on my Great-Uncle's farm, I didn't get the same freedom I used to have to go visit friends, or go bike riding, or anything else.

Some of my memories are a little hazy as I was so young, but I do remember the school being so close to my house. I remember the sidewalk that went from my home, around the corner, to the front of the school property. It's where I learned to ride bike. The house on the corner I had to go around had a steps to make it from the sidewalk, up the small hill, to the home. And it had a railing for these steps. I had been so proud of myself. "Look Dad! I can ride!" And then I hit that railing.

I remember the swimming pool we used to go to all the time. I can't remember if it was Hallock, though I believe it was, but I seem to remember them dropping coins into the pool for the kids. I remember one particular summer, walking home from the pool, and trying to be a show-off by jump roping with my towel. I spent the next week or so in the kiddie pool with 8 stitches in my head.

I remember bike riding to get the mail. I remember the gazebo. I remember street dances and dances at the city hall. Halloween parties in the hall, with a dance upstairs and games like bobbing for apples downstairs.

I remember spending the night with friends, staying up half the night braiding each others' hair. I remember camping out in our backyard. I even remember very small bits of school, but don't have quite enough of the memories to describe them. I remember in the school playground though at recess - playing "Kiss and Kill" and "Wizard of Oz" (if I recall correctly, one of my friends was Dorothy and I was Toto).

But anyway, in my dream, I was taking my children to each of these places, which had since changed and moved and I got a little lost. It was an interesting dream though, and brought back a lot of memories I had forgotten.