Page 35 - 2016 April Voices

maps and selected, “Satellite” in the layers
dropdown and POW! There was a huge dirt
lot where Waverly used to be! I was floored, I
would never get to see that red brick building
again! I rounded the corner and was greeted
by all of the trees that lined the street like old, the perfect brick, one that means something,
familiar friends.
Nearing the clearing where Waverly used
to be I was saddened to see there were already
4 or 5 houses in the last stages of construction.
I was bewildered by what was before me. I had
been hoping to see the red brick building I had
called home for 2 years with the long sloping
sidewalk where we rode our skateboards.
There was a sharp turn at the bottom you
had to navigate just right or you would slide
off into the grass if you were lucky. If not, you
probably ran smack dab into the large oak tree
at the end of the ramp. There was this raised
bit of sidewalk which was lifted by that same
oak tree. One summer, I jumped that lip with
my skateboard. It shot out from under me. I
flew through the air and landed hard on my
back. Oh the memories!
But that’s all gone now. The lot has been
leveled, there are new houses being built over
my old memories. And then it struck me.
Life moves on, it is very fluid like a stream.
Flowing, ever changing. . . revealing new
choices, new opportunities for growth.
As I wandered the area I noticed a pile of
red bricks of which the building had been
made. I saw a construction worker nearby
Volume 2 Issue 10 - APRIL 2016
and called to him, “Hey, can I have one of these
bricks!?” Turning, he saw me, and shouted
back,“Sure go ahead!”
As I dug through the pile I thought, “I want
one that calls to me.”
I found it.
I reflected on the change in the landscape
around me. The people who would eventually
live in those houses would never know the
laughter that had filled the air or the tears that
had flowed from sorrowful eyes. And that’s
ok. I had no overwhelming emotion attached
to this place, it had no power over me. Some
faint, fond memories, but I too have moved on
in my life. I’m a different person now. Much
the same as the landscape on SE Woodward
has changed, so have I.
Today I am a stronger, independent-yet
social person-with a lot of friends I hold dear
to my heart. I tried for so many years to do it
all on my own and that clearly doesn’t work.
And this brick. . . this brick will always
remind me where I came from. But more
importantly, where I am today.
Like the final song says, “I don’t need no
walls around me!”
Curtis joined New Horizons Toastmasters in
2013. He is currently serving as the club president.
This story won second place in the area 94 contest
on March 15, 2016.
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