Brothers All

I visited my hometown last week. I had lunch with my brothers. We lost our brother Bill at a much too young age. Family drives home the precept that life isn’t only about you. Those early sibling experiences form an integral part of who we become. As part of a circle of people who depend on each, you watch one another’s back and remain loyal to the concept of brotherhood, always.

CC was a blue-collar Factory Town before Bruce Springsteen made blue-collar Factory Towns cool. Returning to your past is impossible (and pure folly). Inevitably people and places will change - transform. It is impossible to recreate the past. My hometown’s halcyon years are now a bygone memory. Even the factory itself, that dominated the local economy for over 100 years, became a victim of shifting worldwide economic trends and the bulldozers of progress. In the early 1990's it was shuttered and eventually torn down.

I didn't 50 years ago appreciate the foundation Crystal City gave me. I was too busy getting out. Regardless, Crystal City will always be where I am from.