Nostalgia

This has been a year for re-connection to my past.  I suppose Freud could have a field day with that, but I suspect sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and this is simple a case of being just a tad homesick.

Seriously, I've always had my hometown in the depths of my heart and mind, and have never said a bad word about it.  Oh, I've been sad about my hometown because once the steel mills closed and we young folks packed our bags and left, its glory days were over.  Even more sad is the fact some of us never looked back, the last time I was there was (if memory serves) 1963. To my credit, I never forgot, was ashamed, or tried to deny from whence I came.

The Internet has played an intricate part in my being able to keep the connection to my
hometown.  There is a site called the Johnstown Cafe that I frequent, there is the Official Johnstown site.  I'm a friend of my high school's website, and earlier this year I subscribed to my hometown magazine, a beautifully designed and interesting publication.  Then last month I subscribed to the digital edition of the local newspaper, The Tribune Democrat.

Here's the thing.

Once my subscription had been accepted, I went to the digital edition but could not for the life of me get full access to the paper.  I tried and tried all sorts of ways, but simply could not connect.  Finally in desperation yesterday I e-mailed the paper explaining my dilemma.  A few hours later there was a response in my e-mail from someone named Janeen.  She was absolutely fabulous, she took care of my problem in the proverbial 'blink of an eye'.  Not only did she have me connected to the newspaper, she provided me a new pass word, and...extended my subscription for a full two weeks because I could not have access to the paper when I first applied.

Talk about good customer service.  Talk about good people.

Yep, I'm pleased to report my hometown is alive and well.  It will never be the city that it was, and that is a very good thing, because it is not fixated on the past but ever looking to the future.  The folks who continue to live there, and have been loyal, upstanding citizens see a new and bright 'tomorrow' for Johnstown.

There are colleges, medical facilities, museums dedicated to the towns history, tourist attractions, and beautiful mountains rapping the valley in gorgeous, colorful, quilts every season of the year.  I'm telling you Johnstown is a great place from which to have sprung.

There you have it.  I don't think there is any kind of secret, long forgotten trauma connected with my yearning for my hometown, I simply miss it from time to time.  Besides, if I can't perpetuate the family history and proudly proclaim it to my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will?

It is up to me to tell them about the floods, the mills glowing at night, the miners emerging black as pitch from the depths of the earth, the farms dotting the landscapes, and the melting pot of wonderful, friendly people.  I will make them feel proud of their heritage and their ancestors.

It feels good to be from my hometown, Johnstown, "the friendly city".