Yesterday was an interesting day, to say the least. No, I am not injured or no one I know died. It was just kinda depressing.
It began when I went along to get my friend Cory's new car looked at. We went to Osseo, MN, where he purchased the car. After getting it checked out and realizing we were just mere miles from my hometown, we decided to visit Anoka.
I lived in or around this small town for my first 18 years of life. I would come home for holidays and the summer until 1998 when my parents moved to Minneapolis. In these years I knew most every major part of this town.
That said, it was heartbreaking to visit. The first part was driving to one of my favorite spots: Hans' Bakery. This small German bakery has been a fixture of Anoka for the better part of four decades. I had been going there for 30 years, off and on. As a child my father would take us there for a raised glazed donut. Awesome! And that was just one kind of donut. The bakery has bee hives and the "Texas" donut, which is the size of a Frisbee! Then there were the donut holes and the apple fritters. I could go on and on but it is too depressing because, upon entering, it was the stark reality that mismanagement after the death of Hans left the bakery in a sad state.
After eating our donuts we drove along Coon Rapids Blvd. where the reality of a changing economy has left barren a once sprawling shopping area. The old Target shell continued a decline that left the additional mall area vacant. Only a Big Lots! remains in what used to be a Rainbow Foods. The sad part is that there is still a neighborhood there, just that the businesses all left.
Cruising farther down I pointed out things that used to be. Most things were gone or changed. Empty business after empty business lay on a once busy thoroughfare. It was severely depressing because it wasn't like there were vacant houses, just vacant businesses.
I realize that times change and things change but it is ultimately sad that you can't go back to where you were from. Nothing is there. Your memories are just that and that which you associate with it has been passed by. Thankfully it is people that live on but all those dead dreams.
How depressing...
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2 comments:
Gosh Nick, I'm sorry. I can relate somewhat, since we came back to the Twin Cities last year and found a lot of our old favorite spots were no more, or had changed, or been redeveloped. Working for a firm that does a lot of redevelopment, I've come to learn a lot about the importance of it and the value in it.... but that doesn't make it easier for the folks who are missing the mom & pop bakery that has been replaced.
What's up, Nick? No more blog entries?
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