I am a Romulan…really. I grew up in Romulus, Michigan, ha. I recently joined a facebook group “I grew up in Romulus, Michigan” against my better judgment. I am not overly fond of my hometown or even hometown sentiment. It seems people tend to think where they grew up is better than all the world. That bugs me. There are a lot of beautiful places out there, a lot of different people and perspectives and I feel that it is a bit narrow-minded to focus on one hometown.
Of course I am a little double-sided on the issue because I love Michigan and feel it is better than all the world but I try to keep an open mind about things. As far as my hometown goes, although I don’t feel the connection some of my fellow ‘Romulans’ feel to that place, I do enjoy reading the memories they have. I have some memories of my own – good ones. I am just glad I don’t live there anymore, glad I realized I didn’t have to stay glued to the place physically or mentally.
My Romulus Memories
My neighborhood friends especially Johnny and Venise – playing in the creek (that is one of the first memories I have of the place – all the kids were playing in the creek that ran perpendicular to my street when I met them) playing tag, kickball, hide-n-seek, slumber parties where we played “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board”, riding bikes around with everyone (bike tag, bike-n-hide), staying in the pool all damn day and having swimming olympics, me and the kids looking for mysteries I guess looking for trouble…
Walking to elementary school: my elementary was just a big, grassy field away from my street. It was cool to walk through that field on a foggy morning. One Halloween it was foggy all night and I went out there and chased some older tricker treaters, haha.
Exploring the woods and wetlands by my house: once the neighbor kids and I made a raft and tried to float through the creeks back there. It worked until a heavier kid got on it and sunk it. Someone put cement blocks and boards out in the wetlands in order to walk through, that was cool. Wild strawberries grew back there and smelled lovely.
Me and Johnny riding our bikes up to the corner gas station to get candy when candy was cheap.
Me and friends riding up to the drugstore or to A&W’s in Taylor. I still love me an A&W root-beer float.
The flee market and the creepy (half-built) old dance hall (?) next to it. Us kids used to go back there and stare at the building to scare ourselves.
Mayflower Roller Rink – went there when I was really young. It wasn’t around long after I moved in because it was an old place. My Grandma told me she went to dances there in the 1920’s when she was a teen and there were bad girls there who had short hair, short dresses and smoked (flappers, LOL).
favorite teachers: Mrs McGinnis, Mr. James, Mrs. Hiser, Mr. Kruse and a few others I whose names I forgot or will misspell.
Riding the bus to junior high past the airport but still seeing cows and farm fields along the way, even within the airport fences.
Drama club and doing plays in high school, band concerts, homecoming game even though I hate football, skipping school to hang out in the dark HS auditorium, skipping school to go to the library (either the HS one or I would walk up the road to the town library), hanging out at McDonald’s and eating biscuits (fresh made every morning at that time) with Rachel. Those are my best high school memories.
Pink Castle – supposedly a haunted house. It was an old Mediterranean style mansion/house in the middle of nowhere (Waltz, Michigan or on Waltz Road, New Boston). We would drive by it and scare ourselves. I was never brave enough to walk close up to it. It was behind a lot of brush and had an iron gate with the words “Buena Vista” on it.
Driving around acting crazy with the girls in my first car, the Banana Boat, a 72 LaMans.
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See a lot of my memories have less to do with place and more to do with people and time although I wouldn’t have the memories if I hadn’t been in Romulus in that place and time.
Jacquelyn's Space 