Places

We live in a place. We work in a place. Most of these places are separate from each other. You and I were born in a specific town, another place. We assign value to these places being special to our lives. Perhaps that value is large; maybe small; but it holds a special place in our minds.

I was born in Pasadena, California. I knew that city a bit; not a lot; but our church was there, my doctor was there, the family car was bought in a dealership in Pasadena, and so forth. We lived, however, in Altadena, a suburb immediately north of Pasadena and butting up against the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. We looked up from our backyard to the Mount Wilson Observatory. We shopped locally, went to school in Altadena schools, and had a lot of friends and neighbors in Altadena. Now Altadena is a place in my mind; it was home for many years. It is long remembered and special to me.

Of lesser significance is Inyokern, California, a Mojave Desert town near the Naval Ordinance Test Station we lived on for 3 years. I was pretty young then, so I don’t remember much of the desert home. Still, it is a place in my mind, just not as important or valued as Altadena.

Before leaving California to live in Massachusetts, we lived in a home we built in Glendora. We were only in that town for 18 months when my dad took a job in Massachusetts. Glendora still has a strong sense of place for me. I finished 4th grade and all of 5th grade in that town. Some special things occurred then, and it helped me grow up a little faster, better. So, yes, Glendora is a place in my life.

But Massachusetts, Pittsfield to be exact, was a special place for me. I lived there from 11 to 17 years of age; formative years, each and every one. I came to know and experience the region deeply. It was home to me. A place to be sure. I remember Pittsfield days deeply and often.

Then it was on to Syracuse, New York for my last year in high school, then off to college in Illinois. Each college summer was spent in Syracuse and as a young adult I was involved and experienced with the community. It was home and place accordingly.

OK. You see what I’m saying here: a place in our lives has to have significance to truly be a place, a home, a special physical location. Of course, each of us experiences such places differently. Just ask my brother and sister what they thought of the places I have mentioned. They liked, tolerated or despised those same places much differently than me.

In our travels we encounter many places. Some we drive by at 70 miles per hour. Others we stop in and eat, transact business or stay temporarily in a hotel. It is a place, too, but not one with significance to our lives.  

The critical thing is the value the place has in a person’s life. My college years definitively created a place in my life. That is Galesburg, Illinois, home to Knox College. Afterward, I built an adult life, family, career and history in northeastern Illinois for 60 years, 1965 through 2025. My work and homes in Illinois have constructed me to be a true Illinois citizen. I know, feel and understand Illinois. It is a central fact of my life. It is place for me.

And yes, it is home.

October 13, 2025

 

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