Ghosts of neighbors past

As most everyone should know, I grew up in Ohio. We moved to Florida in 1987 after my dad lost his job with Goodrich. In a lot of ways, I have never forgiven my dad for making us move. He lives in Ohio so you can see that Florida was not all he thought it would be. Moving at the age of twelve was very hard for me. I still catch myself saying "back home" when referring to Ohio after all of these years. I realize to most people it couldn't possibly be all that great but it's where I grew up and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

When I was sick on Saturday and trying to pass time at the garage sale, I got on the laptop and finally found people I grew up with in Ohio on Facebook. I have had such a blast reconnecting with people from my childhood. Mogadore is a small town, always has been. I can remember staying out until the lightning bugs came out every night during the summer on Prospect Street.

Since technology in the 80s is not all it is today, I lost touch with a lot of my friends. I have always been a great pen pal but most people are not. Add to the fact that I remember pretty much everyone and everything, I always wonder what happened to some people from time to time. I've always wondered what happened to my old neighbor Jesse. Since it snows a lot in Ohio, I remember that we spent a lot of time at each other's houses over the years. I never managed to link up with him on my visits back to Ohio over the years. I asked some of the other neighbors about Jesse who told me he no longer lived in the house as his parents had divorced.

I linked up with Jesse's older brother on Facebook. Robbie had just moved to town from Colorado not long before we moved to Florida. I was surprised that he even remembered me. In asking about Jesse and everyone else, I was completely stunned to discover that Jesse passed away five years ago due to heart issues. Even though I haven't seen him in close to 20 years, I am so unbelievably sad. He and I were once like brother and sister. I'm just so shocked that he's gone.

My mom took the picture below one fall afternoon. My mom had seen deer out by the railroad tracks and wanted to go to try and take pictures of them. (Sorry, we were shooting pictures NOT guns guys!) We found no deer but she got this picture of us. I'm so glad she did because I think it's the only picture I still have of Jesse. I think I might be 10 years old in this picture. It's amazing how time flies by so quickly.

RIP Jesse, I can't believe you're gone.