I departed my dear ol' sister's place with not a clue where I might go next. I was toying with the idea of returning to Florida, simply because I felt I should... for no other particular reason, though... just 'cause I ought to...
As I was pulling out of the subdivision where my sibling receives her mail and stores her stuff, it occurred to me that I could always use another Penn burger, and that would at least get me rolling in some direction... about a fifty-mile ride over to Decatur, but more than enough for us (my fat lady and me) to return to that special place... that mystical, magical spiritual realm we call riding...
Ever notice how most riders 'own' machinery, while many fat lady associates actually have affairs with mechanical beings? Might not seem like much of a distinction to a lot of folks, but for those of us who do fit into that category, it makes all the difference!
CF Penn’s was sold last year, so it is no longer an 'original family' owned business. It has offered a fairly consistent product since 1927, but for some reason it just didn't seem quite the same this time... familiar, of course, and still worth savoring, I suppose, but...
We do have a little history... that place and this sentimental trekker. I had my very first hamburger there in June of '62, when Bobby Dempster introduced me to that establishment, and I've eaten there at least once every year since, so...
Not sure if it was just me reacting to that profound change in the normalcy of my universe, or if there truly is something a little different now, but... I only ate two this time... That was itself a bit of a change, as I've been devouring three... occasionally more... on a single visit... for decades. I tell folks I do that because it's fun afterwards to sit around and listen to my arteries harden!!!
After grazing at the grease bar for a spell, I took a picture of the entrance... I was thinking I'll continue returning once a year just for nostalgia reasons and to uphold tradition, but I have probably lost that 'special thing' I've had from the beginning, that which has had this unique eatery so highly placed in my archive of favorite destinations... Time marches onward...
I threw my leg across ALI's saddle and headed for the stop light a few yards away... Which way should I go? Well, I haven't been down Bank St. in a few decades, how about that? OK!
It certainly has changed, but nowadays mostly it's just tired old buildings and store fronts made over into upscale office buildings for lawyers and other professionals... Nothing like it once was with primarily retail department stores and shops... It had begun showing signs of aging and decay, though, by the time I'd come along, and it had been regarded as 'the old part of town'.
That street had been the main ‘downtown’ street when the city was first built nearly two centuries ago. Oh well, more progress, I suppose... There does seem to be a 'cycle' for all downtown areas, and this section was just going through its own phase of that never-ending cycle...
Funny about change, cycles, loss of the old, introduction of the new... I think we're threatened by 'change' because we know what we've had, but we don't know what lies ahead. Our familiarity, stability, sense of order, and predictability are altered or removed, and we don't know what to think about what might be next... Progress by definition involves change... however, all change is not progress...
We also connect and/or associate times of our lives, special memories and important events with locales and fixed objects... When those go away, or at least are significantly altered, it's as though part of who we are is being assaulted or diminished in some way. Our natural inclination is to resist, or certainly to regret, the changes being made, but most changes are not bad, actually...
I thought about how CF Penn’s was undergoing change. That iconic eatery that became for me far more than just a place to grab a so-so burger now and then... It was a connection to my past, to a time and place with profound significance for me; it was a symbol of who I had been and a reminder of the journey of my life to the person I had become... it was a bridge of sorts between the two. That connection was being eroded…
Change is the natural order of things. Mountains erode away in time, rivers alter course, oceans ebb and flow… people come and go. Perhaps we place too much stock in the symbols that anchor us, and think too little about the healthy, vital aspects of change that give us hope for a brighter tomorrow. The need for rejuvenation that can come only with change. Perhaps it’s time for me to let go of CF Penn’s… ummmm, maybe next year…
At the north end of Bank St., I was confronted with another choice point. From the stop light doing its job, I could see AL HWY 20 up ahead, a road travelled many times in another era but not the stretch heading west by this traveler in half a century at least… care to guess where I went next? Nothing at all was familiar about it… more change… progress again… Essential, of course, but gone was any residual connection I might have had.
I was toying with the idea of riding over to Florence, AL, the town my family had lived in before moving to Decatur. I did ride over there on a different road about twenty years ago with my sister, but I didn’t even recognize the town that time…
I wasn’t committed to this ride, it was just something to do… Then, I spotted a road sign for HWY 101 heading south… I didn’t recall even knowing that road existed, let alone have any memories of what might lie in that direction… We turned southward onto it… until it ended about fifteen miles later…
I stopped to see where we might go next. The day was getting late, so whichever way we went, we needed to find lodging fairly soon. Hmmm, Jasper, AL has motels… as best as I can recall… pretty sure… oh heck, let’s just go see! It did.
Sunset caught us still out on the road. The sunset itself was rather nice, though, so I stopped and took a picture. Funny about picture taking… I’m getting better at it, and I am remembering to do that more frequently… However, I still have much to learn, and doing a better job of it is proving rather illusive for this novice.
It was getting dark, and we were still out on the road… I was keeping a careful eye out for critters, but I knew it was probably foolish for me to be there. Then I spotted a motel sign on a billboard letting me know all was well, and very soon we would find refuge! Another day of riding, another most enjoyable time with my girl… our girl… I do love it so…
DDT
