Flashback

I had a flashback this morning, triggered by a horse crossing sign, which reminded me how much the character of the Mason, Ohio area has changed.

On the news this morning I saw there was an accident at a busy intersection that’s on my normal path to work. I was running a little late and knew I’d hit the rush hour traffic jam at the accident. Therefore, I decided to take the side roads to work.

I call them ‘side roads’ now, but eight years ago when I first started working in a new building I called them the ‘back roads’. That seemed more appropriate because the area was wide open with farms and a polo field (hence the name of the Polo Grille at Deerfield Place). In fact, there was a sharp S-curve in Irwin-Simpson road to accommodate a farm that had several horses. You had to go slow around that curve and there was a yellow horse/rider warning sign just before it to let you know there could be folks riding in the area.

Going slow around that S-curve was actually nice. It gave you time to look at what was happening at the farm. Depending on the time day you might see the family feeding the horses or working around the buildings. When it was cold, often times you’d see the water vapor condensing just outside the horse’s nostrils as they exhaled. Often times I’d see a girl who lived there waiting in their driveway for the school bus. She always waved at the cars going by. She must have waved at thousands of cars as a kid.

That farm is now long gone, the buildings removed. The road was straightened not long after the barn was demolished so the S-curve is gone. The land and the surrounding fields were developed into a strip mall shopping area, homes, and apartments (the google map satellite image shows the area during the time when the buildings were removed but the S-curve was still there). There are probably thousands of people living, shopping, and driving in the area where a few people and some horses lived and played.

This morning I took that road to work and noticed the yellow horse/rider warning sign is still there. It was never removed. Seeing that sign brought back memories of the S-curve, the farm, and the people that lived there. It made me realize how much the character of the area has changed with the tremendous development of the land. I’m not convinced it has changed for the better.