Wednesday 11 April 2007

sentiment

I'm listening to a radio program - people around the province are calling in, talking about old buildings they'd like to save, or buildings they grew up with that aren't there anymore.

The wistfulness in their voices is incredible.

I live in an area steeped in history. Privateer history. French and English history. Titanic history. Twenty miles away, the whole town of Lunenburg is designated a UNESCO Heritage Site. Visitors from all over the world go and poke through the little shops and museums.

But hearing the voices of others that miss the old buildings really strikes a chord in me. What is it about wood, bricks and mortar that make us feel comfortable and safe? Why do we long for the 'olden' days?

1 comment:

Major Bedhead said...

because, generally speaking, buildings will last longer than the people who inhabited them. And those buildings are more than just bricks and mortar and roofs and doors - they're the repository of everyone who ever spent time therein, who laughed, cried, loved, studied, daydreamed within those walls. They hold little memories, memories of school or family or events and to see them torn down is equal to destroying those memories.

They're tearing down my old high school right now and I want a brick so badly it's not funny. Why? To have a little piece of the building where I spent four years of my life. To hold on to that somehow, even though it wasn't a great time all the time, it was still my time.

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