Nothing Stays the Same

Yesterday I drove to Greeley, Colorado to visit a lady who was my best friend in high school. As I drove up to the house, I noticed there were six cars parked in front of the house. Walking to the front door I wondered if there was a party going on. One of her daughters greeted me at the door and warmly invited me into the house. "Are you guys having a party?" I asked. She laughed and said, "No this is the way it is every day!" There were seven persons in the room and the daughter said, "Hey Mom, see if you recognize this voice that just walked in."

The mother, with her back toward me, thought for a moment and then I said, "Remember eating a whole pint of ice-cream?" With those words, she knew exactly who I was. My friend and her husband are surrounded by their family. They have seven children; six girls and one boy. Four of the children were keeping their parents company plus her brother and his wife were also there.

I found out that the husband is suffering from cancer and has problems keeping any food down while  my friend finds it difficult to hold a conversation because she forgets certain words. She struggles to complete a sentence but we were able to converse and catch each other up on what has been going on.

After spending time with them, I left and called a Spirit of Christ Catholic Community friend who now lives in Greeley. I met her cat and then we drove to her sister-in-law's cookie store named Eileen's Colossal Cookies. As we entered the cookie "factory"  I said, "It sure smells good in here," and the response was, "Well I should hope so."

After visiting the cookie store we went to Chiles for lunch. I couldn't believe how big Greeley has grown. We talked about how much Greeley had changed and how different it was than when I lived there. Greeley High School is now Greeley Central High School. When I lived in Greeley there were only two high schools. Now, I think there are four.

I noticed Brannon grocery store has been replaced by a Smoke Shop. I remember we used our thirty-five cents lunch money to buy lunch meat for a dime, bread for a nickel and a dill pickle for three cents and still have some coins left over to buy a Green River at the bowling alley. A Dairy Queen where we would go in the evenings to enjoy a cone is now Cisneros Mexican Food. All of Greeley has expanded and what used to be fields and farm lands is now suburbia with lots of homes, parks and malls. Homes along 8th Avenue that I remember being new, beautiful homes now seemed to be in need of paint and looked run down.  Nothing ever stays the same and I have to admit that even I have changed!

After lunch we said good-bye and I headed for home, 52 miles away. A pleasant day in a place that I no longer recognize!

Intelligence is the ability

to adapt to change.

Stephen Hawking