i wish i was in dixieland!

When she came to the end of one life it must not be to face the next with the shrinking terror of something wholly different—something for which accustomed thought and ideal and aspiration had unfitted her. The little things of life, sweet and excellent in their place, must not be the things lived for; the highest must be sought and followed; the life of heaven must be begun here on earth.
-Anne of the Island, L. M. Montgomery

After a couple of rotations of my morning Brad Paisley playlist, I had the sudden impulsive desire the peek at my old home in Knoxville, Tennessee. No, not via four-hour vehicular journey. Through Google Maps, satellite edition!

I couldn't exactly remember my old address, but those numerous drillings instilled in all of us during kindergarten did some good and at least I remember old Shannondale Elementary. There it is, the funny tin-covered bus turnaround, the blacktop area only the big kids had access to during recess, and just up the road... well, I'm sad to say that my little Dixieland childhood home is gone! In its place are the cul-de-sac loops and angles of a well-planned suburban neighborhood. It's a little sad to think of all those old trees cut down and uprooted to make way for lawns and pavement, but I hope the new families there now enjoy it as much as I used to.

Just one paper between me and Asheville next weekend!