When Across the Bored was little, the world was a very big place where letters came in envelopes delivered to the door and telephones only transmitted the sound of our voices. News was listened to on the radio, watched (once a day) at 6 in the evening or read about in the paper and much that happened outside of our immediate communities was digested pretty much after the fact. If anyone we knew was lucky enough to travel we gave them a hug, tearfully wished them godspeed and au revoir, consoled ourselves with something sweet and then patiently waited for a postcard and their return.
Today, we spend a lot of our time in transit, our work and leisure takes us back and forth between neighbourhoods, cities, countries and continents. We tend to multitask at every available opportunity on all sorts of devices, convinced that the need to know what everyone is doing and how they are at any given moment is crucial. Maybe… or maybe not. Although we may feel some relief to find out that yes our loved ones did arrive safely at their destination, when batteries drain, lines of communication fail and links go “offline” our anxiety increases exponentially.
With the world seeming a much smaller place, and the ability to pinpoint where we all are right now at the touch of our fingertips, the question of where we began becomes moot. This fortnight the Big 5 Challenge has been reminded that we don’t always need to, or want to go back, that there is some truth to the phrase “You Can’t go Home Again“.
“Where are you from?” – City or farm, present or past, pedigrees and bloodlines, in the future or lost in time, adopted country or birthplace, Venus or Mars… We would love to know where you feel connected to.
For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, some great entries and the guidelines for this challenge can be found here: Need more info, want to browse past themes or get the badge for your blog? See HOW DOES THIS WORK.
ACROSS THE BORED 
My holidays completely changed the year my brother and father died within 6 months. I would love to go back to those long and happy Christmas dinners before death entered the room. It was a long time ago and life goes on but those were peaceful naive years !
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A happy past leaves lovely snapshots we can hold onto forever…
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Yes it was well before the Iphone and digital and blogging but I do have 27 paper photo albums! YAY!
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I feel that I can relate to the phrase “You can’t go home again”. The place I once called “home” doesn’t belong to us any more and 3 out of 5 that lived there (my closest family), are dead and buried. It’s definitely not “home”. Home now is where my wife and son is – that’s home.
LIke they also say: home is where the heart is.
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I too suffer from similar circumstances and feel that my roots travel with me more as a concept than anything else…
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Last night I lost Internet and phone service for the briefest interval–and suffered an anxiety attack. I couldn’t believe it! I wish for the simpler days, gone. But as far as going home again, I’m so grateful I cannot.
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I hate that feeling… it’s like when we lose power and get so upset at first, then find the candles, get a sweater and some board games out to entertain ourselves, sit down feeling all warm and fuzzy …. and the lights come on…. I’ve come to think that home is where I am!
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Yes, when I calm down and get the flashlight and a paperback novel, the power usually returns quickly–and then I don’t get back to the novel…
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Thank goodness it never gets to the point where the freezer starts to thaw…
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Oh no, don’t even say that–mine is jam-packed with all the obsessive, therapeutic cooking I’ve been doing for 2 months. I don’t really want to eat it, but I can’t afford to lose it all–then I’d truly have something to be depressed about…oh argghh.
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Just don’t shop for anything but paper products for the next little while…. I told my kids they would have to eat their way through the freezer and pantry….
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Oh you make me chuckle! And yes, the only meat I’ve bought recently was very lean ground beef when I was suddenly craving spaghetti…. I’ll stock up on alum foil and plenty of tissues for the pity party I can feel coming on! Did you try the coconut muffins? Just curious–and I’m thinking of posting a recipe for Apple Spice Cake: I tweaked a couple recipes and got a resulting winner that reminds me of the “coffee cake” from the late 50’s, early 60’s–remember?
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Apply to thighs right now – unfortunately I haven’t had the time to get anywhere near my stove but I did manage to gather all the ingredients! I haven’t had a delicious coffee cake in years – now my mouth is watering….
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