As I was cycling to work yesterday morning I rode past an older home that I’ve passed many times over the last few years. It had recently had a for sale sign in the front yard and eventually that sign had big sold sticker placed across it. Yesterday morning it had a wire fence across the width of the property. Sitting quietly behind the fence was a large excavator.
All was quiet at the house but I knew that the peacefulness wouldn’t last long. Sooner or later workers would arrive and that house would flattened.
Sure enough, on my way home the excavator was pushing rubble around. The house was demolished. No walls or structure, just splintered and broken building materials.
I wonder what stories those piles of bricks could tell.
I wonder how many families grew up there and where they are now. Were the rooms in those houses full of laughter? There must have been good and bad times, smiles and tears. Now there are just memories amongst the broken fragments of what had once been a home and I’m sure that within a few days even the remaining rubble will be gone.
I’m sure that over the coming months a brand new building will rise on that piece of land and that new house will bring good and bad times of its own but it’s good to reflect on what has been before we move forward towards what is still to come.
Around thirty four years ago I left the only home I’d ever known when my parents sold the house where I’d grown up.
I haven’t visited that old road for a while but last time I did it the old house was still there. It’s in a bad state of disrepair and it really should be demolished too. It’s an old asbestos house. No one’s ever going to renovate it so it’s really a matter of time until it’s gone. Although I haven’t set foot inside it for decades and the fact that it hasn’t been my home for most of my life, I’ll still be a little sad when it’s finally pulled down.
What sorts of stories could your home tell?
Would they be mostly happy stories? Can you remember the home where you grew up? Does it bring good or bad memories to mind?
Do you think some of your friends would enjoy reading Farewelling the Past? Please use the buttons below to share the post. Thanks.
As I was cycling to work this morning I noticed a row of 4 or 5 houses has been demolished just near the East Perth Train Station. They were quite old and had fallen into disrepair over the past few years. There’s another one along with an old corner shop still marked for demolition.