Things I Miss

Continuing my melancholy feel from yesterday's entry, some things from earlier in my life which I miss:

• Creating little paper figurines of the Legion of Super-Heroes and playing with them on the jungle-gym.
• Wandering around the in-between spaces in my home town: The expansive strip down the boulevard of the main residential street near my house (boy, we found all kinds of neat stuff along there), and the trails running through a forested area between that strip and the Charles River. Lots of exploring, tree-climbing, and opportunities for kids to use their imaginations. Fun.
• Playing games with my friend Rob and his brother Ben far into the night, in junior high school. Particularly Divine Right and - on the computer - Ultima II.
• Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA, the way it was when I was in high school. Yummy savory pastries at Warburton's. Many excellent used bookstores. The Million Year Picnic when they had a large back issue selection. The Harvard Coop, before it was taken over by Barnes and Noble. The whole place is totally different and far more corporate now.
• My Canadian friends Matt and Leah, whom I saw on Cape Cod about once a year for much of my teens, and whom I visited once. Matt was one of those rare people with whom I just had an uncanny amount in common. Leah, well, was the subject of this entry, so you can draw your own conclusions. I haven't heard from them in years, and I imagine they're both married by now - probably with kids. We had a lot of fun, those summer vacations together.
• Vacationing in Cape Cod. Bicycling the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Having a full week (or two!) with nothing I had to do: No sightseeing, no plans, no nuthin'.
• Watching Doctor Who, well, practically any time.
• Hanging out with my friends in high school. High school was a tumultuous time (as I guess it is for most of it), but in retrospect it was a lot of fun. You'll notice I don't miss many things from college or graduate school. College paled compared to high school.
• My cats, when they were young. They turn 10 years old this month, and they don't have the get up and go they used to. This is especially true of Newton, who was very active as a young cat and has slowed down a lot.
• Driving cross-country between the Midwest and the Northeast, mostly during grad school. A long haul, but it was peaceful and relaxing.
• Bicycling around Madison. There are some nice places to bike here, but biking around the lakes and through the UW Arboretum was just wonderful, especially since I lived so close to them.
• Autumn in Madison (or in Boston, for that matter). Winter in Madison. Wandering around the city streets at night with Karen during snowfalls at night, or out to Picnic Point or in the Arboretum practically any time.
• Vacationing in Hawaii! Hopefully we'll go again before too long.

Though I do that, too.