I was excited to move back to my hometown but it didn't take too long before I figured out "you can't go home again." Everything changes and that's just the way it is. Pretty much everywhere. I'm guessing, for example, that a lot of the Sequim folks remember when their town was just a little drive-thru farm community on the way to Port Angeles. Most old timers you talk to around here all have memories of their town as it used to be. Vacant lots are now holding several homes and the old houses are gone or remodeled into fancy "could never afford them" homes. And the traffic! I'm always curious who all these people are, where have they come from and where are they going?
I'm also finding I miss some of the old stores I used to frequent --San Juan Grocery, Del's Grocery, May's Variety, Brooks' 5&10, Bergstroms, George Gunn's, Plattners record store, JC Penneys, The Surf, A&W rootbeer stand, Aldrich's, the Rec center, Bakers and Oneill's drug stores, Olympic Hardware, Red Goose Shoes, Eisenbeis Gifts, the bakery, Town Tavern, and the list goes on.
But things change. Always have and always will. Even most of my family and friends are gone now. I probably shouldn't complain but this is my blog and I can complain if I want to. So I made a list of little annoyances in PT that I'm not going to miss.
First of all, our hometown paper, The leader used to be such a great read. I don't even buy a copy anymore. And how I wish I could find a place to buy a $5 hamburger. I don't need all the trimmings; just let me get a burger that doesn't cost $17. The post office annoys me. Used to be you could find a substation but no more. The one place you can still mail a package charges way too much. And would it kill the postal dept to have a handicap entry? Standing outside in the cold is a nuisance but climbing those steps is worse.
Parking downtown has become harder because certain people feel we need more parks. The roads are getting worse and worse all the time. Even Lawrence St is bumpy these days. One of the worst spots is the area between the co-op and Penny Saver. Disgraceful! And those two rounabouts on Washington piss me off everytime I have to navigate around them. A speed bump would have been sufficient for those people on the street who think cars go too fast.
And whoever decided to paint lines down certain streets to make them one way irk me no end. And they didn't do a very good job of informing drivers exactly how to naviagate those particular roads. More than once I've had cars coming towards me that had no intention of moving over.
Downtown has few stores that actually sell things you can use or that aren't overpriced. I used to frequent Don's pharmacy but since the new owners aren't interested in having the soda fountain open, I seldom bother going in there.
The Rhody Festival continues to struggle and it's sad the carnival may or may not be part of the activities. And the county fair seems to be having problems too but I know organizations go through their up an down periods.
And last but not least, is the doctor problem here. And yes, I know it's not just here but it's not good either. I resent having to hold for sometimes 20-30 minutes just to make an appt and then more often than not, I can't get in in a timely manner. Thank God for Dr. Google!
Well, my cousin is visiting from KY this week so I'm going to head down to the Tides Inn and pick her up.
The next day: I happen to pull into Penny Saver this mornng and lo and behold, those huge potholes have finally been filled it. Praise the lord!
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