A Visit Home

As a disowned son, I do not get the opportunity to visit home very often. In fact I, and my children, are treated quite badly at times. This is not new and I should really learn to just stay away, but I am way too soft-hearted and I miss my family, even though they have decided that they do not want me around.

At first glance the initial greetings in the driveway seem civil, but that is as far as it goes. Once in the house the ridicule and insults start to sneak in ever so subtly.

With the first greetings over and plans solidified for the family gathering, I get in the car for a drive around my childhood stomping ground. I visit places like my elementary school, the church I attended, etc. The once tiny community has now grown so big. New houses, new subdivisions, and new businesses, all make my quaint little village seem so different. Like me, it has grown and developed and taken on a life of it's own.

Yet there is a sinister down side. As evening approaches, the number of people on the street increase. Elderly adults that were walking store to store, greeting each other with smiles, quickly fade like a fog before the morning sun. They are replaced by a much younger crowd. Teenagers appear with the encroaching night, like vampires in an old black and white B-rated movie. Boys and girls huddled together in little groups. The boys seem to be around 15-17, and the girls range younger maybe 12-15.

Some of the older boys have trucks that cruise the streets. Some with girls sitting so close they seem to be sharing the steering wheel. Others with no girl in them pull up to the groups of 12-15 year old girls, honk the horn, squeal the tires, and holler sexual offers back and forth. Most all of the young teenage girls are for sale, but because they are in such demand they are choosy. They all try to get the wealthiest boy, or the most talented or popular one. Then when that one is taken, they settle for a lesser one, perhaps one with an old truck. It's all about status in their "monogamous" cult. The girls look for the boys who will raise their status in the eyes of the other girls, and the boys look for the girls who they can afford. It is really no different than watching a bunch of peacocks on the nature channel.

As the evening grows into night, and some of the young girls could not sell themselves for the status of a boyfriend with a truck, then the younger teenage boys who are on foot have a chance to purchase their affections. Sometimes trucks stop and the young girl gets out to rejoin her friends and start the process all over again. It is a sad state of affairs to see such rampant immorality hidden in the night of a "monogamous" community.

I had forgotten this dark side. On the outside, my childhood community may have new streets and buildings, but at the core it is still the same.

My mind reeled back to my own childhood in this once small farming community. Things were the same then, only on a much smaller scale. I remember the 12 and 13 year old girls who were already sexually active, some with babies of their own. I remember those who confided in me that they were being sexually abused by members of their family. Tears filled my eyes as I remembered my childhood in this "monogamous" community. I can't believe why I would ever have the urge to return to the family of my past, even for a visit. If anything, I should be running to the other side of the earth, let alone ever allowing my children to be exposed to my "monogamous" roots.