The Land That Time Forgot

Saturday started out like any other Saturday.  Until the afternoon came.  I got an invite to go out for the night in my hometown, and with no reason not to (except a weird nagging voice) I figured, what the heck?

It was only sevenish when we drove through the town on the way to my friend's house, and I couldn't help but feel like I still lived there.  I lived in that town pretty much my whole life and it's only now I'm away from it I can appreciate how much of life-sucking black hole it really is.

As soon as I was old enough to dream I wanted out of that town and away from the small-mindedness that came with its inhabitants.  My dream came true when I met my now husband and we moved half an hour down the road.  It sounds like nothing, but it feels like a world away from where I grew up.

And it really is.  Really.

The first thing I noticed on Saturday was how if anything, the only change was the scenery was more drab than it used to be.  The pub floors stickier, the toilets more disgusting and the drinkers drunker.  

It only fully sunk in how much my hometown had gone downhill when we got to our nightclub of choice.  I used to work in this club and I adore it from its giant 'gators on the wall to the pianos on stage.  Some of my fondest memories of a miss-spent youth are in that place.  I remember it in its glory days when there were three bars open and a crowded dance floor and a vibe that made you glad you were there. 

This time...it was like the world moved on and forgot to tell it.  Only one bar was open with only crappy alco-pops to serve.  The lighting was dank and the whole place screamed depression.    It was like seeing your favourite person at their very worst and not even able to get that shocked and pitying looks off your face.

The places had gone downhill but it was like the people were the exact same.  Same old drama.  Same old bitching.  Same old arguments.  

The Land That Time Forgot - or is it just me who has moved on?