The Thoughts of a small-town man raising his family, growing a church, and building a law practice

Restless feeling of anticipation, check. Bright, sunny day, check. Sense of adventure and undaunted exploration, check. Everything I needed for a journey through this city was in place. As I was walking away, a couple in their car stopped and asked me, Excuse me, are you from here? Before I could answer this simple question, my mind produced several viable options. Well kinda, I go to school here. Well it depends, are you looking for something in particular that someone from here would know? Well technically, I guess not. But I’m from Texas, does that count? Yes, I’m from here. Afterall, I’ve lived here long enough to earn my citizenship into the People’s Republic of Austin. Government code 4.37B. Look it up. Hmm… Well I guess it depends on what you mean when you say, “Are you from here?” Do you mean do I live here or was I born here? If you mean if I live here, is there a certain threshold of time I need to meet in order to sufficiently answer ...

Goodbyes. Hellos. Here I sit In Iowa Park, Texas Thousands of miles away from Barcelona, Spain In a completely different world if I stop to think about it long enough. I know that world still exists. I know people are still walking around the city as the metro travels underneath them. There are people laughing and kids playing. Cars are driving around while bikes weave in and out. The city of Barcelona is still happening even if I'm not there to witness it. Yet I feel as though something has died. A part of me? A life? A world entirely of itself? I’m not entirely sure. Memories keep coming back to me. There I sat... There I walked... There’s that building I always saw... There I am laughing with all my friends…. I find myself wanting to go back there, but where is that place? Sure the location is there but the people... the people I want to see they are no longer there. ...