Home is, and always will be Springfield, MO--like it or not. I suppose if all of my friends and family decided to up and move somewhere else together, then that might earn the title of home, but they're not, so it's Springfield.
I lived in Springfield from birth until about five or six years ago. Growing up there, it seemed like a normal city to me, though I really didn't have anything else to compare it to. As I grew up though, and started traveling around a bit and living other places for brief periods of time, I soon realized that it's not a normal town. It's weird.
I won't pick it apart completely, but what other city has a church, liquor store, or Chinese restaurant on every corner--almost literally? And it's not necessarily in the Bible belt--it's the buckle. Very religious. I'm talking churches that resemble shopping malls in size.
And then there's Branson. Where Osmond's go to die. If Austin, Nashville, and Branson were all brothers, Branson would get his ass kicked on a daily basis. The place is beyond words.
As odd as I find Springfield and Branson, their locations are tough to beat--at least for somewhat of an outdoorsy-type, like myself. Lakes, rivers, and vast acreage surround the area.
And so do my friends and family. That's the important part.
So, tomorrow I'm off to Andy Williams International Airfield, where hillbillyness and less than sub par entertainment live. I'm sure a huge poster of a toothless, floppy-hat-wearing, moonshine drinkin', yuck-yuck hillbilly from Presley's Mountain Music Celejamboration will be greeting me along with all the Bass Pro Shop cabin vomit when I deboard.
But my friends and family will be there, too. We'll bypass all the theaters and hit the lake. We won't be going to giant church on Sunday morning--we'll be cooking breakfast together and spending some much needed time together. But we probably will go to one of the millions of liquor stores and Chinese restaurants...
As much as I love Colorado...the mountains, the rivers, the lifestyle...it still isn't home. It's just an extremely extended vacation. At least until I recruit everyone here.
.
