I get that way about certain places and times in my life. It's the memories more than anything else, and it seems the more uncertain I am about moving ahead, the more the old memories come up. Right now I'm on the verge of making some serious changes and I find myself wanting to go back to a different time.

I don't know whether to envy you or not. I've never been so nurtured by a place or time in my life that I've had a whiff of nostalgia for it -- at least not that I can recall. Of course, I miss the relative simplicity of childhood, like most everyone else appears to. Childhood is teriffic, in the sense that you get to outsource all your worrying to your parents. But I don't miss the dusty little nowheresville I grew up in, either. Each place I've lived, ranging from generic midwest to desert southwest to upstate NY with a pit stop or two along the way, has things I've found to like / enjoy and of course things that were easy to grouse about. But they all felt like home to me after a few weeks. As the saying goes -- wherever you go, there you are.

+We were just in Witchita last week, on our way home from a four week trip to the West. Had a great meal somewhere downtown, with great music from some DJ after my taste. There was a Goth girl or boy sitting outside of our motel, charging his/her tablet from a plug outside of a room. Nice city to pass through. I understand your homesickness. It is actually the longing for your memories , not the actual place. Like a painted silk cloth that drapes across the place. Your experiences and memories are what's on the silk. There is no remedy for it.

I miss my hometown when I see methheads with no teeth and drunks passing bottles around.