Growing Up

 

It is difficult to say where I actually grew up because I was born in Raleigh, NC, and in less than a year moved to Alexandria, VA where I remained until the 8th grade when we moved to Cairo, Egypt where I attended and graduated from High School.  After high school, I attended college in NC, got married, but left in 1990 to relocate in TN after a long divorce.

So, did I grow up in Alexandria, VA or Cairo, Egypt or both?  I would say both...

While I liked Alexandria, Cairo, and Burlington, NC, I fell in love with the Tennessee Valley of East TN and prefer this location to all the others.

However, each location has its advantages and disadvantages, and I think liking the place where one lives is directly related to one's age.

We lived in the country in Alexandria during the 1050s and early 1960s and there were wooded areas on both sides of our community.  This was perfect for young boys, like me...  these wooded areas are no longer there.

Also, on either side of us about a mile in either direction, were two shopping centers that had drug stores.  The boys with which I hung out would either walk to the drug stores or thumb a ride (before that got dangerous) that underscored a positive childhood.

Cairo, Egypt was a perfect place for teenagers going to high school with the Arabian Horses, desert hikes and excursions, everyone living in one community, foreign students, and things to do at night that were not based upon age but on the ability to pay.

The Piedmont of North Carolina offered a tremendous number of activities for college students including other schools like Elon College, UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, Guilford, High Point, and UNC-G but was not the best place to live for someone like me after college.

I preferred being in an area that was not so crowded with people and vehicles and which cost less to live, and which had no state income tax like Tennessee.

So, I grew up in areas that were perfect for me based upon my age level which was very fortunate now that I think about it.  From that standpoint, I have had an IDEAL LOCATION OPPORTUNITY...