as i type this, i am sitting underneath the east side of Decatur's iconic Transfer House. (you'll be unable to see me in the picture above, as i could not move fast enough to get in the shot.)
beautiful breeze today.... perfect for a little lunch hour sitting. i'm looking out onto Franklin street, with the post office on my left and the library on my right. lots of traffic zooming by... folks on the move, going from here to there (or maybe from there to here, depending on perspective).
the TransHouse is a beautiful structure, with such a storied past. built in 1895 (1895!!), this thing has a storied history, including being picked up and moved in 1962 to this current spot. thru the years, it's been neglected and renovated many times.
i sit here with my back against the wall, just as folks have done for 118 (118!!) years. who else has sat in this spot? mayors? politicians? athletes? criminals? i would love to know. i would love to see a list of all those who have sat here with each's brief bio, then choose a top 5 i'd get 10 minutes with.
there's history here. there's history everywhere. much of it good, some of it bad. a portion of it, very bad. nonetheless, i see history existing so that we can not just learn it, but learn from it.
as i sit here under the TransHouse about ready to head back to work, I wonder who will be sitting in this spot 118 years from now. will the TransHouse still exist? heck, will Decatur still exist? would that person sitting here in 2131 want to talk to me? would i make his or her (or "its", if the Earth has been overrun by zombies or savage space monsters) top 5 list? would i be interesting enough to spend 10 minutes with? am i making history, somehow, someway?
i'd sure like to think so.
out for now.....
Matt