Fast Forward Time Traveling into the Now Brand New Past

A common phenomena amongst sentimentalists is to go back

geographically to a place in one’s past in order to re-live a time in one's history.

The result of this predictably failed attempt at trying to re-live the past

is called the “you can’t go home again ” syndrome.

Immm-possk-kah-bull. EEEzzzz not pozz-zee-bull.

"The only constant is change,"

so says the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 – c. 475 BC). 

The Greek dudes deduced this fact way back then, 2450 years ago.

Yet, I do propose a single argument

for this given hypothesis ...

What I discovered recently on a re-visit to a place was a new twist on space & time travel.

I visited a place I considered a home away from home that I had not been to in only,

a few years. I found to my surprise a brand new surprising reality & revelation that transformed previous impressions of time & space & place. In sooo many aspects.

Time has come today.

There were things to realize here.

I had visited Friday Harbor, WA. on San Juan Island at least 3-4-5 times a year

for the past ten years. In all seasons :  summer & winter. I knew this town.

I had not visited there in the past few years. I went back last month.

To my complete surprise, my home away from home was an unknown

surprisingly strangely novel experience in many countless ways.

I found myself wide-eyed, exploring everything, re-examining, & re-discovering

all as a whole new re-ality that was quite wow wonderfully whoa astonishing.

I was in for a brand new actuality. I time traveled to this now new in a place that had comfortably been familiar & in the known past. A whole new update for the brain.

A reset on any expectations.

I had no pre-desires to go back-back to the past.

I was proceeding forward in a high speed vortex.

An all-round eye-opening experience. It was like being introduced to an old acquaintance who had re-invented themselves & I re-cognized them yet did not know them & had to

re-aquaint myself. It felt like time travel. I had none zero feelings of remorse, sorrow, or wanting the old to magically re-appear. This was not about feeling nostalgic. This had nothing to do with you can't go home again sentiments. This had no longing. No pineing for what was. For what had been. This was seeing unexpectedly new sights with new eyeballs not expecting anything whatsoever familiar. I was wow-wowed. I was completely enveloped in The Now.

I did not go home again there.

I was inside the future.

I was in the Wow Now.

The lodgings of the past 10 years was a tug boat owned by a family member.

This past year the tug boat changed owners. Not staying in our once familiar harbor looking out at the marina. Instead, for the first time there, we a rented room in a historical building in a another different harbor looking out at a completely different marina. A slight twist.

A new perspective. Instead of the propane powered stove of the tug boat, the room had a propane fireplace & mantel. Still. again, a slight twist yet, still, it was an enjoyable twist. Change is a steadfast constant.

Instead of walking down the docks to our car in the parking lot, & driving to get to places,

we had the pleasure of walking down our own private stone steps garden pathway to the docks. That is where we had coffee, ate dinner, shopped at a grocery. All new nearby experiences.

Instead of entering Roche Harbor where we were lodging on the long winding long curving long goes circling around the whole Roche Harbor town long road to get there, we used & had access to our very own little private driving entrance short-cut thru a side entrance amongst trees. This single lane went directly to our room. It was all ours. It was so custom.

It was cool. It was ace.

Instead of hiking down the cliffs to our familiar always seem to go there Grandma’s Cove at English Camp we opted for a brand new beach South Beach. The high winds were super strong that day, so we decided to see a beach we had not explored. The spectacular view of the Cascades zoomed the mountains visually up close there. A brand new & shocking view for us. New view.

Instead of our one favorite Mexican restaurant that was always our constant set in stone by choice love it habit for dinner in Friday Harbor, we had no choice here on this visit.

The restaurant had closed down in the last years.

We opted for dinner by our lodgings instead & had the time of our life.

The exact same waitress that served us lunch in town, served us dinner there.

She was like our new old friend. Instead of munching throughout the meal the chips & salsa, a brand new option was offered after the meal. Chocolate indulgence cake. This chocolate extravagance had the most appropriate name. Are you kidding me ?? This consumable ingestible decadence is actually legal ?? Never done that. Whew. All new. Exploded my tastebuds, flabbergasted & blew my brain right off my shoulders. End result was veritable unequivocal non-vocal say what shocked where am I who am I speechlessness.

Stay with what you know ?? No !! You never no.

Instead of visiting our always favorite hotspot used bookstore, that was actually huh ?? closed for the season & would open next week, we walked up the avenue & discovered a shop we had never visited before and found a Joe scarf & a Kris hat. Surprise. Whoo. All new.

Instead of driving our usual long way the only way we knew to Roche Harbor, we scoped out and found a short direct route that took half the time to drive. Wow. Never knew that before.

Have we ever been here before ?? It seemed like we had not ...

Instead of zooming driving right by that alpaca farm, we paused & stopped & turned in this time round for the first time ever. To our complete utterly wildly amazement, we were personally greeted by all these otherworldly wide eyed furry Dr. Seuss creatures as they basked in pleasure perfectly posing for our snapshots. It seemed like this was their most favorite past time activity because they knew how gorgeous they are. Incredible unexpected coo-coo fun. Love those sweetheart packers.

Instead of stopping in the library for the usual book sale, we had planned our trip around a movie being shown there about Ukraine. I got to meet the founder/leader, Marketa. She & her group had purchased three of my donated sunflower paintings. It was so great to meet her. The film, Counterpoint Zoo, was very moving & emotional. It was about re-locating 5000 animals in an eco-park that was located right in the middle of the crossfires of the war.  Normally we would have caught a film at the local Friday Harbor cinema. The films playing there were about anacondas, & horror & sinners. Nope. All new this time round.

Instead of the normal quiet cruise on the state ferry boat through the channels for our passage to Friday Harbor, we had a whole new experience. The super high winds created big swell swells. The huge ferry rocked. And rolled. Never experienced that before. Ever.

It was like being out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The captain loud speakered to the passengers stay seated & if you have to walk around use the hand railings. The car alarms of the BMW’s were a ‘buzzin’ the whole crossing. New new, new, never knew. Big waves. What a ride.

Ok. Ok. I admit there was this one single thing that we did that was like all our other visiits to Friday Harbor. We sought this experience out on every single visit.

This one single known experience

that never ever changes.

We adore Friday Harbor Ace Hardware. It is always the same.

It is a known constant. It is like gravity & resets your feet solid

onto the ground on known territory. It is like family, a comfortable friend, a sanctuary.

We proceeded to walk up & down all the aisles paying tribute to

all the practical functional utilitarian useful sensible stuff.

Lolly gagged. The hardware people let us be.

We meandered every single aisle. We slowly strolled.

All things there were : the same-same.

Found what we needed.

Only place one could find there, a glass mister sprayer

& a press snap stud fastener.

We were guided to the one in a million teeny little cardboard drawers

that held the gold we were seeking.

The clasp that would repair what needed fixing.

Only at Ace could one find these oddball items.

And all in the same place. Under the same roof.

And. Here is the only place where

the constant is same-same

& no change here.

So the only constant is change does not apply to Ace.

Another word for ace : master, ninja, champion, first-class, badass. All at Ace.

Love it. Love Ace. Ace is the Place.

You actually can go back home again at Ace.

At least the one in Friday Harbor.

Cannot say that about Anacortes Ace.

That one is being enlarged restocked remodeled rebuilt restocked renewed re-do-ed. Re-re.

In conclusion :

it is worthwhile to explore your known pasts.

You will never know which ones will be all completely new.

As you place yourself in the now-now of the future knew

& the past unknowns.

How will life unfold before you :

Will you enter a vortex of the strange unknown ?

Or re-enter the repeated customary comfort of the known ?

Is there such a place. & is it only at Ace ?

How will you time travel today ?

Will you see the light

of the now past future

in one moment ??