“Well, then, there, Diane, you gotta run off to the city”
Diane says, “Baby, you ain’t missin’ a thing.”
–From John Cougar and Jack and Diane
This is the old Bales Drive-In in Caney, Kansas.
I left this town forever on May 19, 1985. That was the day I graduated high school.
Over the next 25 years, I returned just five times.
My disconnect was magnificent.
I wonder how I’d be different if I’d stayed here.
What if I’d just flipped burgers and made milkshakes my whole life?
You know, there’s a chance I’d be happier.
And, even though I would have made less money,
I’d probably have more money in savings. And, I bet I’d have more Facebook friends.
But, the thing is,
if I’d stayed here I would have always been wanting to run off to the city.
Now, I want to run back to the town.
I evolved into someone else
and now I see that those who stayed
needed less evolution.
Everything they would ever want was right there. Oh, the perpetual Ferris wheel of discontent.