If I had stayed in Watertown.

Watertown, Wisconsin. Used to call the place home. When I was a school-aged kid. Left when I was 17. After graduating from Watertown High School. In 1953. Seldom returned. Maybe the last time was in the 1970s.  That is, until last Wednesday. When I passed through. Stayed for only a couple hours. And was delighted. Because Watertown seemed like it hadn’t changed since the 1950s. The old neighborhoods. Just the same. Even my house. At 132 Riverlawn Avenue. I half-expected the house to have been demolished and replaced by something modern.  But no, there it was. Just as I had left it. My Italian true love was with me. She insisted. Getting out of the car. To take a picture.  While I kept muttering, ‘My god, my god. The place hasn’t changed.’ It was like stepping 60 years into the past. Like I had never left. A weird feeling. I drove down Riverlawn. Past Duffy Street. Then up the Ruth Street hill.  Not a single house was missing. They were all there. All the same. I called out the names of people who used to live in those homes. Friends. Neighbors. Most, if not all, gone by now. Wouldn’t surprise me if a few remained. Living their entire lives in Watertown. Made me wonder. Who and what would I be. If I had stayed in Watertown. –Jim Broede