Pripyat, Six Flags New Orleans, Disney River Country...go down the list, it's all so fascinating. That which is abandoned will always be stuck in time. It will only advance with nature trying to take its claim back. Specifically, if you look at pictures from Pripyat, where Chernobyl Power Plant was, all of their buildings, and specifically, this striking image, will always be stuck in 1986.
No one will ever ride that ferris wheel ever again. Only the wind will blow it about its way.
I came across a photo gallery today profiling my old stomping grounds--Souderton Area High School, my alma mater. Never exactly loved my time there, but I learned a lot there. I produced articles for our school newspaper, The Arrowhead. I played in six orchestra concerts there. I met good friends there.
Never once did I do anything there dealing with what I do now, but I graduated from there. Within that gallery, pictures of empty hallways in which TVs, chairs, desks and tables are scattered haphazardly. I didn't expect it to hit me so hard. I felt rather sad.
I remember when those hallways had life. A lot of life. That's where I first struck out with a romantic interest in what was affectionately called "The Knuckle." Top of the third floor stairs was where it happened. Remember it like it was yesterday.
We hosted a culture festival in Global Studies. I remember dressing nowhere close to our country in particular, but I don't even care at this point.
I remember Red Alert, the horribly produced show with many technical difficulties. I never cared about any of the after school events they talked about. I only ever went to one sporting event, and they lost. Amazing how things change. Now I can't stop going to sporting events because that's my life.
I failed my trigonometry final in that building, which still remains the only test I've ever failed in my life. My geometry test wasn't much better. I barely got through our endurance test in 10th grade phys-ed. In 12th grade, I dominated as a defensive specialist in dodgeball and floor hockey.
I spent many a morning in the library surfing the web during my senior privilege. I spent mornings with my friends at Dunkin Donuts...a Pepsi and a bagel with cream cheese--that order never changed.
I saw a picture of an engaged couple that met at SAHS. They jumped fences to get those perfect shots. They wanted that place to mean something, so it did. The old high school closed its doors a year after I was done there. I haven't crossed paths with that old building, but I bet if I did, I would go exploring.
I wish I could see what it all looks like inside. I wonder if my old locker has that same combination...I believe it was 15-31-1.
I'd love to climb into the old press box, envision Souderton's football team leading to victory, and my voice echoing throughout the place. The crowd would cheer. Alas, silence. Overgrowth surrounds the place. It's probably not safe anymore. Just sad silence.
Souderton has a brand new high school that I'm sure people love and are making memories for time to come. Perhaps the saddest reminder is that the old building still stands. Plans have been made and cancelled for its destruction or repurposing. Nothing has happened yet. It just sits there, alone, rotting, and without any purpose at all except to remind us of the good times.
Amazing how I talk so vehemently about how much of a bad time I had there, and how I was just proud to be a Millersville Marauder. On the contrary, these pictures reminded me of subtle little things that happened in that building that meant a lot. I hope everyone loves the brand new high school. I guess I'll always have a soft spot for this old abandoned one.
