People and Places

Bear with me on this one. It is a personal and nostalgic look at our past travels.

People and Places

By Wayne Hinton

May 5, 2015

If you are old enough, maybe you can relate to this.

If you are young enough, maybe you can learn from it.

And, if you are in between, maybe you can change if needed.

My goals were quite simple years ago, and I reaped the benefit.

By keeping my goals simple, some were easy to achieve.

But the biggest advantage was being able to recognize

Opportunities for what they were worth

And what they could offer to my eyes.

Math was a major part of my early goals

But that didn’t work out for me.

Several girls interested me enough to think

My Mrs. was among them, but it wasn’t to be.

I dreamed of living in Texas for some reason,

And Dallas was a focus for many years.

I thought I was stuck working in Cincinnati,

And losing our first child brought many tears.

My wife had never lived anywhere else,

So moving to Texas was a test of trust.

We took a trial move for a few months,

And found that Dallas westward was full of dust.

With two children at the time, we made a conscious decision

To use the temporary time we were there

And make the most of every moment.

So we toured Texas with a flare.

The Alamo was a must-see of course

And Johnson’s library was full of intrigue.

Since we had not seen anything like it.

The displays were out of our league.

Eisenhower’s birth place was close

And we couldn’t let the opportunity pass

To visit his old home in Denison

Long before he earned his brass.

A drive into Oklahoma found us racing a tornado

Hoping we could beat it back to Dallas.

We did, of course, with some nerves unwound.

At least I found out that my feelings were not callous.

Passing the test of living elsewhere, we waited

And found ourselves moving to Connecticut.

While there, we visited New York City, Boston and more

Where we witnessed a whole new form of etiquette.

Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine

And New Hampshire were among our many tours.

We even were able to give my dad a vacation that

He had only dreamed would show the sight of early wars.

Chicago was next, although I did not really want to go.

Surprisingly, we found some of our best friends ever

And again made some incredible findings.

Finding our way around town was a difficult endeavor.

My first visit outside the United States

Came when I had a small team

Doing some work in Puerto Rico.

The humidity was extreme.

Wisconsin was more interesting than expected

And long distance bike rides and camping were great.

We amassed a great many pleasant memories

And we toured throughout the state.

I thought I knew Kentucky well, having grown up there,

But living in Frankfort for a short time,

And getting Janis some horse riding lessons,

Gave us a different view of the caves and pleasant clime.

Dallas was next – our second time to live there.

Our focus was on a school where both kids could graduate.

But after only a few short days, I was called to Detroit.

You never know when you will meet a twist of fate.

Needless to say, Detroit was not in my top ten cities to live

But General Motors needed a lot of assistance

So many of us went to help even though

What we wanted to see was far in the distance.

My position allowed me trips

To Canada and Mexico.

Working with the locals there

Helped my skills to grow.

Michigan holds some absolutely wonderful scenery

The Upper Peninsula provides a great many views.

We also got our first chances to spend time

In Canada, Niagara Falls and other places to choose.

We lived there long enough for both children to graduate

And I had some serious increases in responsibilities.

I considered it a reward to be chosen to go to South Korea

It proved to be a real test of some of my abilities.

The Old Korean Village and Itaewon were fascinating

And the food was deliciously different.

We bought souvenirs, of course,

And the people were very brilliant.

New Orleans loomed next in our travels

And what an unusual time we had.

The food and music, along with the people,

All had a quality and style, but it was not all bad.

The history of southern Louisiana is full of wonder

You can imagine a belle descending the stairs

Of almost any of the mansions

And no one is burdened by cares.

Opening offices in Oklahoma City and Reno

Gave me some new views of life.

Tahoe is a wonderful place and it gave

Me a place to vacation with my wife.

Our third relocation to Dallas gave travel for us

A whole new dimension.

The places we saw while in Europe

Were way beyond our comprehension.

England, Ireland, Belgium and Germany

Were very educational and beautiful locations.

The autobahn, Switzerland and the Rhine

Went beyond my expectations.

Now, as we have settled into our advanced ages,

I have no more fear to fly.

Nor do I want to do it anymore.

I’m content to gaze into the sky.

I see a lot of planes go over the house

And I wonder about each person’s destination.

Is it business or pleasure or something else?

I hope it is combined with a great vacation.