I hear ya, Ol' Guy. When I go back to where I grew up, I hardly recognize it. All my childhood memories are buried beneath three-story condos. My High School is gone, replaced by apartment buildings and a parking lot.
Dredging up the past, though, makes you cognizant of just how much impact childhood had on forming who and what you actually are. And sometimes ... that's a painful realization. "Glory Days" ... a poignantly true, and sad, commentary.
Quill
It opens a whole different can of worms but I believe a great deal is due to luck. I mean, as Buffett says, we already won the ovarian lottery.
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