Identity

Nostalgia can be big business.

Just ask Cracker Barrel, an establishment that’s built an empire around the idea that things were better back when there was a peg puzzle on every table and a Mayberry RFD boxed set in every entertainment center.

Some nostalgia is more acceptable than others.

The Army veteran in a baseball hat proclaiming his service gets a free burrito at least once a year.

But the former quarterback wearing his high school jersey is either a candidate for a TBI study, or that guy everyone avoids at the Chili’s bar.

Both have the same problem: their identity is built around someone they used to be, not who they are now.

Because now can be a scary place, one where we have to contend with who we ended up being, alone with our memories, our thoughts.

Presence is powerful, but frightening.

Or it can be.

Depends on whether you see the journey, or just the places you used to go.