One of Monsieur Meow’s favorite "games" when we come back to visit family seems to be one we’ve come to refer to as the "What Used To Be Here" game.

For instance, we were waiting at the intersection of Market and Soquel in Santa Cruz some time ago, when Monsieur Meow reminisced that the Chinese restaurant that seems to be there (or maybe not anymore) used to be an Italian (and then at some point Greek-Italian) restaurant called Adolph’s.

That also led to a side discussion on how for some reason, the name Adolph isn’t quite making it to the top of the baby name lists.  Hmm…. wonder why, that one.

Today we went to the local mall and noted all the businesses that have swapped places or disappeared altogether, all the while wondering why would certain stores thrive while others foundered and eventually disappeared.

Was it the location?  The clientele?  The needs or preferences that did not agree with the zeitgeist, perhaps?

It’s a sure sign that you’re starting to see a lot of years elapsing, that you have enough memory to remember the way things used to be– and somehow idealize and idolize them in your mind.