I saw my Aunt Franny today. She's still in the same house where I spent so much time in my youth with my cousins. Aunt Franny is 83 and suffering from cancer of the esophagus.  She didn't complain, still had that chuckle when she said something funny. Then I drove past my Dad's house where he grew up down the road in Darby and my house where I lived until I was 13 in Upper Darby. I moved away from there June 15, 1970. The old neighborhood sure has changed, as the saying goes. It's good to go back, to reflect on how far we've all come, but there's a kind of hollow feeling to see how different it all is from the way I remember it - the playground, the corner store, etc. Seems to me it's the memories- good, bad, indifferent - that are the bedrock for our special, unique view of the world.

Update August 29, 2012: Aunt Franny passed away today from her battle with cancer. She will always be loved and missed.