That letter dropped in the mail, got me another summons,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Been ten years since the last, a return to the courthouse loomin\u2019,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Same ol\u2019 setting, in The \u2018Riff, been a second home for a decade,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had worked here previously, just down the road, hence the sense of familiarity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Making my way, memories flooding back, the good and the bad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten years a slave for the taxman but made me some serious bank,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got me through tertiary, funded several trips abroad,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wasn\u2019t an exciting gig but on some days low-key kinda missing it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Same sentiments thinking \u2018bout the rest, of former stomping grounds from yesteryear,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u2018Riff, Abbotsford, Ol\u2019 Ash and the CBD, the site of many a good memory,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back when troubles seemed far away like Sir Paul sang about, feeling free and on top as though among the clouds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forgive the clich\u00e9, but they were the best of times,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Better work-life-balance, far less worries, had me some friends, felt like the prime of life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before society began to hate over trivialities and differences, no fear of being canned,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life aged in the late twenties and early thirties, couldn\u2019t get better than that,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old enough to do your own thing, young enough, still, to feel optimistic, seemed like the party was never-ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forgive the clich\u00e9, but as they say, time brings about change,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nothing lasts forever, we\u2019re onto the next phase,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Off went that cushy gig at The \u2018Riff, with it any semblance of steady employment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Visits to Abbotsford and Ol\u2019 Ash dwindling, the CBD the new place for hanging,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For working and training, too, socialising and the rest,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the decade turned, that all-powerful bug put the world to the test,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brace yourself, here comes the crash, the glory era on the floor in smithereens,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So begins the next chapter, can\u2019t say it\u2019s all too appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The world put on hold but somehow kept on turning,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locked down for a year or two to keep the beast from spreading,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yearning for normalcy upon release, of what had once been,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadly, it was never happening, gotta keep on moving,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lost that gig in the city, extended absence was the cause,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back on the road alone, friendships can only put up with for so long extended periods without contact, of feeling hazed, frozen out and ignored,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of all the different crafts to be mastered, losing people just had to be it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone goes away, in the end, but the man in the mirror played his part in it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And with \u2018em went the good times once enjoyed with \u2018em,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I guess it\u2019s a fresh page we\u2019re writing but goddamn, why didn\u2019t they serve a fucking warning?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back at The \u2018Riff, in the present, after being away for some time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traipsing through familiar ground, towards the courthouse, nostalgia roaring back to mind,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many changes made, physically, can\u2019t expect it to stay the same,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modernized to keep up with times, refurbished buildings, maybe a few knockdown-rebuilds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some hit hard by that mass lockdown, they just couldn\u2019t keep up,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adjust or be left behind, some chose the latter and got ate up,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feeling a sense of melancholy over what had once been, was it real or just a dream?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in truth time has an expiry, can\u2019t hold on to \u2018em for eternity,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u2018Riff is history, Ol\u2019 Ash and Abbotsford in the rear-view mirror,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Might still drop by the CBD, but for a whole new other purpose,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No more training, sparring and teaching, the best damn gig ever,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All good things come to an end, pain and change the only fucking constants,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what\u2019s it they say? Be like water and go with the flow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stubborn and fearful end up drownin\u2019 while those that flow stay afloat,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time to put it into practice, set a target and go for it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Never know what you can get, like Forrest said, life\u2019s a box of chocolates,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can\u2019t forget the past, they\u2019re set in stone, look back on them fondly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you continue on the road ahead, go create bigger and better memories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
That letter dropped in the mail, got me another summons, Been ten years since the last, a return to the courthouse loomin\u2019, Same ol\u2019 setting, in The \u2018Riff, been a second home for a decade, Had worked here previously, just down the road, hence the sense of familiarity, Making my way, memories flooding back, the … <\/p>\n