Dallas, Tx.

i (matthew) grew up here. its my hometown. so much is familiar. i know the streets, the freeways, neighborhoods, the people. the way the skyline looks approaching the city from any direction.

but for the past 10 years i've only flown here. i've only seen the approach from the air and ridden around in borrowed cars, noting the changes and seeing the familiar.

the thing is, this time, i'm driving in, in my own car. and there's a different feel about it. i'm in the Element with California plates. a car that i've driven from Fresno to San Francisco to Los Angeles. Its seen the California coast and the Sierra Nevadas. Driven by countless rivers. Yet here it is, on I-30 headed east crossing the Trinity River. Driving through downtown Dallas. on a freeway i've been on hundreds of times as a younger man. this time, nathan is in the backseat. lisa is next to me. although all of the sites out my windshield and inside the car are familiar. yet somehow, this time, in this way, in this combonation there is a newness, as though i'm seeing it all for the first time.