July 16, 2013 - Acquaintance

As I have been here in NOLA this week, I have had numerous people greet me by name.  Some of these people I know by name and others I have no idea who they are.  I thought that coming back to Putnam County would be similar.  However, when I went to the local Walmart the other day, I only saw one person I knew.  I remember when I used to live here that I would maybe see one person I didn't know when I went to the local grocery or Walmart.  I have to recognize that my face is no longer part of the collective knowledge of the place I am living, even though they might have memory of me.  I am a name who they could associate with my family or with my Appalachian Trail hike or my sister's death.  Otherwise, I am just some stranger at the store.  The social capital I once had there is gone to some extent, but I know that I will be able to collect it again.