Seemingly trivial changes in my community make me sad

 Yes, I comprehend that time marches on and that things change, but there's just something moving about a landmark changing. I can drive down most any familiar street and in my mind is playing a video recording of how things once were. It totally annoys my wife that I'm always pointing out the window at an empty lot or a new Dollar General and saying "That's where that old double-drive-through sandwich place used to be. Remember? They had such awesome French fries. You remember. The ones like Snapps used to serve. Remember? Snapps. I think they were bought out by Rally's.  Oh, Rallys has good fries..." and on and on it goes. 

Anyway, yesterday I was driving down Archdale Road in Archdale, NC, as I have almost daily for over 24 years, when I felt a sudden disturbance in the Force.  "Where'd the Tire Pole go?!?" 

The Tire Pole has always been a mystery. I noticed it when we moved to NC from Ohio back in 1999 and every time I saw it I wondered "Who put that there?"  "Was there a service station there years ago?" "Perhaps it was a one-man mechanic shop or a small engine repair shop..."  It looked like someone had planted flowers in it at some point, and who knows, maybe that's what it was actually for. 

I mentioned the missing tire to several coworkers and was regaled with stories of a nearby swimming pool that as kids, see the sight of the Tire Pole always meant they are close to the pool.  One coworker recalled that there were other tires on display, and sure enough, after a look at historic photos on StreetView I saw that in 2007 there sure enough were some buried tires!