a lot has changed at Broadwater over the years

i posted this link on my Facebook page on Wednesday but it's worth talking about here.

i had always heard stories about how my great grandma or some older relative had rode a horse to school every day (uphill both ways and in the snow) and i always chalked it up to one of those "that's a cute story mom, now leave me alone so i can play Nintendo" conversations. then i saw this picture.

this school was literally built in the middle of nowhere. if you were to see a picture of Broadwater Elementary school today, you'd see that it is currently surrounded by a bunch of houses, one of Billings' busier streets and the Dominos that i worked at throughout high school is right across the street.

i thought that it was funny that this school was apparently built on the outskirts of the western part of town. i guess that a lot can change in 102 years because that school is literally located five blocks away from downtown and it would now take 10-15 minutes to drive from the Broadwater parking lot to the western edge of town.

so yea, a lot of things can change in 102 years. hell, a lot of things can change in 15 years.

this summer will mark the 15th anniversary of my final year of elementary school. i looked at the staff list on the Broadwater Elementary website and i didn't recognize a single name on it.

Mrs. Helus, my sixth grade teacher? gone. Mrs. Larsen, my fifth grade teacher? see ya. Mr. Jones, my fourth grade teacher? deuces. Mr. Ravniker, my third grade teacher? there is no way that lady is still alive. since i don't remember who my second grade teacher is we'll skip on down to first grade and i haven't talked to Mrs. Brott since i graduated from high school and i haven't seen either of my kindergarten teachers (one stepped in after the other either got pregnant or died... this is actually still a mystery among me and some friends. i suspect that there may have been a cover-up from our parents) since my final nap time.

if i went to Broadwater Elementary today, i could probably find the fire chute and i could mark the spot where i set the single-season touchdown record as a fourth grader (this record book began and ended in 1994). and then i'd be promptly escorted from campus because creepers aren't allowed to just hang out at elementary schools.

i hope you enjoyed that trip down my memory lane.

Chris Brown, play us out.