Never Heard of It

 Ever heard of Shawmut, or Pigs Eye Parrat? There are - or were - real places. But, with the march of time, it seems everything is changing. Robots are replacing doctors. Mail has been usurped by email… and text… and tweet. The 5 and Dime, became Kmart, and then Walmart – then who knows what’s next? 

Heck… it seems in some ways that the gladiators of the past have been replaced by Professional Wrestling, which has further morphed into Politics, with its showmanship and to-the-death enemies. Even the ever-trusted paper map has been replaced by GPS, and the encyclopedia has been booted into obscurity by Google. 

And where are you from? 

 

https://www.ranker.com/list/us-cities-renamed/tracey-graham 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_city_name_changes 

https://languagecentre.sun.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/List-of-City-Name-Changes-Wikipedia.pdf 

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Transcript

You are listening to An Ounce, Season 6, Episode 25, Never Heard of the Place 

Change. 

Everything is changing. 

Robots are replacing doctors. 

Mail has been usurped by email… and text… and tweet. 

The 5 and Dime, became Kmart, and then Walmart – then who knows what’s next? 

While Sears and Robuck catalogs have been overtaken by Amazon. 

Heck… it seems in some ways that the gladiators of the past have been replaced by Professional Wrestling, which has further morphed into Politics, with its showmanship and to-the-death enemies. 

Even the ever-trusted paper map has been replaced by GPS, and the encyclopedia has been booted into obscurity by Google. 

Rock Solid 

But real estate, Good old terra firma, Still remains rock solid and unchanged. 

Mount McKinley still stands proud in Alaska. 

New York City is still in New York state. 

LA and San Fransisco still remain in California. 

Solid as the ground under your feet – Right? 

Well, maybe not as stable and unchanging as you might wish. 

For example, Mount McKinley is now Denali – in fact it was Denali before it was McKinley. 

And New York City – it was New Amsterdam, and then New Orange, before it was New York. 

LA and San Fransisco – yep San Fransisco was Yerba Buena - and Los Angeles used to be called El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de la Porciuncula (poor -see – un – cool – a ) 

That is just the tip of the iceberg. 

Fort Dearborn became Chicago Illinois. 

Shawmut became Boston Massachusetts. 

And Pheonix Arizona – well before that, it was east Phoenix. And before that, it was Mill City. And before that, it was Helliwg Mill. And before that it, was Swilling’s mill. And before that, it was just the dry Salt River Valley inhabited by the Hohokam tribe – who actually had a pretty good thing going. 

But Wait – Theres More 

Atlanta Geogia – after the Creek Indians were forced off the land - Early settlers called it Canebrake. Then it got the name Terminus… because it marked the end of the railroad line. It was also known as Deanville, Thrasherville, Lumpkin, and Mitchell. Then, in its first formal incorporation into a town it was labeled Marthasville… and then Atlanta. 

And then there is Saint Paul Minnesota – formerly known as Imnizaskan (im-knee-zas-can) (or in English, little white rock). White Settlers got ahold of it, and it became Fort Snelling, and then Pigs Eye Parratt – or Pigs Eye Landing. But a chapel was built some 3 miles away from Pigs Eye – and the Chaple was called St. Paul. And… well, I guess nobody wanted to say they were from Pigs Eye so St Paul got the nod. 

There are so many places that have changed their names from Big Lick - which became Roanoke VA, to Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit now known as Detroit MI, or the motor city – and – Li Villa de San Fransisco Javier de Alburquerque shortened down to just Alburquerque, New Mexico. 

Change doesn’t need to take several years. It can happen – seemingly in the blink of an eye. That open space a few blocks away that became a housing development. Those old building they tore down to build an office building. 

Not to mention how people can change – kids seem to grow up faster than expected. And I don’t know about you but all my friends got old. 

And the longer you are on the earth the more change you will have to accept. But why? – it’s a simple case of mathematics, the longer you’ve been around, the more you’ve experienced, the more advancements have occurred; and the more crazy ideas, disasters, fads, and fashions have come and gone. If you’ve only been around for a decade or two – well, you haven’t seen much, and small changes can seem huge. 

People – like places- change - change their names and what they do – but it doesn’t change who they are. 

It seems nothing stays exactly the same. 

Well, there are potentially many little “ounce-sized nuggets of wisdom” to learn from all these changes. But, for now, might I suggest just this one. 

Here’s An Ounce 

…from our brief examination of how stuff changes over time, and sometimes all at once. 

So, If I were to ask – where are you from? …Is there more than one answer? And If I asked you where you are, or where you are going? Is it a name on a map? Is it even a place? Or is it a goal in your head? A destination without a definition? An idea? 

Though the names, and even the places themselves might change, the touchpoints in our lives don’t disappear. Where we grew up, where we graduated high school, our first real job, our deeply held beliefs and values - key memories of what once was  -and hopes of what might be -are right there. 

So, here’s the ounce –We all have our enduring reference points – those things that guide us and orient us. They are the ones that make an indelible mark in our hearts. 

And, that’s it. An Ounce, submitted for your consideration.