Hometown somehow sucks even more than when you first enlisted
Seriously? Another Dollar General?
Gray Sea Liu
November 18, 2023
You spent how many hours driving up and down this road in high school?
YOUR HOMETOWN, USA— When Marine Pfc. Stockton Bloom returned home to Wilson, NC for his mother’s birthday this past September, he made a horrifying discovery. The hometown he hated so much while in high school had somehow gotten noticeably worse.
“This place was always kind of a dump but we at least used to have a skating rink and a Krispy Kreme for the kids to hang out at,” said Bloom. “But now the skating rink is a Dollar General and the Krispy Kreme burned down.”
The realization was new and traumatic for Bloom but it is actually surprisingly common among service members who visit family after a long time away.
“I’m from this little place in Iowa that seemed kind of boring but okay when I was growing up,” said Air Force Staff Sgt.Lucinda DiBianchi. “When I went back home for Christmas, I was surprised by how many tire shops and broken street lights we have. They opened a tire shop right next to the recruiting office where I swore in. That recruiting office has been here longer than I can remember.”
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