Fortress of Solitude

In the time I have lived in Fort Worth, I have had no luck in making this place home.  I always think of the wonderful life I had among friends in Houston.  Places to eat, favorite hangouts, a wonderful church home, city parks, museums and theatre plays, and so much more.  Even though it seemed like I was changing places of residence every six months, I still had a couple of places of retreat to use as an oasis.  The first was Molly's Pub, an Irish bar located a block off El Camino Real in Clear Lake.  I could walk in any given time of day, and the outside world, along with its accompaying stresses and worries, would slip away.  Camaraderie, conviviality, laughter, and plain, old-fashioned fun would be the order of the day and easily found inside.  Molly's Pub was my Cheers.  Another place of oasis was found near Baybrook Mall close to the Olive Garden.  There was an undeveloped patch of land with two dead end streets that would fool people into believing led to Circuit City.  As strange as this may sound, I would often park on the isolated, deserted street and contemplate life swirling around me.  Sometimes a six-pack of beer would provide the proper medium for my thoughts, or maybe the soft sounds of the classical radio station would air, but primarily I would sit in solitude sorting and organizing the constant barrage of life.  If I didn't have these places of retreat, my mental and emotional health probably wouldn't have been near as healthy or balanced.  The closest place of solitude I have found in Fort Worth is my current place of residence.  Having lived in this current apartment for eight-and-a-half years, I have at least found stability if nothing else.  The challenge is dancing the fine line between having a fortress of solitude and sheer isolation.  Whenever I'm "at home", I don't feel as if I'm in Fort Worth.  It's not until I open the front door that reality hits me with the cold, hard truth.  At least I can look forward to a return to the one oasis I do have in the land of exile.  I encourage each of my readers to have at least one, maybe two, places of retreat to escape from the bitter, sometimes harsh, realities of life.