Good old Lebanon, Missouri. White outlining this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas, it occurred to me that I write about that city a ton in this space, especially during this series. It also occurred to me that it makes sense. This series is all about nostalgia.
While Joplin is my official hometown (as is the case for most of the Webbs), Lebanon is to me what the town Kevin Arnold grew up in on “The Wonder Years” is to him. Our best Christmases came during our five years (1984-1989) there, including the year of the Nintendo, GI Joe fighter jet and the last one with paternal grandmother.
Lebanon is the place where I discovered girls (girls discovered me in college). The schools – Maplecrest, Hillcrest and Lebanon Junior High – were a stairway from childhood to adolescence. The people, from the good old folks my parents partied with to my late friend Chris “Woody” Woodrum, had a hand in honing my sense of humor.
As I wrote several years ago, I didn’t visit Lebanon for years. Our first trip back was in 2017, nearly 30 years after my family moved to tiny Burlingame, Kansas, in 1989. We’ve been back a few times since, and while many things have changed, it still feels like Lebanon.
Gone are the baseball fields where we spent many summer nights in Little League, notably one night I’ve written about before. Gone is the junior high, which was an absolute zoo for an introvert who lived in the back country of Russ, Missouri (six miles south of Lebanon).
Also gone is one of my favorite hangouts as a pre-teen – an arcade with 20 games, a couple of pool tables, a juke box and a small kitchen. When my mom wasn’t working a craft show, she often took us to the arcade (the name of the spot escapes me all these years later).
A kind old man named Al ran the place. You got your quarters from him, and you placed your orders with him. Once we ordered a hamburger, fries and soda for $5, we passed the time waiting for our food by playing games. They had Shinboi, Mrs. Pacman, Galaga and more.
That arcade also was my introduction to rock n’ roll. Even an 11-year-old gets a shot of adrenal when one of the cool kids from high school plays “Shook Me All Night Long” on the jukebox. I think of the first time I heard that song, and the arcade, every time it pops up on Pandora.
Despite all the changes, Lebanon still feels like the place I grew up when we visit. Many of my childhood friends still live there. Maplecrest is still there. The main drag looks the same. Remnants of the old country store in Russ remain.
Our trips to Lebanon remind me of the final monologue in “The Wonder Years”: “Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you’re in diapers, the next day you’re gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house, like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back … with wonder.”
I remember all those things, too. I also remember basking under the glow of lights on a Little League field on sweltering, fun summer nights. I remember navigating the long hallways and walkways of Lebanon Junior High, just trying to survive as a seventh-grader in a world of eight- and ninth-graders. I remember the old movie theatre, one of the hangouts for cool kids. I remember meeting kids who I still talk to nearly 40 years later. And, yes, I remember Al and the arcade. And I still look back with wonder.
TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SERIES
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part X: Welcome to the jungle of Hillcrest
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IX: Mom and Christmas
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VIII: Thank you, Hannibal
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VII: A letter to Brenda Keller
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VI: Booker the Cat
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part V: About Joplin, my hometown
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part IV: Christmas in Arkansas
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part III: From the archives
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part II: The Pine Tar Derby
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part I: Rest in peace, Dan Ascheman
2022 finale: The search for James “Danny” Hollingshead continues