Tom McLaughlin: Passing it on

In the late 19th century, Kezar Lake became a summer destination for relatively wealthy people from regions to our south. They bought lakefront property from local farmers, many of whom had kept it in their families for generations. The newer owners also tried to pass ownership down to their offspring but that seldom worked for long. It never really does no matter where in the world a given property is located, or who the owners are, or were.

I have fond memories of the Tewksbury, Mass., house in which I grew up, but people entirely unknown to me occupy it now. As adults, my wife and I owned four houses and worked hard on them all. I’ve lived in our current Lovell, Maine, home longest — over 30 years, but I still feel attachment to the ones we’ve sold because I spent many hours and days in, on and under each of them doing repairs and upgrades over several years of ownership. My children lived and grew in three of them. Often I dream that I’m still living in one or the other — and it seems like I actually do until I wake up. I know those dreams mean something but I’m not sure what.