Rivertowne (2015)

Rivertowne was a local kids restaurant/ arcade opening in 1980 in Baltimore. It was almost exactly what Chuck E Cheese is today; except, all the dancing animated characters were supposed to be animals from a swamp down south. As far as I know to this day no other Rivertownes existed, at least not in Maryland. It was a short-lived place that closed in the mid 1980's, succumbing to the most popular destination of the time, malls.

This was one of my favorite places to go with my grandmom and grandpa. We tended to go about once a month. I remember the excitement waiting for my grandpa to buy me a roll of "Rivertowne Tokens" (their unique form of arcade currency which was non-refundable causing one to spend all that they bought). After I got my pocketful of tokens I would run wild for hours having only to stop when my grandmom would make me sit down and eat pizza and watch the animated, singing animal show. It was a place and time I never forgot to this day; I still even remember the layout and the location.

My grandfather died way back in 1988; however, my grandmother way surpassed him. My grandmom lived until she was 95, dying in 2015. She was my last grandparent to die and probably the closest I had.

After my grandmom's death in August 2015, I felt her presence very strong around me for months. The presence was so strong I would speak to her during my daily walks and hikes with my dog. It felt as though she was walking with me. One day around Thanksgiving that year I really felt her around. During my hike into the forest that day I asked her for a sign if she was truly with me. I rather demanded a sign that only I would know that would give me a definitive "yes".

I hiked this trail quite often during that time period and was very familiar with every angle breaker stone and trip ya up root. Hell, I even knew what fungus grew on what tree and what time of year, not kidding.

After asking my grandmom for a sign I was off on my hike. Not more then 30ft into the trail head, I looked down. Sitting cleanly on top of the dirt trail was a coin. I pick it up and cleaned it off. It was a Rivertowne Token dated 1981! I was so shocked and stunned I began thanking her for her proof. It was so definitive, it was insane.

The questions can run through ones mind asking; how, why, so rare, so obscure, on the surface that I had walked over dozens of times, what are the odds? I can only say that is one true gift from beyond, letting me know that when we are gone from Earth we are not necessarily gone in whole.