The Journey Home

A few days ago, I returned from a trip to Akron, Ohio, my hometown and the former “Rubber Capital of the World.”

Like many young adults, my future seemed a “given.” Like my parents and grandparents before me, of course I’d stay in town and eventually be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery. In my certitude, I neglected to consider what John Lennon once acutely observed: Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.

In my late 20s, I left Akron, and made my way to Washington, DC, Knoxville, Tenn., and Seattle before reconnecting (43 years later) with Blake, my Akron high school sweetheart who...