Another annual Homestead Festival and another influx of past, present and former Princeton residents tromping, traveling and taking a stroll through town.

How does it feel to be home? Yes, I know “home” is where you live now, but in a strange and almost mystical way, this will always be “home,” won’t it? I lived in Nashville, Tenn., for 10 years, and “home” was wherever I wasn’t ... If I was in Nashville, I’d tell folks I was headed “home” for the weekend, which meant I was going to Princeton. When I got back to Princeton, I would say I was headed “home” on Sunday, which meant I was returning to Nashville. Like I said, “home” is where I wasn’t.

But nevertheless, for those folks who grew up here and who get that strange yet familiar feeling when you cross the railroad tracks at the north end of town, Princeton will always be your hometown. Whether you strayed from the area and now live elsewhere; whether you’re a returning letterman who left once and now have returned to the area; or maybe you never left at all ... Princeton holds a host of memories that have intertwined themselves with the present and will ultimately touch the future too. Like it or not, there’s no escape ... Princeton is in your blood to stay, regardless of where you now call home.