"The 60s passed and faded and I grew older, and in 1987 bought a house in upstate New York, and it turned out that John Brown was buried down the road from my house and that he had lived there longer than anywhere else and his house was still standing"

This quote by Russell Banks reflects on the passage of time and the changes that include it. The speaker is looking back on the 1960s, a time of fantastic social and political upheaval, and how he has actually gotten older since then. In 1987, he purchased a home in upstate New York and found that John Brown, a famous abolitionist, had lived there longer than anywhere else and his house was still standing. This discovery works as a suggestion of the value of history and the legacy of those who have actually come before us. It also functions as a suggestion of the power of time and how it can shape our lives and our world. The speaker's experience of discovering John Brown's home in his own backyard is a tip of the importance of recalling and gaining from the past.