Five years ago today, I closed on my house in Philadelphia, ending my 42 year relationship with living in New York. I remember that day like it was yesterday; it was an unusually humid day and I drove to Rittenhouse Square to the real estate office, a thunderstorm, like no other, hit the city. It was crazy. I took as a sign of new adventures to come. Since that time, I have truly enjoyed my new city. Philadelphia had always occupied a mythic place in my imagination. My paternal grandparents were born and raised here...and so was my dad and his siblings. I often heard stories about their times here. People sometimes ask, But why Philly? I respond: why not? It is pretty much equidistant from New York City and Washington DC, which makes day trips to those places quite convenient. And although the city is undergoing gentrification in many of its neighborhoods there is still enough grit here that reminds me of this citys relationship to its citizens. It hasnt given its soul to thirsty commercial interests, like say, NY and DC. James Baldwin once wrote that people who are born and raised in New York (City) are ill-equipped to live anywhere else. I believe this. I chafe at certain things about Philly, the pace regarding development, provincial attitudes (my experience at Wills Eye Hospital), and crime (which is improving). But that hasnt deterred me at all. I jumped headlong into this wonderful place. I chart my adventures here; I photograph my favorites eateries and bars; I have discovered Quakerism here; I enrolled in a graduate program here; I happened upon the best neighbors in the world; I attended some Sixers and Phillies games; I gambled at the casinos; I even reconnected with old friends who also live here...to put it simply, I love this place!!!
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 13:05:43 +0000
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