I decided to shuck those blues at breakfast today.
Nirand is up and around. I made him a cup of tea and a bagel with cream cheese. We sat and visited while Bing and Vince cut up vegetables for the crock pot of beef stew.
We are all going to go see this movie today. It was hard finding something we all want to see. I wanted to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas but Bing vetoed it ("I just don't think I'm up for some downer holocaust movie today...") which made me roll my eyes at her. Other movies were too intense for Liv. We finally settled on that one, although it has gotten horrid reviews.
Bing and I are grousing at each other today. Or I should say that I am grousing at her. She seldom grouses at me. I admit to having days like this, days where every word that comes out of her mouth just irritates me. And on these days, I look at her and wonder why she has to be so fucking picky about movies. She vetoes nearly all chick flicks or films that she thinks are too deep and thinky. She likes action movies almost exclusively, and since we both love movies, we have to take turns picking.
But, it is mainly because of her that I am shedding my blues. Last night, when she got home from the gym, she took one look at my red eyes and asked me what the matter was. I told her that I just had the blues, etc.
She gave me her standard lecture about how I really have little to be sad about. I have so much, really. She's right. But....I resent her telling me so.
And then Nirand was up and dressed when I came downstairs for breakfast and he said he felt so much better and that made me smile. I had been concerned about him. He and I took Socks for a morning walk and he asked me an interesting question.
I was telling him that I had experienced the blues but was determined to put my chin up and stop being so melancholy. He looked at me curiously.
"Is this just part of your personality or is it a prairie people trait?" he asked me.
Nirand has theories about cultures. He has seen so many. He calls people in my neck of the woods prairie people.
I slipped my arm through his and we walked for a bit while I thought about it.
Many friends of mine who live overseas often talk about an american way of thinking or an american outlook. The truth is that americans differ a lot on opinions, etc. But, yes...there are some viewpoints, cliches about certain areas of the country that are relevant.
I live in the midlands, or plains. Sometimes we are known as midwesterners or heartlanders.
And yes, we prairie people have certain characteristics.
We don't usually talk much about how much money we have or make. In fact, it is considered sort of rude to ask questions regarding money.
We tend to be taciturn, quiet. You don't see a lot of frivolity in my neck of the woods. It can be there, diverse personalities abound everywhere, but prairie people tend to be not unemotional, really....just sort of private about emotions. I was raised not to cry in public and I think that is very, very common with people in mid america. You don't often see big displays of emotion for good or bad. We tend to cry in our beds, in our bathtubs, just in private.
We keep our coins in our pockets, for the most part. I know very few big spenders, but know lots and lots of savers. Most of the people that I know, even the wealthy ones, look for bargains and clip coupons. It's just our way.
The larger cities in my area went for Obama in the elections, the small farming towns went for McCain. The farming communities are known for their conservative views. It is very difficult to be different in a small town around here. If you are gay, best not to flaunt it. You could get hurt. In private, of course. No one would think of beating up someone in public. But, in a back yard? Certainly. And, to be honest, I doubt if you would get beaten up, it is more likely that you would simply be shunned. I am not saying that there aren't out gay people in small towns. But, they are not traditionally flamboyant about it. If you are gay, you stay in your closet for the most part. Or if you are the mayor's son or something, well...as long as you aren't wearing a pink suit to the prom, you are okay. Tolerance is there, acceptance, not really.
Any displays of public affection are seen as unsavory. To be honest, it sort of turns my stomach to see someone kissing big large in public. I avert my eyes. It just isn't done much here. And I prefer that since I am not the kind of person who throws my arms around others in public.
Religion is not spoken about much, but nearly everyone goes to church. And in many of the schools, prayers are still said. Not in my daughter's school, certainly, (and frankly I am glad for that) but in many other schools.
That is not to say that rebellion doesn't exist. It does. Sometimes I think that the most hedonistic rebel is one from the prairie. I mean, you are buttoned up so much, so tightly, that if you are a rebel, it must feel absolutely wonderful to let it out.
But you don't see it much.
It is unusual not to know one's neighbors on the prairie. We generally not only know our neighbors, but give them our house keys when we go on vacation so that they can come in and water the plants and bring in the mail. We are a trusting sort of people.
And we embrace our own. We are intensely loyal to other prairie people.
Most people in Nebraska are very supportive of Cornhusker football. We call them "our boys in red" and everyone knows that this means the Huskers. The games are sell outs. We have season tickets because Bing got her masters at UNL. Otherwise, it is pretty hard to get tickets and they are dear. If you have them, you hold on to them. On game days, everyone wears red even if we don't go to the game. And the game is played over the intercom in supermarkets and gas stations, everywhere. If there is a touchdown and you are in aisle two at the grocery store, you clap or do a little dance, maybe slap hands with a complete stranger in the aisle or just smile at them. It is just our way. It is about as wild as we get.
If someone in your family is an alcoholic or a drug addict, you don't share that. And if you know that someone has a brother or whomever who is an addict, you don't ask them how they are doing. It is considered a private matter.
People here still do the spanking thing with their children a lot. That bothers me. But, you don't often see bratty kids in stores. It is out of the ordinary. And even the sulky looking teenage boys will almost always open a door for you if you are female. And call you ma'am or sir. Most of us were raised that way.
This is not to say that there aren't exceptions to every rule. There are many who don't fit the norm. I don't fit the norm. Bing and I are pretty openly gay, and we are lucky in that we live in a fairly diverse part of the city. Some neighborhoods are more open minded than others. There is still a lot to overcome. One of our neighbors told us the other day that he and his wife were concerned when they realized that we were two gay women with a child. But, after they met us and got to know us, they were fine with us. That is sort of the way if works for most of us who live in red states. And the more people who overcome their prejudices after meeting us, the better. My hope is that when Liv is my age, it will be no big deal anymore. Fingers crossed.
I told this all to Nirand and he smiled and nodded. He has lived so many places and seen so many cultures, nothing really surprises him. But, he has wondered why we live here.
"I think you are part of your environment but also just you," he told me.
And I suppose he is right. We are all products of our family, our community, our school, our workplaces, our country.
What is it like in your part of the country or outside of the united states? I am curious. Any quirks that are common in your neck of the woods?
Do tell....
23 comments:
I live in the southern half of twin cities in Canada. The northern half, otherwise known as Waterloo, is home to two universities and RIM's head office. House prices tend to be higher. There are the benefits and problems associated with having a large student population. Waterloo tends to be a bit more liberal, largely due to it's student population, but there are pockets of liberalism in its southern counterpart, Kitchener.
I live in Kitchener, about six blocks away from the "border" between the two cities. We have better snowplowing here. But many of the downtown stores are closed on Sundays - a throwback to Kitchener's conservative, mennonite roots. House prices are more reasonable. It will be interesting to see what will happen to my neighbourhood, close to downtown, when the university finishes building the medical school and school of pharmacy a few blocks away from here.
People here are generally friendly, in a surface way, but after living here for four years, I don't know much more about my neighbours than what their names are, and the habits I can observe. Everyone says hello when you walk past them. It's not particularly safe here - there was a mugging in broad daylight a few days ago. And yet, people tend to let their young children roam around without supervision. Strange. What's even stranger is that I often walk my dog in the nearby cemetery at night, and I never feel unsafe.
I live in the north central CT area. People here are friendly but not overly chatty, well except for elderly, they seem very chatty. Everyone tends to mind their own business, but will jump in to lend a helping hand if they know someone is in need. Once someone is your friend, there's a strong sense of connectedness. Some people go to church, many don't. The churches tend to be your standard denominations, Catholic, Methodist, UCC, Episcopal, along with smaller ones such as UUA, and a few "storefront" churches in the cities. There's also a very large Jewish population here. It's definitely very liberal with a live and let-live type of mentality. It's perfectly fine to be gay and out here. Sexual orientation is even protected in my contract (what a difference from Texas!). People are very into being "green," yet there's minimal recycling that takes place, go figure. Many people are into outdoor fitness here, walking, biking, kayaking, and winter sports. The town and the general area where I live are considered "money" towns, yet I don't see ostentatious displays of wealth, it's very low-key, but it's obviously there. At the same time, people don't talk much about it, they just have "stuff." Higher education is greatly valued, a large number of professionals have at least one Master's degree. People take pride in being a "hearty New Englander," and there's a great deal of pride in one's heritage, whether it's Polish, Italian, West Indian, etc.. You can find the most amazing Italian food here, but you can't find good Mexican to save your life! Common sports up here that I didn't see when we lived in Texas include field hockey and lacrosse.
I grew up in Oregon, in a town that was founded by the Irish...so although the Pacific Northwest, it really is kind of like you "prairie people". (As Nirand says...). Not very emotional...but everyone knows everyone...and everyone sticks together...tolerance yes, but not acceptance. Being the only Chinese American family there was different, but seeing as the grandparents came to the town nearly at the same time as the original Irish..they immediately became "one of us".
Now that I am in Japan, it is not only a region...it is the ENTIRE country. On the surface, the Japanese all seem to think and act a like, there is great emphasis on maintaining the "wa" or harmony as it is translated. But if you look down deep under the covers, they are as different as night and day. They do have an "island" mentality and are known in these regions as the "British" of the Asian region...a little snobby and condescending of other Asians, but still with the inferiority complex to Europeans / Americans. It makes being an American really easy here, but not for other Chinese / Koreans / Asians living here.
Hmmm. Well one thing that is pretty much an Australian expectation is that you don't brag or big note yourself or show pony around. We cut our tall poppies right down over here. That's one thing.
In my neck of the woods, hypocrisy is common. So is people pleasing, following the crowd, keeping your 'radical' views to yourself. I live with very traditional in-laws who are alternately accepting of what i do and expecting me to follow what they do. So I cannot always speak my mind with them even if i try especially with their tending to discriminate based on caste, religion etc. I have to respect their views but at times do try and get my stand on the issue clear and do not agree with them. There are pockets of Indian citizens who are exactly like them so you're often dealing with them.
On a more positive note, people do tend to help each other without much expectation of a reward or payback. People are gradually starting to be more open to other cultures and people and are experimenting with cuisines, wines, dances than being in a closed-off clique with people 'of their own kind'.
I grew up in Chicago and until 1968 seemed diverse as my very early school experience included children of various races. After, nada.
I read a report recently that Chicago is the most segregated city in the nation. Not a suprise. The North Side is overwhelmingly White while the South overwhelmingly Black. There are pockets, of course, that are diverse.
I live (for the past 25 years) in a town just beyond the city limits and moved here for their committment to diversity. My son was a year old and I wanted my child (ren) to grow up in an environment that celebrated diversity.
Still, there were...incidents.
The city (and my town) are liberal while the state is mostly conservative.
I don't know my neighbors except to speak. Those in the building I know a little better, but that isn't of much comfort.
Though most of my family (mom & dad and siblings) was raised in Chicago I think it was with a small town mentality as both grandparents are products of small, rural towns).
My mom was born in 1940 and dad in 1938 and as such were raised to dis-trust White people specificially and folks outside the family or beyond the block, generally.
There is a -help thy neighbor- atomosphere during disasters. But there is also rampant 'what's in it for me' attitude.
Guelph is in southern Ontario. I have not been there for a very very long time, but it appears to be more liberal than other places. It has a large student population and, despite having a Liberal MP, it has a pretty large following of the Green Party. It has some hippies, and a decently sized queer population. It even has its own queer library! No exclusively queer bar/club though...yet. Overall it seems pretty down to earth. The downtown is, however, shadowed (literally) by a giant catholic church that sits overlooking it on a hill.
There are conservative-minded people here, and there has been an increase of incidents of homophobic graffiti in the university residences this past semester, but all in all finding left wing people, including communists and socialists, is not all that difficult.
My city is known (I think) for being blue-collar, hard working, and "economically conservative but socially liberal". Strongly democratic, but I wouldn't say they are liberals. We have our own dialect, which is kinda cool. Also, we have been mentioned a few times in the past year as being a place that the US can look at when looking for models on how to survive the recession/depression. We lost possibly half of our population when the steel industry went bust. We invented the Ferris wheel, the banana split, the big mac, and a lot of other things...like your favorite ketchup. Some say we are a Midwestern city in a Northeastern state, I don't know. We are fiercely loyal to our pro football team, and if you know what city I am from after reading this (or before) you might know about that as well.
I'm done. I absolutely love my city.
North Idaho here.
Remember the Ruby Ridge Massacre in '92? That happened about an hour north of me, and the Aryan Nations was started about 8 miles from my place, but thankfully have left the region after losing their "compound" in 2001 and their founder having died a few years ago. Good riddence!
My son and his partner haven't been harassed much here, but they stay pretty low key. A few renters in their apartment building have been less than friendly.
I've always felt safe up here though, and in my neighborhood it doesn't hurt having a city police officer and his county sheriff GF living across the street!
But very little ethic deversity here, mostly white. Except for the state which is red. Grrrr, hard being a Democrat here.
I live in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania...the area described as being populated by redneck, racist, gun-totin', Bible-thumpers in the recent election. Well....I suppose to some degree we are all that, but I really don't think you will find any more prejudice here than anywhere else and we are not all knuckle-draggin', inbred, hillbillies....though I know a few that fit the description.
More than anything, recent election aside, apathy is probably the prevailing mindset in these parts. Everybody complains, but very few ever get off their duffs to do anything about it.
This is a beautiful mountain region with many lakes, rivers and streams. Probably why hunting and fishing are so popular...as are biking, hiking and canoeing. The area is absolutely loaded with parks and trails. Even the Appelachian Trail passes through. The wild spaces are shrinking, though. When I was a kid most of the area around here was farmland, but there are few farms left these days and they are islands in the middle of suburban (or even urban) sprawl. The FFA chapter at my daughter's school is the only one left in the county and most people don't even know what it is.
We love our football...Steelers, Pitt and Penn State. We like to eat halupki, halushki, pierogies, and kielbasa....and wash it down with hometown beer. Hey, this area was populated by those of Slavic descent who came to work in the steel mills and coal mines. As a kid, I was about the only kid in school whose name didn't end in "ski" and who wasn't Catholic. These days we are still proud of that heritage, but the population is much more diverse. History is very important. There is a museum for everything and just about every little town has its own historical society.
I don't know what to tell you about friendliness. I've heard people say we are, but I've heard people say we aren't. I'm guessing we're in the middle.
Youn's'll just have to come visit sometime. You kin sleep on the cotch and we'll tour dahntahn Picksburgh.
Toronto is home for me and I like to think of it as New York City's little sister. We're smaller (population wise) but still a big city with all of the hustle and bustle. We're pretty much hated by the rest of the country as we are viewed as spoiled brats who think Toronto is the center of the universe. I don't really view it that way, to me it's just home.
This city was largely built on the backs of immigrants and a streetcar ride from one end of the city to the other will take you through China Town, Little Vietnam, Little India, Little Portugal, Little Italy, just to name a few.
We're a pretty liberal city, I think our annual pride celebrations draw as many people as the ones held in San Fransico and New York. With three large universities and a handful of community colleges, we see an influx of students coming to the city each fall.
There is a lot of crime and people never leave their doors unlocked. Children that are outside playing are closely supervised. With a city this size, it's impossible to know who your neighbours really are. I don't feel unsafe though, I travel at night on transit and feel safe doing so.
What I love most about living here is the ecclectic neighbourhoods. Each pocket of the city is so diverse and unique. There's always a jazz bar, art gallery (large or independent) or regular old coffee shop to check out. And food? There's always a new Thai, Indian or {insert other nationality here} to check out.
It's big and noisy and quite polluted, but it's home.
I am much like what you describe except for the spending/saving part. I look for a bargain, for sure, but I'm terrible about saving and sometimes I look around my house and get irritated with myself for buying so many "things."
But most of the rest of it is very much me, coming from corn country myself (except I don't have a favorite college football team).
But you probably knew that already ;-)
I share a zipcode with the Falwell family. Yes, THAT Falwell family, the late, not-a-Dr. Jerry Falwell family. Churches here are HUGE, as in the size of your typical WalMart. It's fairly homophobic, though not as bad as you might think. Still, this is the RED part of just-turned-blue Virginia. Conservatives still proudly support Bush-Cheney, and they are already adorning their SUVs with "Sarah Palin 2012" bumper stickers. UGH.
It's beautiful here--we are surrounded by the Blue Ridge mountains.
The cost of living is low, yet the quality of life is excellent.
We live in Northwest PA. Our city is largely democratic but the county is heavily republican.
We're mostly blue collar and struggling to change with the times. Good paying blue collar jobs are disappearing and most of us cannot imagine anything else.
We're used to huge amounts of snow and seem to be proud of it in an odd sort of way.
Most people are generally friendly to strangers, but it is very difficult to make new friends here.Everyone seems to have old and established friendships and not much use for someone new.
It is not very gay-friendly here, but is getting better. It is one of those places where being "different" is tolerated but not encouraged.
We seem to have a church and a bar on most corners. And pizza restaurants are everywhere.
We're very proud of our ethnic backgrounds. There is a festival for each of the many different
heritages all summer long.
We're generally the kind of place that is very helpful to those in need, but expect you to get your shit together if life is treating you poorly.
Canon City, Colorado. Quite redneck not as progressive as I would like but there's family here.
The prison is our biggest employer and the school district is next.
I haven't really known my neighbors since I left my mom's house but we are slowly getting to know them now. In a town as small as this you'd expect us to be more trusting, but the prison leaves a somewhat weird enviroment you could say.
I just found out we have gangs here. That shocked me and how naive am I anyway to think we were immune to that problem?
When I was growing up I remember my dad welding his key in his truck. I don't think that would be wise now but we still don't lock our cars much. Some of my friends don't even lock their houses although I lock mine. Dan was a city boy and doesn't trust anyone.
But cultural attitudes.... I'll have to think about that.
you need a southerner in this mix and here I am...
born and raised in SC and other than 14 years in Atlanta, I've lived in the same city my entire life...there's lots of Baptists and hunters, lots of people with strong opinions and convictions yet a real sense of community in spite of all those things...
we are close to the state house, several universities and one of the larger training bases for the US Army, there is diversity once you scratch the khaki surface.
we can't drive in snow, we panic at the mere mention of it in fact and will wipe a store's shelves clean of bread and milk within minutes if we think a flake is gonna fall...but we can take a stretch of 90+ degree days with oppressive humidity without breaking a sweat.
we love iced tea, pecan pie and biscuits, college football is a sacrament and some folks might say we talk funny.
its a beautiful place, dontcha wanna come for a visit? say...maybe late July? :)
I didn't think of mentioning it before, but in reading everyone else's answers it seems they did, so......
For all our redneckyness, this area is pretty tolerant. Mixed race marriages are pretty common and I've not noticed people having much to say about gay couples. There are three couples in my neighborhood and I've never heard anyone say anything negative. The local schools are also very accepting. There are several openly gay teens at my daughter's school, which is the first (and maybe the only) school in the area to allow gay couples to attend the prom.
Don't get me wrong, there's still prejudice around. We could start with my own mom and her husband, but having a granddaughter-in-law with blacks in her family is teaching a hard lesson in acceptance.
I live in a semi rural area about an hour's drive from the city of Adelaide in South Australia (also home of MB and Madame Benaut).
We moved here nearly 5 years ago and I remember in the first week I had to pull into an auto electrician's because my wind screen wipers wouldn't work and it was pouring with rain. The guy squeezed me in immediately and when I went to pay he informed he didn't take credit cards. Shit! I had no money on me whatsoever so told him I would go straight to the ATM and get some. I offered to leave him my phone as a guarantee I would come back.
He said "Don't worry love, just drop the money off the next time you're passing by". He didn't know me from a bar of soap. That pretty much sums up my local area.
As for South Australians. I have lived here practically my whole life and although it's difficult to generalise, most people are very laid back and friendly. In fact Aussies as a whole seem to be that way. We have a real "she'll be right" mentality which is kind of nice.
We are a two team football state with an intense rivalry between the two sets of fans. Games between these two can get very heated. I don't think I could live somewhere they didn't have football. I just love it.
I'm just a proud Aussie in every way and would never live anywhere else.
Where to even start with Arkansas? Everyone is real nice to your face here as long as you appear "normal." Any signs of being gay or anything not deemed the "norm" here will get you scathing looks.
Everyone seems to know everyone even in the larger cities.
Arkansans live and die by the Razorbacks. Children come out of the womb being able to call the hogs. I personally find it a tad frightening but I'm from Memphis and that loyalty wasn't ingrained in me from conception.
Arkansas is very beautiful. The lakes and the mountains and just the general serenity of the nature is gorgeous. However, most don't know us for the beauty as they tend to only see the backwardness of the slew of rednecks that inhabit these parts. And while those rednecks make me crazy with their hatred of others, I still love this state and the South in general and I just really can't see myself anywhere else.
This is an interesting topic and I'll have to come back and read everyones responses more thoroughly later. I am still trying to sort out my messy post- holiday house and I feel guilty sitting at my computer in the midst of it all...STILL.
I feel like you describe what my people are like pretty well Maria. I live in Arkansas now and from what I can see Jennifer has it pegged. Oklahoma (where I grew up and still live practically on the border of) is, of course, very conservative but during my days out in the workforce I've noticed quite a balance of conservative and liberal thinkers there. I've also seen a balance in prejudice. By that I mean it seems like people above a certain age ARE, and people my generation and below really aren't. I don't know. I don't really fit in with the parents at my boys schools, and I think it is because I'm a little more "big city" in my thinking. I like to look outside my own town and experience all kinds of different people. People in my community seem to be more focused on what activities their kids are in and what the ball teams are doing. My guys don't do sports(only Tae Kwon Do) and we don't watch them so that leaves me out of a lot of potential conversations. Then, there are the uber-conservative home schoolers that would be shocked at the things I have done in life and can't imagine knowing anyone different than themselves. I am in no mans land around these specific groups and find it a little limiting when it comes to hanging out with people.
What keeps us here is the fact that my 10 year old can ride his bike down the hill to the old fashioned candy store or the local book seller by himself and feel like he's on Sesame Street. And I've got the key to my neighbors house as well. It's old fashioned quaint living at it's best here when it comes to safety. Plus, I've still got the internet. :)
Happy New Year Maria!!!!!!!!!
Well, I'm a Jersey Girl. Not your typical one though I have to admit. I was born in Southern NJ and we're called Pineys because where we lived growing up is in an area of New Jersey called the Pine Barrens.
Now I live in central Jersey along the coast. I'm about 2 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The town I live in used to be fairly quiet and nice, but since 9/11 the town went through a growth spurt and now we are covered in strip malls and traffic jams.
Taxes are high, car insurance is even higher, the state is bankrupt, the politicians are corrupt and we should change our state motto from the "Garden State" to the "Condo State".
Don't get me wrong though, NJ still has some beautiful areas, but it still is the most densely populated state in the nation.
I get kind of sick of so many people around me.
I live in Brooklyn, New York, on the waterfront, about a mile south of the Brooklyn Bridge. I've been here for twenty years, and have seen a lot of changes.
When I first moved to my neighborhood, drug dealers lined the main thoroughfare, selling pot and crack to the Wall Street workers during rush hour as they came out of the Battery Tunnel from Manhattan on the way to their homes in suburban Long Island.
At night I would hear gunshots, not just once or twice, but almost every night.
My ancestry is English/Scottish and I grew up in the Connecticut suburbs. My neighborhood is mostly Italian -- Sicilian. The American Mafia was supposedly founded in the 1920's, a block from my apartment, on the corner of President and Columbia Streets.
Once I got used the drug dealers and the nightly gunfire, I found that I loved the neighborhood. There is nothing like coffee made from beans roasted that morning. And nothing compares to fresh, never-refrigerated mozzarella or to provolone cheese smoked in the back yard. I could pick a healthy looking chicken out at the local market and walking home with a bundle of chicken parts wrapped in brown paper. And we had the best prosciutto sandwiches in New York City at the sandwich shop around the corner, loaded high with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The drug dealers are gone now and I haven't heard a gunshot in about ten years. Most of the Italians have moved out too, to houses in Staten Island and New Jersey. They have been replaced by wealthy people from other parts of the US, who have masters degrees and mysterious jobs in finance or the internet, and rarely seem to work.
My favorite Italian sandwich store has been replaced by a yoga studio. The place I used to buy fresh mozzarella and provolone from is now occupied by a day spa.
My little three-unit brownstone has increased in value, from $100,000 in 1989 to about $2 million today. Where does all this money come from?
The wealth and homogeneity of the Connecticut suburbs where I grew up have followed me. Brooklyn is calm, placid, but doesn't feel quite real anymore. But being a suburban transplant to Brooklyn, I guess that I am a piece of the trend.
I live in Brooklyn, New York, on the waterfront, about a mile south of the Brooklyn Bridge. I've been here for twenty years, and have seen a lot of changes.
When I first moved to my neighborhood, drug dealers lined the main thoroughfare, selling pot and crack to the Wall Street workers during rush hour as they came out of the Battery Tunnel from Manhattan on the way to their homes in suburban Long Island.
At night I would hear gunshots, not just once or twice, but almost every night.
My ancestry is English/Scottish and I grew up in the Connecticut suburbs. My neighborhood is mostly Italian -- Sicilian. The American Mafia was supposedly founded in the 1920's, a block from my apartment, on the corner of President and Columbia Streets.
Once I got used the drug dealers and the nightly gunfire, I found that I loved the neighborhood. There is nothing like coffee made from beans roasted that morning. And nothing compares to fresh, never-refrigerated mozzarella or to provolone cheese smoked in the back yard. I could pick a healthy looking chicken out at the local market and walking home with a bundle of chicken parts wrapped in brown paper. And we had the best prosciutto sandwiches in New York City at the sandwich shop around the corner, loaded high with sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
The drug dealers are gone now and I haven't heard a gunshot in about ten years. Most of the Italians have moved out too, to houses in Staten Island and New Jersey. They have been replaced by wealthy people from other parts of the US, who have masters degrees and mysterious jobs in finance or the internet, and rarely seem to work.
My favorite Italian sandwich store has been replaced by a yoga studio. The place I used to buy fresh mozzarella and provolone from is now occupied by a day spa.
My little three-unit brownstone has increased in value, from $100,000 in 1989 to about $2 million today. Where does all this money come from?
The wealth and homogeneity of the Connecticut suburbs where I grew up have followed me. Brooklyn is calm, placid, but doesn't feel quite real anymore. But being a suburban transplant to Brooklyn, I guess that I am a piece of the trend.
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