(no subject)
Dec. 31st, 2013 12:36 pmAw man, I was SO CLOSE to having a perfect December-meme record (I'm counting the posts where I didn't actually manage to post them until one in the morning as part of my perfect record, dammit) until last night.
On the other hand, since my assigned post for the thirtieth was just![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
genarti leaning over my shoulder and saying "Hey, since you're writing about NYC, you should use your open slot to write about Philadelphia!" I think writing it 12 hours late is only half a blot on my perfect record. STILL GOLD.
Anyway, I do want to write about Philadelphia in addition to NYC, because while New York is home for me, a lot of my loyalty still rests with Philadelphia.
I didn't grow up in Philadelphia proper, I should say, to begin with, but since we're all of fifteen minutes outside of the city I always say Philadelphia when people ask where I'm from; it takes four times longer to get to Manhattan from my apartment in Brooklyn than it does to get to Philly from my parent's house. The difference is significant, though, because as close as we are, it's still far enough away that navigating around Philadelphia was always something I did with other people -- my family, when I was young, and then with my high school friends later on. But it's not something I did by myself, and the fallout of that is that now, when people ask me how to get around Philadelphia and where they should go to eat or have a drink, I draw a blank. And I hate that. I want to know Philadelphia like I know New York.
And the thing is, Philadelphia deserves to be known. Philadelphia is amazing, and I get really defensive about it because I feel like it gets overlooked a lot -- if people are doing the East Coast tour, the go-to stops are New York and DC and probably Boston. And Philly's right there, guys! It's right there, it has an incredibly rich history, and it loves its history -- I mean, this is the city where a Ben Franklin impersonator and a Betsy Ross impersonator fell in love and got married in Center City for an audience of thousands. It has Reading Terminal Market and a museum that collects weird tumors and the Magic Gardens, which are basically like a leap into an alternate universe, and I defy anyone to look at the front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as you drive by along the riverbank, and not think it's the most beautiful museum in the country. Seriously. Just try it. YOU CAN'T DO IT.
And, I mean, Philly has its problems, no doubt about it, but the thing is, it's not this magical, mythical city in the American consciousness, like New York can sometimes be. It's a grounded city. It's an incredibly livable city, which I think a lot of people forget. I love New York, I love living in New York, New York feels like home. But ask me which city I'd back in a fight, and it's Philadelphia all the way.
On the other hand, since my assigned post for the thirtieth was just
genarti leaning over my shoulder and saying "Hey, since you're writing about NYC, you should use your open slot to write about Philadelphia!" I think writing it 12 hours late is only half a blot on my perfect record. STILL GOLD.Anyway, I do want to write about Philadelphia in addition to NYC, because while New York is home for me, a lot of my loyalty still rests with Philadelphia.
I didn't grow up in Philadelphia proper, I should say, to begin with, but since we're all of fifteen minutes outside of the city I always say Philadelphia when people ask where I'm from; it takes four times longer to get to Manhattan from my apartment in Brooklyn than it does to get to Philly from my parent's house. The difference is significant, though, because as close as we are, it's still far enough away that navigating around Philadelphia was always something I did with other people -- my family, when I was young, and then with my high school friends later on. But it's not something I did by myself, and the fallout of that is that now, when people ask me how to get around Philadelphia and where they should go to eat or have a drink, I draw a blank. And I hate that. I want to know Philadelphia like I know New York.
And the thing is, Philadelphia deserves to be known. Philadelphia is amazing, and I get really defensive about it because I feel like it gets overlooked a lot -- if people are doing the East Coast tour, the go-to stops are New York and DC and probably Boston. And Philly's right there, guys! It's right there, it has an incredibly rich history, and it loves its history -- I mean, this is the city where a Ben Franklin impersonator and a Betsy Ross impersonator fell in love and got married in Center City for an audience of thousands. It has Reading Terminal Market and a museum that collects weird tumors and the Magic Gardens, which are basically like a leap into an alternate universe, and I defy anyone to look at the front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as you drive by along the riverbank, and not think it's the most beautiful museum in the country. Seriously. Just try it. YOU CAN'T DO IT.
And, I mean, Philly has its problems, no doubt about it, but the thing is, it's not this magical, mythical city in the American consciousness, like New York can sometimes be. It's a grounded city. It's an incredibly livable city, which I think a lot of people forget. I love New York, I love living in New York, New York feels like home. But ask me which city I'd back in a fight, and it's Philadelphia all the way.
