RunningNheels

Thursday, January 19, 2006

HOME Is Where Your Heart Is. And Don’t Forget It!

I’m appalled at people here who think the entire East Coast is…let’s see, what did the last guy I spoke to call our East Coast cities…Dirty? Please remember this person had only been as far East as Pennsylvania for a cub scout camping trip and felt free and knowledgeable to make his intelligent conclusions of the East Coast based on his stop at the Philadelphia Airport. First of all, the City of Philadelphia is 8 miles from where I live in New Jersey. It’s an amazing city with an amazingly well preserved historic district. One that allows you to freely walk the cobblestone paths of our founding fathers, Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and John Hancock. A city where all of these men not only made names for themselves, but determined our country’s entire philosophy of attaining Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Philadelphia is the most patriotic city in our country. Oh, I’m sorry, Indiana, I don’t want to neglect your well known historic sites, such as the original homestead of the KKK.

People who make comments here about Philadelphia and New York make statements that they know nothing about. Yes, every city has its poor areas. But that’s no reason to call an entire city dirty. New York City is not only the fashion capital of the world, but also the financial capital of the world. Hello, IU Kelley Business School Finance major, where are you looking to pursue your career?…Indianapolis? Well, I guess some of us want to be the CFO of Viacom or Time Warner in the finance capital of the world while others seek to be the CFO of Harry’s Tires and Brakes in downtown Indy.

New Jersey is called the Garden State. Despite what you think, it’s not the armpit of America. Recognized for its industry in the northern part of the state, it is Southern New Jersey that is known for its farming and produce that once supplied Pennsylvania and New York with all of their food. Although New Jersey today is known as one of the most expensive states to live, its location puts you within an hour of the beach, the mountains, New York City and Historic Philadelphia, and tons of preserved American Revolutionary and Civil War Battlefields. If you are raised in New Jersey, you have no doubt been raised with an appreciation of American History. Also, let me add the greatest tomatoes in the world are Jersey Tomatoes! Farms in Southern New Jersey are far from scarce, but Jerseyites live and love convenience, quick commutes to everything and are use to the hustle and bustle. Small to middle-size communities are everywhere. Family is most important and excellent school systems are its pride. Jerseyites are not snobs. (In spite of my comment about Harry’s Tires and Brakes, I felt forced to say that out of the shear frustration of having to be on the defense here all the time!) I do not drive a BMW, I do not wear Uggs, I’ve never met a mobster, and Philadelphia is not a dirty city! My gosh, have some patriotism, man! It’s a freaking holy shrine from Independence Hall to Carpenter’s Hall, from Christ’s Church to Franklin Hall. From Betsy Ross to Rocky Balboa…Yo!

In closing, I would like say that no matter where you live there are the good and the bad, the clean and the dirty. You can find a clean bad person as well as a dirty good person no matter where you live in the world. The comments people have made to me about Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia are hurtful and offensive. I came to Indiana 3-1/2 years ago without any pre-conceptions about the people living in the Mid-West. I was not prepared for an abundance of judgmental attitudes and hateful comments about the area where I grew up, nor the people I grew up with and around. Maybe it’s that competitive sports thing that goes on around here that makes people “hate” the competition no matter where they’re from. I don’t know. As for the Southerners at IU who seem to have the same misconceptions about the Northeast…Well, we all know where your anger and hatred lies,...and that should have ended about 141 years ago. As we Yankees say in New Jersey, “get over it!”

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home