My Hallway.
First impressions are EVERYTHING. So, I had some trouble deciding on the topic of my first post. I knew it had to be about something I held close to my heart, but nothing too revealing. It had to be something a large enough group could relate to, but not too many...just enough to establish an intimate, more exclusive vibe. And also, something that allowed me to express the variety of emotions I sometimes feel...
Was that last line believable?
Here goes nothing...
Billy Penn sits, or stands rather, at the top of a city that has been coined the "City of Brotherly Love," but is more known for the gritty, down and dirty demeanor...its citizens work so hard to maintain. Philadelphia is one of the most historic places in the world, but also one of the most vibrant. From the Phillies to the Sixers. From Broad & Olney to Fernrock to 69th Street to Frankford. From The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Urban Xpressions. Yup, Urban Xpressions. We cover it all. I've been a few places...Grenoble, Aliquippa, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Atlanta, Tallahassee, New York, Geneva, Canada, Lancaster, Yeadon (no, it's not Philly...ask the tax payers), and even Paris. None of them could ever graze Philadelphia, and the tone we provide. We, the noble natives, have managed to create a place that is a reflection of the concept of family.
Remember during your adolescent days, you would engage in non-stop bickering sessions with your younger sister named Jessica? The two of you would argue to the point where your mother would make realistic threats to utterly thrash you until your skin complexion resembled the same color of the Louisville Slugger she was going to beat you with. Yeah, it got that real sometimes.
But the moment ANYONE else approached Jessica sideways...you felt Dr. Bruce Banner's pain. You were ready and willing to snap on anyone, at the drop of a dime. That was your little sister and only you could pick on her, push her around, break her toys, and hide the remote from her just before Rugrats (her favorite cartoon) came on every night. No one else could do anything like that to her. No exceptions.
That's how we are here in Philly. Yeah, we talk crazy about it. "Philly girls are the worst, this..." "This city can't win, that..." But as soon as we step outside those lines and become PHI ambassadors, the first person to say, or even gesture, anything crazy about Philly...is most likely going to get scourged.
I remember my freshman year at Lincoln University. Any outsider would have thought we got paid for the way we represented our zip codes. Heated arguments and debates would occur on a daily basis, between us and "them." "Them," varied from time to time, most frequently though, New York held that spot down. And no shade, they were built for it, and sometimes left us speechless...depending on the topic at hand...SOMETIMES.
And when the Phillies won the 2008 world series...you couldn't tell us a damn thing. I'd never seen that many Phillies new eras floating around campus. Then when we went back in 2009, against "America's team..." we all sat on the edge of our seats. Reminiscent of the 2001 NBA Finals, where our beloved home team was the clear underdog...we fell short. It was cool though. So what? We'll be back next year...
All that, to say this...our L-O-V-E for this place extends beyond a piece of art in a Center City park. It's genuine. It's untouchable. It's ALMOST unconditional (Nutter, if you pop up in another movie, when your ass could be working...I swear...). It's just how it is...
SCREAM @ ME!!!
4 comments:
Philly is so full of culture and life, despite its negative aspects. What a good subject to start with especially since it's where you begin. No matter how far I go, I'll always come back to Philly...
The emotional attachment you have with your city triggers a defense mechanism when some one tries to talk negatively. This attachment comes from what you have become as a result of growing up here. Along with some bad experiences and a less than favorable environment it made you the person you are today. Whether you fell under the hustler spell or dodged peer pressure to rise out of the phenomenon of being the product of the environment, the city made you who you are and if you are proud of that which you have become it is innate that you are proud and defensive from which you come.
I couldn't have said either one of those comments better myself...
It’s amazing on how much I can relate. Being away at school I have found myself friends with a lot of people from the New Jersey area. For the most part, they are all about the Yankees. Defensive is not even the word to describe my actions, when it comes to protecting the Phillies, and any other Philadelphia team, even though I'm rarely watch sports, let alone know any records. Sometimes, but maybe too often, I go above and beyond the expected "Philly girl snap." Then, I find it extremely humorous when they think they can tell me about the curse of Billy Penn. Cute, right? I think so. Yes, we are the "City of Brotherly Love." Its nothing like a brother to hurt you himself, but to defend and protect you from outsiders. We can trash talk our city, but I never wish to see an "ill" hoodie, t-shirt, hat, or sticker on another person who has no connection to our town. That's for us to wear. Philly is my home. There are probably very few, if any, locations that I can imagine calling home. It will just be a place of residence. If home really is where the heart is then my pulse starts in southwest. SEPTA acts like veins taking my blood to the necessary organs (every area of the city). Center/Old City, where the best high school in the city is ;-), would be my brain, holding most of the landmarks of not only home, but also the nations foundation, and educating me during my high school years and giving a tourists a vague taste of what our city is about. It would be impossible to ask them to even attempt to imagine what Philly is really about.
Post a Comment