From the home office in Penfield, NY

[penfield]

"The best way to keep children at home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant, and let the air out of the tires."
- Dorothy Parker


Whenever I get off the plane here in Rochester and confidently stride down the length of Concourse A, I always feel like the coolest motherfucker in town. It is sometimes difficult not to phase into a full-fledged pimp walk.

This certainly isn't because I'm a particularly "cool" guy, though I do immediately notice the difference between my attire/appearance and that of the locals. Nor am I acknowledging that Rochester is some kind of backwater hick-burg. I believe, after all, that we are what we come from.

No, I think the origin of this impression lies a bit deeper. It was no secret that I had the time of my life in high school, so it came as little surprise when I decided to attend college locally. And in the additional four years, I developed a strong sense of pride in my hometown. I'm sure there are those who knew me ten years ago who thought I would never leave Western New York, who thought I would settle down in a suburban house with a spunky midwestern woman, staying close to my parents, the Rochester Red Wings and the rest of my peers who wouldn't or couldn't escape.

I think I surprised a lot of people when I instead decided to find my future in The Big City. To be honest, I surprised myself a little.

But I did it. I carved out a nice modest life for myself without being eaten alive by metropolis' three-headed monster of ambition, loneliness and ennui. And so when I walk down that long hallway, I feel like a conquering hero in my own private victory parade.

And then I walk by that single, solitary gift shop with all of the "I [heart] NY" and "Rochester: The Flower City" merchandise and the humble civic pride swells up again.

Which brings me to the other reason I feel so good on that long walk down the Concourse: all of the people I see seem so miserable, because they're leaving. But I'm smiling, because I'm here. I'm home.

Comments

Welcome home Jason

[(Anonymous)]

Maybe I think differently because I'm getting old but, how far away from your home town do you have to live to miss it? To miss how it once was? If you never leave and you watch it evolve do you feel the same as if you stop in once a month? If you move away to another galaxy, like say, Virginia, then you expect things to be different when you go back. But if you can still hear the same radio stations then you may assume Webster is still where life is worth living. Perhaps some people move away in their hearts if not in geography.

I sympathize with you. Enjoy your home!