Wow! I'm impressed -- not.
A local TV reporter seemed impressed that the Rolling Stones "gave a shout out to Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, and Lancaster" during tonight's concert in Hershey, PA. Admittedly I've only been to a few concerts, but isn't it standard for someone on stage to personalize the experience by remembering where they are performing?
That was the lead story. The next story was about the search for a rapist newly on the run. Good thing the guy wasn't a jaywalker as he might have bumped the Stones from the lead and we couldn't have that, could we?
I'll say it now ... Harrisburg is a cow town compared to the image it has of itself. Mass transit is almost a foreign concept, no supermarkets or corner grocers can be found in-town, the sidewalks rollup at 6pm, the arts are puerile compared to world standards, and 'multicultural' means that the city has blacks and whites.
Don't get me wrong. It is a nice place to live, has a couple nice museums, some decent restaurants, and
probably the most beautiful capitol building (inside and out) in the United States (check out this pic and take the tour). But having spent some time in world-class cities like Boston, New York, and our nation's capital, the 'burg doesn't quite measure up to her own opinion of herself. Locals treat the city with either a scorn or a reverence that only a larger, more culturally diverse one truly deserves. Mayor Stephen Reed -- pretty nearly "Mayor For Life" they way he's going -- has done a fabulous job dragging the city to where it is now and one day it could grow into an truly great city like Pittsburgh is and Philadelphia was.
Personally, I'd rather live somewhere less urban and suburban. Give me trees, a creek, and a neighbor that is several acres away. Or maybe a small town with a real Main Street that is close enough to a mountain and a forest to give variety -- perhaps Concord, NH to name one that also happens to be a capital city. I'd even like to live in a real cow town. Rural towns are some of the best places to live. One day I'll get to one in Penn's Woods or maybe some nice hamlet in New England.
