Pennsyltucky
In politics, the talking heads say that Pennsylvania is always a swing state because it consists of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.
my brother’s name for this aspect of our state is “Pennsyltucky.”
There are more rural parts of the state than urban, of course. Much of it is covered with trees and rumpled by high (by Eastern standards) mountains. Bill Bryson describes Pennsylvania as the place “where hiking boots go to die.”
But let us not, ever, mistake this rural for the ‘Rural’ that exists in Kansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico.
i like to take minor roads whenever possible.
In Kansas, this meant heading out of Wichita for ten minutes to find yourself a straight, flat ribbon through miles of farmland. Every now and then you’d come to a town which usually consisted of not much more than an abandoned rail car, a few homes, and a grain elevator.
Here, it takes a lot longer to feel “out on the road.” Most US and PA routes wind through the city, then the suburbs, then the outskirts long enough to make you feel that if you see one more stoplight you’re going to ram somebody out of road rage. And even once it does open up, it’s not a matter of whether you’ll get stuck behind a coal truck, an 18-wheeler, or a camper… it’s only a matter of which one of those you get stuck behind. You kind of have to accept this, and just settle for looking out to the sides of your car rather than ahead.
i miss the openness of Kansas.
But i will say that those little towns that the PA routes go through are much more charming. They all tend to have a square with a traffic rotary directing the two routes that pass through the town around the circle. In the center there’s usually a flagpole flying the US flag, the PA flag, and here in the eastern half of the state, they add the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. In the process of circling, you are bound to be delighted by some little shop or café that you see there and park so you can go in. You are also very likely to find specialty shops that you’d never imagine could survive, but they somehow do. In Paradise, PA, there was a doll shop. In Gettysburg an Irish heritage shop. A cat lovers’ store in Towanda.
As delightful as i have found this, i do miss ghost town hunting. Bluff City will be swirling around in my mind as a venue for a horror novel for years, maybe forever (or until i write it?). Unless i go west again, this part of my life is essentially over. Little towns haven’t died out here.
i wonder what the difference is?
Here are some images of Pennsyltucky:
my brother’s name for this aspect of our state is “Pennsyltucky.”
There are more rural parts of the state than urban, of course. Much of it is covered with trees and rumpled by high (by Eastern standards) mountains. Bill Bryson describes Pennsylvania as the place “where hiking boots go to die.”
But let us not, ever, mistake this rural for the ‘Rural’ that exists in Kansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico.
i like to take minor roads whenever possible.
In Kansas, this meant heading out of Wichita for ten minutes to find yourself a straight, flat ribbon through miles of farmland. Every now and then you’d come to a town which usually consisted of not much more than an abandoned rail car, a few homes, and a grain elevator.
Here, it takes a lot longer to feel “out on the road.” Most US and PA routes wind through the city, then the suburbs, then the outskirts long enough to make you feel that if you see one more stoplight you’re going to ram somebody out of road rage. And even once it does open up, it’s not a matter of whether you’ll get stuck behind a coal truck, an 18-wheeler, or a camper… it’s only a matter of which one of those you get stuck behind. You kind of have to accept this, and just settle for looking out to the sides of your car rather than ahead.
i miss the openness of Kansas.
But i will say that those little towns that the PA routes go through are much more charming. They all tend to have a square with a traffic rotary directing the two routes that pass through the town around the circle. In the center there’s usually a flagpole flying the US flag, the PA flag, and here in the eastern half of the state, they add the “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. In the process of circling, you are bound to be delighted by some little shop or café that you see there and park so you can go in. You are also very likely to find specialty shops that you’d never imagine could survive, but they somehow do. In Paradise, PA, there was a doll shop. In Gettysburg an Irish heritage shop. A cat lovers’ store in Towanda.
As delightful as i have found this, i do miss ghost town hunting. Bluff City will be swirling around in my mind as a venue for a horror novel for years, maybe forever (or until i write it?). Unless i go west again, this part of my life is essentially over. Little towns haven’t died out here.
i wonder what the difference is?
Here are some images of Pennsyltucky:
P.s. - First snow this weekend...! It is beautiful!!! i wish i had had my camera in Pittsburgh. i had gone out there to surprise my mom for her birthday, and didn't bring it because i assumed i'd only be there for 24 hours. Snow had other ideas. The drive home today through the mountains was spectacular.
P.p.s. - No butterflies. Another first (ok, second) date bust since arriving in Philly. Prospect of getting more cats looking very likely.
posted by ellie at 19:34
1 Comments:
I love Pennsylvania.....
Post a Comment
<< Home