Philadelphia

If we were to talk about Philadelphia I would tell you two things. The first would be of walking down South Street as an intimidated, introverted stranger to the city when my eyes opened wide. There, sauntering down the street were two overweight people, a man and a woman, a couple I suppose, who looked almost identical. It was not the people my eyes bugged out of my head for and turned my blood cold, it was their apparel: two colorful, thick snakes curled around their necks. Yellow. I think one of the snakes was yellow. At the time I guessed these snakes were boa constrictors, they were that thick. Beneath them, assuming I had the courage to wear a snake like a necklace, I would have bent my back from the weight. The people with me were momentarily amazed, but not shaken like me, so I had to regain composure quickly. By then the street was filling with all sorts of the early night freaks which did nothing to improve my opinion of cities in general.

In an antique shop where we took rest, I cleared my way to the back corner of the second floor and looked out the window. A narrow alley, hardly wide enough for the alley cat, filtered gray air. The tree, the pale, persevering tree brought a smile to my face. I was not alone, grasping for a little clean nature in the midst of a dark city.

The second thing I would mention is to skip the Philadelphia Cheese Steak, but walk to the end, almost the very end of South Street, before you reach the dock, for a gourmet pizza. We were looking forward to eating at a Thai restaurant I remembered from my first trip to the city, but it was closed. We settled for pizza. The pizza turned out to be the best I had ever eaten. Thin crust, my favorite, white sauce, fresh mozzarella, green peppers, and proscuitto. It was simple, fresh, and delicious. We had one of our most pleasant meals together because it was all about the food.

I have no desire to see Philadelphia ever again. I am one of two people I know who does not like the city. That would be the third, and final, thing I would have to say about it.