Recently I joined a Facebook page called "You might be from Erie, PA if...". I'm addicted. Everyone 's posts give me a look back and remind me why I love my home town. I see the names of people who jog my brain cells, places I had forgotten. Thanks, Iam Stacks, whoever you may be, for this brilliant idea.
All was well. Visions of old and older Erie filled my senses. Recollections of Christmas downtown, the stores that used to be, sights and smells and memories overwhelmed me. It was the kind of stuff that makes us...well...US.
And then somebody posted a note about moving away and never wanting to come back. I was horrified.
I am a lifelong Erieite. Other places are for visiting, but this is where I want to live out my days. My heart lives here. There are good reasons why I continue to make Erie PA my home. Here are some of them.
Are you stuck in our sometimes unending snow? I'll bet someone will give you a push and not expect payment. Somebody hit your car? If it was an Erieite, he left a note. Are you hungry? Look on your stoop. A neighbor probably left food and a treat for your dog.
Do you need faith? There are churches, synagogues, mosques and halls of worship. Was your wallet lost at KMart? Betcha it will be returned intact. Need a ride? The bus goes within a block or so, a cab will take five minutes, the Lift will come to your door--but did you ask a neighbor? Chances are, he will be happy to oblige.
Want something to do? Try the Playhouse, the comedy club, the philharmonic or the ballet. Watch a ball game or go to a car show or arts festival or concert or hockey game just to name a few. Take in Waldemeer (no admission fee to the park). Go swimming, fishing, boating. There is something different to do every weekend. Not enough? Three major cities are 120 minutes away.
You can still find a banana split for three bucks in Erie, a cone for a dollar. You can get a decent meal in a clean place for ten. A small house might be fifty thousand in a neighborhood you can be proud of, but you can spend a hundred or two hundred or a half million if you want to.
Hospitals? Yes, nationally acclaimed. Colleges? Yes, well-respected. Police and fire and ambulance? Full time, fast and first rate. Safe? Yes.
Erie is a small city where you can be anonymous if you wish, yet the degree of separation is likely one or two instead of five. Even with its surrounding townships, Erie is just a speck in Pennsylvania's chimney. The people are friendly, the service is good, life is good in Erie. It's a small city with a big heart.
I am proud to call Erie, Pennsylvania my home.
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