no place like home

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paddyinthepub
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no place like home

Postby paddyinthepub » Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:29 am

I thought this would be a good place to spread the word about the towns or cities you have called home. Or would like to someday call home. Sort of a visitors guide from someone who knows the place like the back of their hands. List the places you have lived in and then every now and then shed a little light on what it was that made it special for you.

The reason I thought of starting this thread today is my recent visit to the birthplace of our son Michael - age 7. He hardly remembers it at all as we left for Seattle, Wa. before he was two. Our four and a half hour drive to the city of Pittsburgh, Pa over the weekend was for a special reason. Our old musical pal Bill Deasy was playing two shows at Club Cafe on the city's South Side. Our Hotel, The Omni William Penn in Downtown was beginning to fill with MLB All Star folks from around the country. Players, media, fans, Hall Of Famers, and Us....not there for Baseball at all.

The city has always impressed me. The lay of the land. The 3 rivers. The sports traditions so steeped in history. The People. Oh my gosh the people. If there are friendlier people anywhere else across this great land I have not found them. Our 2 and a half years living in the Penn Hills area east of Downtown were some of the best of my life. There's the topography, rolling tree covered hills far and wide. For this Houston Texas native, a real change from the flat and grid like layout I was accustomed to. I had more fun driving around the highways and backroads of this town listening to car tunes of old and new faves. It's always fun to HAVE to learn the lay of the land in a new place. I for one enjoy it. The new restaurants to discover. The local music clubs. Gives me the sense of being a discoverer on a brand new expedition.

The city of Pittsburgh, Pa. is in the spotlight this week because of the All Star Game. The Home Run Deby was last night. The actual All Star Game is tonight. When we were enjoying the local Waterpark, Sandcastle, on Saturday, we saw the Goodyear blimp in the sky overhead. Surely preparing for the aerial shots to air during the television broadcasts.

The city looked spectacular to me all weekend. I miss living there, I really, really do. I'm happy to be back in the state, uh, Commonwealth of PA. and have such easy access when I get a hankering for this All American City. Oh by the way, the local boy that keeps bringing us back there is a fellow by the name of Bill Deasy. His music has found a spot near the top of our list. For good reason, too. The songs, the man, his fans.

Sounds Familiar.

The list of places I've called home:

Houston, Texas
Brooklyn, New York
Houston, Texas
Beijing, China
Houston, Texas
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Seattle, Washington
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Ellis Island :D

Vacations are great, but there really is no place like home.
Last edited by paddyinthepub on Tue Jul 11, 2006 11:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

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Lauren
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Location: Portland, ME

Postby Lauren » Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:04 pm

Great topic, Paddy!

My homes:

Canton, NY
Sailboat, Atlantic Seaboard
Georgetown, Bahamas
Vermillion, SD
Orleans, France
New York, NY
Portland, ME

I'm just going to say one small little thing about South Dakota, and the prairie in general: there is no sky like it in the world. It makes you feel so small, and yet so in touch with the earth and the heavens - at times you feel like you can reach out and pick a star out of the sky, or push the clouds on by with just a wave of your hand. Some of the most spiritual experiences of my life have been looking up at the South Dakota sky.

And I have to say, Paddy - I recently spent some time in Philly and (I love the name of this town) Conshohocken. Much fun, and even more fun to say.

~Lauren

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bonuela
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Postby bonuela » Tue Jul 11, 2006 12:34 pm

Lauren, how long did you live on a boat? Was it as a child or an adult?

I am a very sedentary person. :D

Sharon MA ~ I lived in the same house for 27 years *
Quincy MA ~ Same apartment for 11 years until I bought the condo I live in now.

I love to travel, but I hate to move.

* I was an exchange student in Chile for a year, but that wasn't a permanent move. I still had my home to go back to.
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go. ~ Cat Stevens

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Lauren
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Location: Portland, ME

Postby Lauren » Tue Jul 11, 2006 1:59 pm

Bonnie -

It was for a year when I was in high school (junior year) and then vacations while I was in college. My parents still live on her full time - no house, no car, just the boat. Craziness, huh?

And Bonnie - Chile most certainly DOES count! That's how I was able to put Orleans, France in my list! :wink:

~L~

PotatoPicker
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Postby PotatoPicker » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:03 pm

Nice topic Paddy !

Presque Isle, ME (was born in what is now City Hall......)
Foxboro, MA
Cumberland, RI
Plainville, MA

so far..... but I still call Presque Isle home, even after 25 years of living in exile.......
Jeff

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bonuela
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Postby bonuela » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:30 pm

Jeff, did you go to school in Foxborough? My Mom used to teach there.
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go. ~ Cat Stevens

PotatoPicker
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Postby PotatoPicker » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:53 pm

No all my schooling was in Presque Isle (and in Orono, ME).

I did however spend a few years on the Foxborough Advisory Committee (essentially the town's citizen financial board) as the interface for the School systems. Congratulations to your Mom - the Foxboro School system was very highly regarded then, anbd rightfully so.
Jeff

wendy
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Location: Boothbay, Maine

Postby wendy » Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:15 am

Interesting topic! Thanks, Paddy.

    Stuttgart, Germany (briefly; military-related)
    Holden, MA (near Worcester. Fairly rural at that time; no more!)
    Lewiston, ME (my only experience with "city"-living)
    Southport, Boothbay Hbr, Boothbay, ME (those are all within spitting distance of each other)


I seem to put down roots and stay put as much as possible.
Small towns in Maine right now don't seem all that different from the town I grew up in many years ago. I suspect that's what I was searching for, subconciously. An inveterate New Englander, obviously.
-wendy

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Sue Ellen
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Postby Sue Ellen » Wed Jul 12, 2006 7:29 am

Let's see:

Southbridge, MA
Rutland TOWN, VT
Burlington, VT
Castleton, VT
Stillwater, OK
Baltimore, MD
Columbia, MD

This is a fun topic.

Sue Ellen
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"

paddyinthepub
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Location: Philadelphia

Postby paddyinthepub » Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:13 am

I had to edit my list above to include the summer I said goodbye to all my friends in Houston because we were moving to Brooklyn, NY and did. I was about 9 yrs. old and it was too sad. As luck would have it, it didn't work out and my dad decided to hec with this place, Houston is our home.

The look on my friend's faces when we returned at summer's end was priceless. To think I could have ended up speaking with a whole different accent and mindset.

I also added one to the end in Honor of our hero Ellis. I have lived on that
imaginary Island off and on for 12 years.... :D
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy

paddyinthepub
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Postby paddyinthepub » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:28 am

While I really enjoyed my solo road trip to Ogunquit :D recently to see Ellis and Flynn and the EPDB, I have to say that I often thought about Home and what I was missing and how much I was missing it.

Ellis' HOME lyrics kept playing in my head.

Home
Is the woman
Across the table


Quite right, sir.
"once we're inside, it's a carnival ride" ~ ellis paul
paddy


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