An ignorant man once said, "Fuck Pittsburgh, Virginia's the best state!" I beg to differ. Pittsburgh, obviously, is not even a state. But if it was, it would be the best one. Here is a short list of what I love about Pittsburgh:
- the sports-loving people (post-super bowl blissfulness leads to the most peaceful "riot" in sports history)
- the eclectic mix of architecture (cathedral of learning, meet ppg place)
- cheap beer (25 cent tuesdays, dollar drafts every day)
- yinzer pride (n'at)
- affordable cost of living (hello to having my own place)
- good thrift stores (though laurel thrift will always have a place in my heart)
- the hills and rivers/geography/topography (the view from mt. washington)
- the fact that a blue collar past has led to an adamently liberal politcal present (no republican mayor in more than two and a half decades)
- diversity (south oakland was home to both dan marino and andy warhol... what a great dichotomy)
- tradition (not that pitt contributes to this, but the rest of the city has it right)
- being undervalued (no bandwagon yinzers in sight)
So with all these wonderful things filling me up with joy everyday, why am I so antsy? Why am I dying to hop on a plane?
The answer is in the first part of this post: Pittsburgh is not a state. It's not a region. It's not a nation. It's a dot on the vast planet Earth. The people and things who make this place so great are tiny little drops of paint on an infinitely larger canvas. I want to explore the other dots and see each as what it is: an individual part of the masterpiece that is this world.
Pittsburgh isn't a state, but it is a state of mind. And when I go elsewhere, I won't really be leaving this place behind.
Planet, I am going to leave my footprints all over your fine canvas. And the paths I cut, the lines I draw, the corners I strain to reach will all be connected on one looping, crazy trail that ends where it began -- Pittsburgh is the best state.
-December 18, 2006
