I have never really been to Philadelphia. As a child, when we first moved to the States, we moved to Levittown, near Philadelphia, but my brothers and I were too young to remember going into the city. I can’t say I have really seen the Liberty Bell, eaten at a Philadelphia deli, visited Independence Hall, walked through the galleries of the Philadelphia Museum of Art or seen the statue of Ben Franklin.
Many years later, I did arrive to Penn Station where family friends picked me up and took me to their home in Reading, PA. As I recall, I saw their son perform in a high school production of “Damn Yankees.” Then, they took me back to the train station, rode on what they called the “Sure-kill” expressway (Schuylkill expressway) and I proceeded to New York, my final destination where I participated in a seminar at Columbia.
Last week I flew into Philadelphia and once again I missed it, if the definition of visiting Philadelphia is taking a look at the Liberty Bell and the other above mentioned sites. I was there on business. I flew into the Philadelphia airport, rode along the Delaware River, crossed the same bridge my dad used to take over the Delaware River to Trenton back in the day when we lived in PA and he worked in NJ. I did see the beautiful old Benjamin Franklin bridge illuminated at around 11:00 PM. My destination was not Philadelphia but a small town in NJ not far from Princeton. I saw a lot of green…no wonder NJ is called the Garden State.
No, I haven’t really seen Philadelphia, but that doesn’t diminish the memory of having lived in its environs, visited friends who safely welcomed me and helped me continue my journey from Detroit to NY and most recently I returned to work with colleagues on a job I love. It was even Spanish related. Go figure.
Have any of you really seen Philadelphia?
I did see this charming building in a park in NJ.
btw As our plane flew away and I took in so many waterways along the East coast, I waved to you all who live along the Atlantic.
Georgette Sullins's Blog 