I’m usually reading a couple of different books at the same time. Sometimes these stories overlap in interesting ways. Recently I was reading The Science of Paul by Aaron Philip Clark and Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran and I noticed an amusing bit of textual coincidence, both Paul and Claire saying essentially the same thing about their respective cities (Philadelphia for him and New Orleans for her).
“In a matter of blocks the homes go from lower class to upper-middle. It’s never been so clear to me until now. Life in Philly is a matter of blocks. You go a few blocks west and your neighbor may be a dope dealer, you go east, toward Penn and your neighbor is a professor of math and science.” – The Science of Paul by Aaron Philip Clark (pg. 135)
“Vic’s place was on lower Bourbon Street, near the edge of the Quarter, an old Spanish-style apartment complex from the early 1800′s. The block was quiet; the noise and crowds and vomit of upper Bourbon, a few blocks away, didn’t reach here. I’d forgotten that in New Orleans every block was its own world; block by block was how locals described their city, good and bad.” – Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran
I’ve heard it said over the years that Baltimore also is a city of neighborhoods. It’s interesting to think that what residents of one area take as a truism is also claimed as one by other residents of other cities. Sandra’s mom was visiting a few weeks ago and the weather here took a quick change. She remarked on it and without even thinking I said something that I’ve heard many time before, “welcome to Maryland, if you don’t like the weather wait five minutes.” I realize that this saying is said in other areas too but I said in nonetheless.
I wonder, are there any other sayings that different areas claim as their own?
I hear people say that in Detroit all the time and it is utterly false. The Great Lakes hold weather systems here forever.