I look at Western New York with this weird mix of nostalgia and "get me the hell out of there!" (How do you sum up "get me the hell out of there" in a word... suggestions?) I do consider Portland my home, the place that I feel like I belong. But, I do miss a lot of things about it. I love saying the word "pop". It just makes sense, it feels like home. I will cling to that word no matter how many people cringe. I miss euchre. Anyone in the Portland area that plays it? Zweigles -- lovely hot dogs -- they come in white, too. And they are miles better than these little skinny radioactive red hot dogs out here. Lilac Festival. Parkleigh Pharmacy. Buffalo wings that are more than just Franks Red Hot on them and with bleu cheese -- none of this Ranch dressing hulabaloo. Bakeries with what my aunt calls Jewish rolls -- flaky and light and just barely sweet. WBER on the radio when ever I want! Major influence on most music I am exposed to today and back then. And Wegmans.... I never thought I could love a grocery store as I do that one. The best subs I have ever had are made there. They make really good Chinese food. My friends and I would sometimes have scavenger hunts there. The one in Pittsford you can sit in the cafe area, get a great cup of coffee, and forget you are in a grocery store. Not to mention, they practically have employed every member of my extended family at some point. They consistently make the Forbes top 10 for employers that treat their customers the best in the nation. I should write sonnets to Wegmans. But my poor attempts at iambic pentameter would just come out so.... Shaws. Or for those people still in Western New York -- Big M.
I yoinked this from a fellow Fredonian and pulled out the ones I can relate to.
You know you're from Rochester when....
"Waking up with the Wease" doesn't mean that you have a respiratory infection.
The thought of eating a "garbage plate" makes your mouth water.
The worst four-letter word you could say is "Fuji".
Toronto is about 70 miles away, but it takes four hours to get there.
You know that a "Can of Worms" is not something that you take fishing.
Your baby's first word is "Wegmans".
In a city where it snows at least 90 inches a year, they build a new sports stadium with no roof on it.
It can be 70 degrees one day, below freezing the next, and you think nothing of it.
Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude an Abbott's custard.
You order a white hot and a pop, and the counterman knows what you're talking about.
You know who Vinnie and Angelo are.
You can go to any mall on a Saturday and see at least 5 people you either work with, went to school with or dated.
You awaken from a deep sleep, look at the clock and see that it's 6:00, but you have no idea whether it's AM or PM.
When 12+ inches of snow falls overnight, but you never thought of NOT going to work.
In winter if the temperature hits 45 degrees and the sun comes out, people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets.
There are places at the poles that seem to get more sunlight during the winter months than we do.
Wegmans is somewhere to go on a Friday night, for entertainment.
Half the change in your pocket is Canadian, eh.
You think that people from Pennsylvania have an accent.
Your idea of a seven-course meal is a six pack of Genny and a bucket of Buffalo wings.
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