For the last week, a good friend of mine and her family were in town. Her son was playing in a hockey tournament in which they played games in New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. BF and I finally caught up with them on Saturday night for a cocktail and then went on to watch young Derek (age 19) play a game against a Canadian team. It was such a fun evening. I really enjoyed catching up with them all - her parents, son, and husband. They were so funny and it was also alot of fun hearing their observations about Boston and New Englanders in general. They were the same observations that I had when I first began visiting and living here. For example, there are Dunkin Donuts everywhere. I do mean everywhere - every major intersection, sometimes even across the street from each other! You can't get sweet tea anywhere, only "iced tea" or "hot tea". And the people, well, they take some getting used to. They're more than a little distant and gruff at first. And the salespeople in stores are really put out that they have to like, wait on you, and you can just forget about a greeting. And the traffic and finding your way around Boston is more than a little intimidating. To get around safely, you really do have to either live here or drive here alot. There's nowhere to turn around if you miss your turn. You have to drive for miles or be forced to turn right and then another right which does not take you back to the road you were on. Instead, you get lost. GPS doesn't work either - by the time Jane figures out where you are and tells you where to go, she's too late, and you're back in the quandry of turning around and backtracking. Boston is not a grid system or a spoke system. It's a system all of its own with roads changing names several times, splitting off, plus rotaries everywhere. And, strangely enough, during rush hour, you can drive on the shoulder on the expressway. FREAKY!
Enough comparisons though and back to the title of this post. It was great to be around ppl who just get me and who understand what I'm saying. THere's very little of that here. I often feel like an outsider and that my humor is not well received. I can't tell you how often I've made a clever whip or retort only to be met with blank stares and the chirping of crickets. Back home, I would get a couple of snickers or bemused smiles. Nada here. That's difficult to get used to. I miss the Sourthern charisma and hospitality. I love the animated storytelling and tall tales that are reminescent of my relatives in Texas. My step-dad could really spin them, let me tell ya, and my grandfather too. Perhaps that exists here too - you just have to be in the group or family to get exposed to it. But in the South, and in Texas, you just have to be willing to listen and you'll get an earful. :-p
