I wish I could say that my experience living in Syracuse had been better; I'm sure my impression of this city has been unfairly colored by the fact that we moved here just in time for a pretty harsh winter, and on the last weekend of our stay here -- the weekend during which we had to get everything packed up and finalized -- the Central New York region (actually, much of upstate and other regions as well) was hit by an ice storm that knocked out power to thousands of people, including us.
Thus it came to pass that we were packing by candlelight yesterday; we were reduced to a tiny hand-held radio that I bought for carrying on walks for contact with the outside world; we weren't able to shower for two days; we couldn't open the fridge for fear of letting the warm air into it (until we later got some ice at a minimart and stuffed the thing full, which made me wonder whatever happened to the word "icebox"). Et cetera and so forth. We did get out to eat, finding an Applebee's that had electricity (the place was packed, and it also happened to be the lunchtime choice for two dozen or so electric-company workers) and later going to the Carousel Center (Syracuse's main mall) to indulge in the delights of the food court and dessert at the Cold Stone Creamery. (This is one of those ice-cream places where they put a hunk of ice cream on a marble slab and then fold a bunch of goodies into it before serving it in a waffle-bowl.)
So: I hated the weather that we endured while living here, and I didn't live here long enough to get to know the city or find those "hidden treasures" that every local knows about but visitors so often refuse to either investigate or even admit their existence in the first place. I still think Syracuse is too small a pond for me, personally, but as we get ready to leave, I can't help but think that maybe I could have learned to like this place a lot, even if I'm not sure I ever would really have loved it.
Farewell, then, Syracuse. All of my griping aside, I had a lot of fun here, and I do hope to visit again...once in a while. Especially in 2031, when I expect DestiNY USA to actually be up and running.
Here begins my hiatus until the move is complete. I hope to be back posting on Wednesday, but more likely Thursday. Until then, feel free to check out the fine folks in my blogroll, filed under "Other Journeys". And visit them often, so that they notice me in their referral logs and link back to me! (Yes, I'm a blog slob. Woe....)
Good luck, phasers on stun, Kirk out.
(Oh, yes, I almost forgot: Hey, people of Syracuse! Good luck on that other little thing that's occupying all of your minds right now...)
No comments:
Post a Comment