A few months ago an old friend of mine from high school came back here for a visit. Her family lives around here and she and I went out for breakfast between one of my classes.
Like me, she'd lived around Denver for most of her life. Then after she finished school she had a hard choice to make between jobs in New York or L.A., she's a nurse, so she had lots of choices. She chose L.A. and soon after she moved there I stopped hearing from her so much. Which was fine, we both were moving on with our own lives. But when she said she was coming back in town I was thrilled.
When I saw her she didn't look much different than she ever had, she was always a pretty fashionable dresser. She was thinner though, which was saying a lot for her already tiny frame, blonder, and had an air about her that was just different. Something about the way she talked made me feel something I almost never feel, frumpy. My voluptuous curves felt like rolls of fat, and the sleek preppy outfit I'd picked out that morning made me feel like a surburban housewife.
We were at the best greasy spoon in town and right after I ordered Eggs Benedict, she ordered egg whites. That's right, just egg whites. I was confused. This was the girl who used to chow down on fries after midnight at IHOP and never gained a pound. She just laughed condescendingly and chirped "Everybody eats really healthy in L.A."
There were all kinds of statements that were coupled with the "in L.A." phrase. Soon I felt like everything I said she had a better version "in L.A." and she kept saying how happy I was going to be when I "got out of here"... What? Had I mentioned that I was leaving?
After she dropped me back off at school I only felt relief. I haven't thought about her much since then. But then I started thinking about her the other day. Somebody said something to me about when they "lived in New York" and it hit me a little wrong. Not that I don't think other places are great, I know they are. I'm not one of those people who don't ever want to leave home. But I really like where I live. I didn't for a long time. E had me convinced that Colorado sucked and the East Coast was better. I don't feel that way anymore.
What's wrong with NOT living on either coast? What's so wrong with right here in the middle? It's frustrating to be told that because you don't live in L.A. or New York that you're some kind of bumbling idiot.
I live in one of America's biggest tourist states, and every winter, and every summer I get to encounter those who populate the "Coasts"... None of them seem too much better than any of us, but they sure act like it. I'm pretty tired of that attitude, we're not a bunch of cowboy hicks. Even if we were, there wouldn't be a damn thing wrong with it.
Y'all come back now, y'hear?
Like me, she'd lived around Denver for most of her life. Then after she finished school she had a hard choice to make between jobs in New York or L.A., she's a nurse, so she had lots of choices. She chose L.A. and soon after she moved there I stopped hearing from her so much. Which was fine, we both were moving on with our own lives. But when she said she was coming back in town I was thrilled.
When I saw her she didn't look much different than she ever had, she was always a pretty fashionable dresser. She was thinner though, which was saying a lot for her already tiny frame, blonder, and had an air about her that was just different. Something about the way she talked made me feel something I almost never feel, frumpy. My voluptuous curves felt like rolls of fat, and the sleek preppy outfit I'd picked out that morning made me feel like a surburban housewife.
We were at the best greasy spoon in town and right after I ordered Eggs Benedict, she ordered egg whites. That's right, just egg whites. I was confused. This was the girl who used to chow down on fries after midnight at IHOP and never gained a pound. She just laughed condescendingly and chirped "Everybody eats really healthy in L.A."
There were all kinds of statements that were coupled with the "in L.A." phrase. Soon I felt like everything I said she had a better version "in L.A." and she kept saying how happy I was going to be when I "got out of here"... What? Had I mentioned that I was leaving?
After she dropped me back off at school I only felt relief. I haven't thought about her much since then. But then I started thinking about her the other day. Somebody said something to me about when they "lived in New York" and it hit me a little wrong. Not that I don't think other places are great, I know they are. I'm not one of those people who don't ever want to leave home. But I really like where I live. I didn't for a long time. E had me convinced that Colorado sucked and the East Coast was better. I don't feel that way anymore.
What's wrong with NOT living on either coast? What's so wrong with right here in the middle? It's frustrating to be told that because you don't live in L.A. or New York that you're some kind of bumbling idiot.
I live in one of America's biggest tourist states, and every winter, and every summer I get to encounter those who populate the "Coasts"... None of them seem too much better than any of us, but they sure act like it. I'm pretty tired of that attitude, we're not a bunch of cowboy hicks. Even if we were, there wouldn't be a damn thing wrong with it.
Y'all come back now, y'hear?
1 Comments:
I love Colorado.
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