On Forgetting

So, it's been a while since I've been back to Pittsburgh for any sort of lengthy visit. The trip back for my reunion earlier this month was only three days, but it's pretty much the longest visit I've had since my dad's funeral, I think.

I'd forgotten what a pretty little city Pittsburgh is. I think all the reasons I wanted to leave the city in the first place tend to blind me to its many good points.

There are plenty of people who are anxious to have me move back, despite my protestation that I love New York City too much.

Still, the city does have it's charms.

One of the chief charms of the city is the view of the downtown area from Mt. Washington to the south, across the Monongahela River.

It's really pretty amazing how much Pittsburgh has changed since I was a little kid. I remember the smell of sulphur wafting over the city and the filthy rivers, polluted by steel mills. The smell's gone, now, along with the steel mills, and the rivers are clean again. People actually go boating on them; they're used for recreation. That wasn't terribly commonplace during the 70s.

Despite it's charm, though, Pittsburgh's siren call still can't grab me. I'm where I am for now.