I love Pittsburgh in the summer and fall. This is where I grew up and once you are a Pittsburgher, it never leaves your genes. And your Pittsburgh accent never changes, no matter where you travel.
For 10 days I visited my son and his family in Peter’s Township, just outside of the city. I asked my family to get me a bicycle, which they did. It’s a simple blue bike with footbrakes but suits me well. There’s a paved trail that runs close to my son’s place. It goes through a dense forest, trees on both sides. It’s not entirely level but just has a slight grade; enough to make it a challenge.
After riding for a while, I would sit on a bench, pull out my kindle and pretend to read. But I didn’t read. I stared into the trees. The green, dark green, all shades of green, the deep green spurting from the bold, tall, straight, strong trees. Their trunks rising to magnificent heights. The permanence, the solidness of the sturdy trunks contrasted with the leaves whispering as light as a kiss on my cheek in the breeze. The strength of the solid trunks like sentinels encased me. The trees looked down on me and made me feel small and humble.
The forest defined the word “lush.” The deep undergrowth allowed for no entry by humans. I was surrounded by a wall of healthy green – thick and silent, like watch guards that no one could pass through.
Forests around Pittsburgh brings me face to face to the magnitude and power of nature, which can easily be forgotten.
Other things about Pittsburgh are unique. PNC park, a baseball stadium, is rated the best in the United States. It’s friendly, it’s warm, it’s varied, it’s sweaty, its party time, it’s baseball. And all the quirky side shows on display, like the periogie race, the Pittsburgh Parrot in his outlandish get up, shooting T shirts flying through the air to fans, and the candid camera on exuberant fans, eager to perform for the audience, are just plain good fun.
People are dressed in black and gold, Pittsburgh Pirate colors. And if the Pirates are having a bad year, they come to the game anyway.
If the Pirates are having a good season, they come to the game. Pittsburgh fans are not fickle. They support through all of it, good and bad.
Kids, babes in arms, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, — they are all there for the game.
Pittsburgh has its own flavor, its own aroma, its own style. And I’m proud to be a Pittsburgher.