I LOVE CINCINNATI
Written by Jen Wednesday, 23 September 2009 14:14
Blog
I saw another ILOVECINCINNATI bumper sticker again today. WHoooHooo! Gotta love ‘em. Why do these stickers make me cheer? After all, I'm a middle-aged mom with a knack for whining about just about everything. Why do I love this city I call home?
No, it's not the Reds or the Bengals (obviously).
No, it's not the weather. If you have to ask why, you haven't visited the Queen City for longer than a week.
And it's not the befuddled city government or the public school system.
Ok. The food here is fantastic and the arts are thriving. But that's not it either.
It's because Cincinnati is quirky. Those of us who were born and bred in this river town have idiosyncrasies the rest of the world finds, well, odd. People who aren't from here or those who have left tend to remind us of this little fact constantly. We who have embraced this place appreciate these anomalies more as we get older. For example...
●People from Cincinnati like---no, need---to know where you went to high school. They request this information within the first three minutes of an introduction. Quite frankly, we really don't care about college affiliation but your high school and your church community, well, these are essential facts. After all, we just might know your brother or your mother or be related to you in some way. Yes, there is a historical and cultural explanation for this practice but really, why does it matter? I find it charming but it drives "transplanted" citizens crazy. These folks need to simply adopt a parish and let it be. For example, "I went to school in Virginia but I live near St. James." That should divert the conversation for the next 15 minutes, at least.
●People here don't care a whole lot about trendy fashion. Get too haute couture and we become suspicious. Where are you from anyway? Legend has it that Mark Twain once remarked that when the end of the world comes, he wants to be in Cincinnati because everything gets here later. Why shed this image? There is something comforting about being the last one standing.
●Cincinnati is at war with itself: East Side versus West Side. Thing is, we're all friends. This is good-natured animosity. Each of us has an opinion about which side is best and we all detest driving the distance between one side and the other. We should all just meet downtown and shut up about it.
●In days gone by, Cincinnatians asked "Please?" rather than "Pardon?" when needing verbal clarification. As our population becomes more diverse, this endearing custom is becoming less common. It still tends to perplex visitors, though, who wonder what they are being asked to do.
●People in the Greater Cincinnati area lean toward the conservative--fiscally, socially and politically. Again, I see this as a good thing. Cincy is a safe place to raise a family. We're frugal. We don't like surprises, outlandish behavior and in-your-face attitude.
●We love our ethnic traditions, our German Oktoberfest, the annual St. Patrick's Day parade and the zillions of church festivals with multi-generational customs. We natives savor goetta and bratwurst like nobody else. We're just regular Midwestern folks.
●Cincinnatians freak out when it snows. Clevelanders think this is hysterical. Consider, however, that Cincinnati is very hilly and gets a fair amount of ice. These don't mix. People from flat places can complain about the drivers here and the snow phobia but the topography does pose some challenges. Go to Naples for the winter if it bugs you, lots of folks do.
●Traveling beyond these borders, Cincinnatians do not identify themselves as Ohioans. Nope. We're from Cincinnati. We have to remind ourselves that we share the state of Ohio with Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo.
●We're proud. We know this isn't the perfect place and we love it anyway. If you're not from Cincinnati, don't badmouth it, especially if you've never left your suburban neighborhood. If you're a native of our good city, have at it! Double standard? You bet.
Certainly there's a lot to love about this place, but you can't capture a feeling with words or even a bumper sticker. If you're new to the 'Nati, savor its unique personality. Venture out of your neighborhood and discover its history, experience its festivals and theaters and restaurants and people. Embrace its quirkiness. You can't get this kinda weird anywhere else in the world!
