Small Town USA

Took a trip down to Buffalo to help a friend move. We were co-workers once, working minimum wage, packaging containers at a plastics factory just over 5 years ago. Now he is engaged, ran the Boston marathon, and is officially a medical dentist all by the age of 25. You see what I mean by how I can never be happy? There are simply those that overshadow your achievements, whether its relative or not.

He is settling into an apartment just outside downtown Buffalo. A quaint little neighbourhood that radiates that "small town" feel. Parks, cottage homes, fat people, memorials, churches, and enough American flags to blanket the town. But I loved it. All that was running through my head were Sufjan Steven songs and the movie "Elizabethtown". Woman were dressed southern like, but anti-war protesters and signs of presidential disapproval reminds me that we are still in a blue state.

As much as I enjoyed the visit, my gut tells me I still belong in the city. I now feel more fortunate that I live a 30 mins drive away from the downtown core of Toronto. Not to knock on Buffalo, but a single subway line and their entitlement as the primary export of greasy wings does not satisfy my appetite for culture and history. I once felt Toronto as a follower of London and New York but is in fact superior to hundreds around the world. Although it is exhausting to chase the core of what is "cool", I often take Toronto for granted. This trip has definitely shown me that.