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Superstar
When leaving South Philly, there are only two places to go: The ground or Jersey. When a person ventures outside of these two pre-destined locales, they will face questions.
You see, South Philly may be one of the most misunderstood places on Earth.
When not being depicted as the portal of all crime, bad teens, poor students and the root of all evil in general, there’s the inevitable presumed mob ties. And it doesn’t help having a name that ends in a vowel.
Sure there are good preconceived notions: The red-gravy dining scene, the strong sense of community, the close proximity to anything and everything one could imagine from cheesesteaks to people traveling miles for to the World Series champion Phillies.
But notions, good or bad, are made to be bended and, occasionally, broken.
When I moved — not to the ground or Jersey — my new neighbors and schoolmates simply assumed I was the new girl with mob ties. And when it became common knowledge I had moved there from South Philly, it became fact — without a comment from me to confirm or deny.
I was actually outright asked that question once. I was 12.
As I got older, and the fact I was from here became common knowledge at my new job (I never hid it, as I was proud to be from South Philly), the concept of life down here reared its head once more.
This time, it was different.
The statement, in comparing where I had settled, was: "South Philly at least had character."
There was no denying that.
The labels have since stopped, but the curious questions and odd comments occasionally pop up from outsiders. (One person actually made a statement South Philadelphians, when at a buffet, stuff food in napkins then into their pockets and purses. This comment was made at a funeral during the luncheon. Really.)
The point of this issue comes back to a universal truth I have faced time and again: People are fascinated by South Philly because they do not know what to believe about the area. It’s like an ongoing tabloid of a superstar: Some is false, but not outrageous enough to not be true, so you fill in the gaps.
South Philly has a lot of gaps: Parking may appear to be anywhere and everywhere, but there is a method to the madness; red-gravy restaurants abound, but so does Japanese, German, Mediterranean, French, New American — you get the idea; there is plenty to do when the sun goes down and much of it is in the form of dance, theater and art.
I never really found a way to address people who have not been in the presence of our superstar, South Philly. When I was younger it was just a blank stare.
Now, I may just give the same blank stare (which works in just about every scenario), but this time I will add "jealous."
