The point is, however, most people in the rest of the country answer with the name of their town or the nearest city or even their State when answering the question, "Where are you from?". Ask a traveler from Shorewood or even Racine where they are from and a likely answer would be "near-Milwaukee" or "Wisconsin". Ask a traveler from Calverton, New York where they are from and the likely answer will be "Long Island"; not "New York" or even "near-New York City". "Long Island" takes on that name.
(Of course, New York City, poses yet another exception to that rule. Natives are rarely from New York City. They are from Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx (mind you, not Bronx, but "The Bronx" but that's yet a different story) or Staten Island.
There are very few places I can think of that become a "I'm from here" location. I guess someone could say they are from "Napa Valley"; but no one claims, in my experience anyway, to be from "The Rockies", "The Poconos" or "The Bad Lands". "The U.P." is very locally used. I have experimented with that little colloquialism while out here. No one out here has any idea what a Yuppie is except maybe the sound a 5 year old makes on their first pony ride.
For some reason, "Long Island" resonates with people. It is that place that is not New York City, or any of the eastern sea-board cities for that matter. It is the location for Great Gatsby. Thomas Fairchild drove Linus Larabee to Long Island in Sabrina. Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Billy Joel all hail from Long Island. Once ago, it was mostly farms, farm towns and fishing towns. Now, all but the eastern 40 miles is one long suburb. The Wikipedia article makes the point perfectly though. It categorizes Long Island like it was a state with breakdowns in demographics, economy, education, etc.
Tell a New Yorker you are from "Long Island" and they get a far-away look and usually tell you how lucky you are to live "out there".
Well, from Long Island, this is CmentMixer. And, yes, I am lucky to live "out there".
1 comment:
It's where Monroe learned to water ski; where numerous painters and writers find their muses, or succumb to them; it's the respite from the concrete jungle. It's fishing/boating towns; the place of personal space within reach from the city. It is home to at least one of the world's ten best beaches (Southampton comes to mind).
It's farmers and artisans, vintners and livestock breeders.
The beaches at Westhampton were once sheep and dairy cow meadows...hard to believe at millions per acre even in this market.
There is a quirky poetry to home.
It's like not being Italian when you are from Rome...one is Roman.
Long Island's cache is something all its own.
And it is a lovely privilege to be there.
And as far as Yuppies go -- it's an 80's reference for the Young Urban Professional in this neck of the woods--though their ranks were diminished last month with the market roller coaster.
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