Saturday, November 15, 2008

Regional Attitudes

This week I had dinner with a real estate executive. As it happens, he graduated a year ahead of me from the same snooty, suburban Boston college as I. We both remembered how the place looked down its nose at California (with the possible exception of San Francisco).

These attitudes had been around for awhile. Addison DeWitt (George Sanders) in "All about Eve:"
San Francisco. An oasis of civilization in the California desert. Tell me, do you share my high opinion of San Francisco?"


Alvie Singer (Woody Allen) in "Annie Hall:"

In Beverly Hills ... they don’t throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows


So I am now curious as to whether these attitudes remain as strong as ever, or whether they have attenuated over the years. As I am writing this from my back deck, next to my kumquat tree, on a glorious, sunny, warm, slightly breezy day in mid-November, I suppose I really shouldn't care.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Best revenge is living well, with little stress, in a mild climate.

Anonymous said...

Ah, in that suburban Cambridge - it's a beautiful crisp 60 degrees in mid-November.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Ah, in that suburban Cambridge - it's a beautiful crisp 60 degrees in mid-November.


And I love it! I'll admit that I don't hold some parts of the country in high regard, but I am also not originally from the Northeast, so maybe it's just another example of the "Big Sort."