« Leadership and Life in the Military | Main | Happy Thanksgiving! »
“Buffalo Gals”
By Alexis | November 21, 2011
I’m from here. From Buffalo. At least that’s what I tell people when I don’t live here. When I lived in Utah, I’d say it like I knew it:
Woman at counter of coffee shop where I worked: “Are you from Salt Lake?”
Me: “No, I’m from Buffalo.”
Man: “Really? I’m from Rochester.”
Me: “No way! That’s so close. What brought you out here?”
And then we’d continue. I spoke like I not only was from Buffalo, but that both my parents were Buffalo Bills. I spoke like I knew the Sabres inside and out.
But now.
But now.
But now! I live here. I go to Canisius. And, I realize that I don’t know Buffalo at all.
SO. What does one do when they don’t know about something?
Get a book. Duh.
About a week ago, I went to Talking Leaves (bookstore on Elmwood) to meet Amy J. Strychasz (http://amyjstrychasz.com/about-2/) and buy her brand new book, Buffalo Gals.
She was really nice and I’m half way through her book. And check this out: she went to Canisius. That’s where she got her B.A. in English Literature.
Anyway, I’m reading it to try to figure out some more of Buffalo. I think that E.M. Forester wrote A Passage to India to explain India from a British perspective and I think Amy J. Strychasz wrote Buffalo Gals to explain Buffalo from an outsider perspective (she lives in Maryland). I’ll tell you the line I like the best so far, “I sucked in some air and then let it out in a slow breath. I watched it curl in the cold of the night.”
I guess to know Buffalo, you’ve got to start with the weather and what a lovely way to say it’s cold outside.
Topics: Childhood Education | Comments Off
Comments are closed.