A Rebuttal to LadyBug's Screed (Sperling wouldn't
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12/18/2007
This is a melancholy, put-down-STL review. And that's okay, because this is how LadyBug feels. However, I am not originally from here. I was born on Lake Ontario: That's very very far from here and mighty different in every way. The commute?! Now give me a break: Compared to any city of even medium size (and STL borders on the "large") the commutes here are an absolute joke. The roads ARE being repaired, and now plenty of people whine and gripe about the resultant road closures. So you cannot make everyone happy; that's axiomatic. I find plenty here to make me happy. I have lived in Chicago, DC, Baltimore, you name it and wow, to me this is just the right place, with just the right balance. Ugly?! You must be taking the wrong roads: Try Forest Park Parkway, and even that highway that should be called I-64: The views are breathtaking year round. The parks are nothing special?! Forest Park is INTERNATIONALLY renown as one of the greatest parks in the US. No, it's not Central Park, but you don't have to pay $50 and up for the privilege of getting there (unless you take the subway and risk the frequent muggings therein). The STL Zoo is nothing special, you say?! I have visited zoos all over, and I'm in fact trained in zoology. This zoo is an absolute gem, with rare species and interesting exhibits and technology to boot. AND IT'S FREE. Y'all or some of y'all might take this for granted, but folks from other towns will marvel at this! How can one generalize about St Louisans just being "happy to go to the mall" and so on?! Maybe in Wentzville; it's not that way in my neck of the woods. People are active; they take in live blues, jazz, rock, and classical; they take a long walk in the "not anything special" Park; they dig into the tomes at Wash U's or SLU's libraries... And, yeah, they go to the mall when they need to shop. Period. Portland, OR is breathtaking, absolutely. To deny that would be a worrisome sign and I would recommend that this misguided individual see one of my colleagues immediately. Seattle-Tacoma is an amazing metro area too. Oh, well. Life brought some of us here. And some of us, urbane, sophisticated people who have lived all over the country and the world and *gasp* visited the West and East Coast on multiple ocassions, still feel that STL is a wonderful city in countless ways.
Dr. Nick | University City, MO