That Side of Town
I’m sorta perplexed. (I love that word. Can you tell? I get perplexed often, and there’s no word that even comes close to being precisely what I am as “perplexed.”)
Tucson has two Borders. One on one side of town, and another on another.
Every time I mention the one I usually go to, I get a sniff and a “that’s not my side of town.”
I don’t get it.
To me, this side of town looks nicer. The other does seem like it could have been nicer, years ago, but this one definitely seems nicer to me now.
I suppose in Cleveland, there was the West Side and the East Side. But here, the two don’t seem to be delineated in quite the same way. But then, I don’t really know Tucson that well.
And it’s funny: if you ask, people hem and haw. They explain “between the words.” I never get messages between the words. Just tell me like it is and we can deal with it. I hate all that hinting crap. It frustrates me, because I’d rather we just all talk about it.
Not that it’s a pet peeve or anything.
Does your town have two sides? What makes them different?
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
North and south. Sometimes east and west.
We have a part of town called “The Inner Circle”. I always thought that was the name of Hitler’s advisers.
Our town is dived along economic lines defined by which high school district you live in. Two are considered poor or lower middle class and two are rich or upper middle class.
My town only has one side – the snooty side. They don’t appreciate my being here.
my town is so small it barely has one side.
Our town doesn’t have two sides. But it does have a recently developed shopping section with big box stores that looks like it could be anywhere in the country. When we drive thru there or choose to shop down there, we say we are “going to America”
Hah! That’s hilarious!
Since I work in an affluent community but live in a middle-class one, when I go home I say I’m going to “The Dark Side”.
If people don’t have a straight-up reason for why they don’t go to that side of town, it means they’re sheep. Following their friends or family, doing what they’ve “always” done because that’s how its always been done… and since saying right out that “that side” isn’t good enough or isn’t cool enough would make them look like snobs, they just hint.
Also consider the person’s age as a factor. If they’re older/retired, that accounts for a lot of that kind of thought–elderly folks tend to like routine and the same place and the same seat in the restaurant… it’s comforting and secure and there really isn’t a reason.
I would choose your side of town.
Miss you.
Awwwww, Heather! *hugs*
In Detroit, we divide them up this way- places where the buildings are intact but falling down, and places where the buildings have been burned to gritty, clumped fragments of carbonized concrete.
It’s a happy place.
Hilarious! LOL!