Missing Philly
I Love Las Vegas where I have lived for over a decade. I sometime joke that I have neon running through my veins. :/ But like many or most Las Vegans, I am from somewhere else. I was born and raised in Florida, but it Philadelphia my first home as an adult for 9 years, that I will always consider home.
So Today, Pennsylvania was called for President elect Biden putting him over the top. Celebration broke out in many places throughout the country. As I watched dancing in the streets in Philly, I missed my home town dearly. It was the kind of event I would have been part of not because support for any candidate, but just being experiencing the historical moment. As I watched the celebration outside the Convention Center at 12th and Arch at the door of The Reading Terminal, thoughts of some of my favorite food stands inside, my thoughts went back to the delicious brownies at Le Bus bakery and the soft, warm chocolate cookies at The Second Street Cookie company. And who can forget the cheesesteaks from Tony Luke's. Yummy.
And speaking of cheesesteaks, I saw a woman, quite a bit on the chunky side, dancing in the street with a shirt that read "Body by cheesesteak". LOL.
Just missing Philly on this historical day.
While I wouldn’t consider myself well traveled, I’ve been to most regions of the US.
I can’t imagine why I’d want to live anywhere else.
Quote: kewljDamn dudes....stop hating.
I will admit, all the northeast that I’ve been to other than perhaps New England are my least favorite places in the US and I dislike all their cities equally. I’m definitely a northeast hater. And I will not stop hating on Philadelphia, regardless of how many people have nice things to say about it. The best part is the view when you fly out. Oh and the airport is complete trash and old as dirt, I guess like most of the city then.
Quote: DeMangoWC Fields had the best lines, maybe somebody can pull it up. Something about a sweepstakes and the winner getting a trip to Philly. Not an endorsement of the city and that was 80 years ago.
First prize was a week in Philadelphia. Second prize was two weeks.
He also said about Philadelphia, "I spent a week there one night."
Quote: kewljDamn dudes....stop hating.
Don’t forget throwing snowballs at Santa!!
Or the guy that punched the police horse after Eagles won Super Bowl.Quote: DeMangoDon’t forget throwing snowballs at Santa!!
If you don't like history, It loses a bit but for a student of history, it's great
Quote: ThatDonGuyHe also said about Philadelphia, "I spent a week there one night."
I thought that joke was about Cleveland.
Quote: WizardI thought that joke was about Cleveland.
Philly and Cleveland are equally bad.
people rarely live in cities they live in neighborhoods of cities... major differences.
Quote: DRichPhilly and Cleveland are equally bad.
Hmmm... Are you from Vegas? WoV posts in another thread commented about a MONSTER surge in crime in Las Vegas. Just be sure you're sitting down when the crime-news search results appear.
Several blocks from my home was the city end of the Schuylkill River bike trail, which obviously ran along the Schuylkill River, past the Art Museum, 30 miles to Valley Forge Park through numerous suburban towns. I used to make that ride on average twice a week both on bike and rollerblades, usually stopping off at one of the cafe's in Manayunk for lunch.
People a bit harsh, as per their reputation? Sure I guess. But overall, as an 18 year old who showed up in the city not knowing a single person, I found the city very welcoming and made many friends that I remain close to a decade after moving away.
As per sports...hell yes, Philadelphians are passionate about their sports teams. I was an Eagles season ticket holder for 5 years. Throwing snowballs at Santa? Before my time, but he was probably a Giants fan. Lol. And that horse in the parade too. It is my understanding that horse had something negative to say about Nick Foles. :/
Quote: kewlj
As per sports...hell yes, Philadelphians are passionate about their sports teams. I was an Eagles season ticket holder for 5 years. Throwing snowballs at Santa? Before my time, but he was probably a Giants fan. Lol. And that horse in the parade too. It is my understanding that horse had something negative to say about Nick Foles. :/
Late 80s in NJ visiting sister week or so before Christmas ...brother in law offers up his two season tickets to me and my brother to attend the Flyers game.... we couldn’t believe it when they boooed SANTA Claus off the ice .
Now 1985 July 13 JFK was the place to be from 9 am till midnight what a party
Quote: SandybestdogOver the past 2 years I have spent a bit of time in the Philly/Chester areas. I would get hotels and temporary living for several stretches at a time. I live in the DC suburbs for my whole life. Perhaps I didn’t fully get the culture or something but I find the area as perhaps the worst place I’ve ever been to. To each his own but I would never choose to live there. Most of all I found the people to be the most rude and laziest souls on the planet. You walk in to a McDonalds and literally can’t get anything to eat because nobody cares about anything. Most of you know what it’s like to be kicked out of a casino. Well I was surrounded by 3 security guards and escorted out of a Walmart. I always laugh when I walk by that poster that says “the real taste of South Philly” in Tropicana at the cheese steak place. The real South Philly is a place I would never want to go to. I will say perhaps my opinion may be influenced by the fact that I generally don’t like the big city life. I don’t like traffic, paying for parking, or having to ask for the key to the bathroom. If you had to pick a place with concentrated casinos, I would pick Biloxi over AC any day. The more time I spend away from home, the more I like the suburbs where I live.
What was the reason you were escorted out if Walmart?
Quote: LuckyPhowHmmm... Are you from Vegas? WoV posts in another thread commented about a MONSTER surge in crime in Las Vegas. Just be sure you're sitting down when the crime-news search results appear.
I live in Las Vegas now but I grew up in Cleveland. Yes, Las Vegas is going through a crime spree ever since the casinos opened back up. The dirt cheap prices on the strip have brought in a bad element that usually can't afford to stay on the strip.
Quote: DeMangoFun thread!
Fun Posters!
Quote: SandybestdogOver the past 2 years I have spent a bit of time in the Philly/Chester areas. I would get hotels and temporary living for several stretches at a time. I live in the DC suburbs for my whole life. Perhaps I didn’t fully get the culture or something but I find the area as perhaps the worst place I’ve ever been to. To each his own but I would never choose to live there. Most of all I found the people to be the most rude and laziest souls on the planet. You walk in to a McDonalds and literally can’t get anything to eat because nobody cares about anything. Most of you know what it’s like to be kicked out of a casino. Well I was surrounded by 3 security guards and escorted out of a Walmart. I always laugh when I walk by that poster that says “the real taste of South Philly” in Tropicana at the cheese steak place. The real South Philly is a place I would never want to go to. I will say perhaps my opinion may be influenced by the fact that I generally don’t like the big city life. I don’t like traffic, paying for parking, or having to ask for the key to the bathroom. If you had to pick a place with concentrated casinos, I would pick Biloxi over AC any day. The more time I spend away from home, the more I like the suburbs where I live.
I haven't been there in decades, but Philly's "Badlands" is the worst, most dangerous urban ghetto I have ever seen. Look it up. It's notorious. Now Harrisburg (PA) has a couple of blocks called "The Hill," and that's rough, but The Badlands is like a hundred times the size, so it gets my award for scariest place. Way worse than LA or Harlem. Hell, Harlem is nice.
Quote: redietz
I haven't been there in decades, but Philly's "Badlands" is the worst, most dangerous urban ghetto I have ever seen. Look it up. It's notorious.
OMG, I thought about mentioning the badlands but didn't want to fuel the negative narrative here. Look major urban areas all have bad sections.
So my badlands experience. Just after I moved to Philly, I had a friend I met at work (I was 19 so before my blackjack days) who lived in the Fishtown section of Philly. Fishtown actually starts where Sugar House Casino is and runs north along the Delaware River. It is a very working class area. Lots of rowhomes. So one day while i was at his house (he lived at home), we went to the "the badlands" to buy some weed. Officially badland is an area between Kensington to North Philly. Both those areas, Kensington and North Philly are rough, but the badlands...wow.!! It looked like a war zone. Scariest place I have ever been. I never went back there.
I went to Camden i the mid 90s ,I Told the guy I was with
OMG this is the scariest ghetto I’ve ever seen.
He laughed and said that was the nice part of Camden.
Quote: HunterhillHow do the badlands compare to Camden?
I went to Camden i the mid 90s ,I Told the guy I was with
OMG this is the scariest ghetto I’ve ever seen.
He laughed and said that was the nice part of Camden.
I can't speak to Camden in the 90's...that was before my time. But 2000-2009 Camden seemed ok to me. I used to ride my bike across the Ben Franklin Bridge to the Camden water front several times a year. Nice Aquarium, single A minor league baseball stadium. Bad players, but cheap beer and a fun time. Rutgers had a campus there that was pretty nice as well. Probably some bad parts of town that I wasn't familiar with and had no reason to go to.
But comparing the Camden I saw to the badlands...no comparison. The badlands were burned out buildings, rubble, few businesses that were open....maybe a corner store selling cigarettes and liquor, with employees behind bullet proof glass. Lots of drugs, prostitutes and shady people popping out of the shadows. The kind of place even the police vacate after dark.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=badlands+philly&docid=608021168843001015&mid=9E040AC35E02DC6F90319E040AC35E02DC6F9031&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
if I were to ign up at some weird jjjutrisdiction casino would t get reported to the IRS ?
I would the band to think people ijn bad areas don't recoogñize va!I'd authkorhities .
Quote: DeMangoCome to think of it, I do miss South Philly girls down on the South Jersey Shore. They were legendary.
You know the Jersey Shore thing is one of those Philly things I didn't get to experience. :( I spent a good part of 5 years in Atlantic City, but that was for blackjack/gambling purposes. And I did two Irish weekends in Wildwood in September a couple years, but that was about drinking. I never got to do the young Philly people hanging out in Wildwood or Ocean City all summer. But then again, my teenage years (live at home) didn't take place in Philly. By the time I got to Philly, I had to get a job and support myself.
Quote: kewljYou know the Jersey Shore thing is one of those Philly things I didn't get to experience. :( I spent a good part of 5 years in Atlantic City, but that was for blackjack/gambling purposes. And I did two Irish weekends in Wildwood in September a couple years, but that was about drinking. I never got to do the young Philly people hanging out in Wildwood or Ocean City all summer. But then again, my teenage years (live at home) didn't take place in Philly. By the time I got to Philly, I had to get a job and support myself.
Despite still spending a ton of time in AC/Ventnor, I was never a huge fan of the Jersey Shore. You might have liked Rehoboth Beach DE....I am 100% heterosexual but always had a good time at the gay bars there.
Quote: gamerfreakDespite still spending a ton of time in AC/Ventnor, I was never a huge fan of the Jersey Shore. You might have liked Rehoboth Beach DE....I am 100% heterosexual but always had a good time at the gay bars there.
Why do you say 100% heterosexual? Is there 98% heterosexual? 94%? Is that into Bisexual territory? lol I am just playing with you.
People on these gambling boards, seem to have stereotyped me. I AM gay. I long ago decided I wouldn't deny, or run from that. But that doesn't define me (except on these forums I guess). I am a huge sports guy. Played sports (not tennis....not that there is anything wrong with that) in high school. Still play a lot of sports on weekends. And am a huge sports fan, especially Eagles and Villanova basketball. I drink beer, not wine. I don't like shopping. I don't particularly like musicals, although I did enjoy "best little whorehouse in Texas". I thought that was funny and enjoyable.
I did the gay bar scene in Philly and occasionally visit one here in Vegas, but it is not my favorite scene. I would much rather sit at a sports bar for a couple hours watching a game with a couple friends (the 100% straight kind. LOL).
So that out of the way, one of the bartenders from the bar I frequented in Phila, a straight sports bar, and this guy is very straight, so his family owned a house in Rehoboth, that he and his adult siblings shared on weekends. And he used to talk about hanging out in the gay bars in Rehoboth with his straight friends, male and female, even the female that he was with that weekend. I guess the gay bars are kind of mainstream there? Is that right?
Quote: kewljI don't particularly like musicals, although I did enjoy "best little whorehouse in Texas". I thought that was funny and enjoyable.
We all know you love drama though lol
Quote: mcallister3200We all know you love drama though lol
I don't necessarily agree, but I'll give you credit for that one and I suspect most people would agree with you. lol
Quote: kewljWhy do you say 100% heterosexual? Is there 98% heterosexual? 94%?
I’d say a married guy who tried gay stuff once and didn’t like it is somewhere in the range of 94% heterosexual.
Quote: kewljPeople on these gambling boards, seem to have stereotyped me. I AM gay. I long ago decided I wouldn't deny, or run from that. But that doesn't define me (except on these forums I guess).
I figured you were not the parade type.
Quote: kewljI am a huge sports guy. Played sports (not tennis....not that there is anything wrong with that) in high school. Still play a lot of sports on weekends. And am a huge sports fan, especially Eagles and Villanova basketball. I drink beer, not wine. I don't like shopping. I don't particularly like musicals, although I did enjoy "best little whorehouse in Texas". I thought that was funny and enjoyable.
I can’t stand sports, but musicals are fantastic.
Quote: kewljSo that out of the way, one of the bartenders from the bar I frequented in Phila, a straight sports bar, and this guy is very straight, so his family owned a house in Rehoboth, that he and his adult siblings shared on weekends. And he used to talk about hanging out in the gay bars in Rehoboth with his straight friends, male and female, even the female that he was with that weekend. I guess the gay bars are kind of mainstream there? Is that right?
The bars we went to were pretty tame. Everyone dressed normal, not much PDA or provocative dancing. Seemed like a lot of wealthier gay people.
I always went with my girlfriend and other friends with their wives. It was presumably obvious we were all straight so no one ever got hit on, but the staff was welcoming and the patrons were always super friendly and conversational.
Hehe!! can't say. Let's just say I was I was using a product of theirs and minding my own business and not doing anything illegal, against their rules, unethical or being a nuisance whatsoever. Occasionally I would need assistance and would ask extremely nicely. Most times different managers were never helpful. I would usually let's just say leave the store and leave the situation in a state where another customer would have to ask for help and they may be more inclined to help them instead of me. Over the course of a few months I suppose the main manager saw me one too many times even if I didn't ask him for anything and just decided to kick me out. This wasn't an every day thing, couple times a week.Quote: HunterhillWhat was the reason you were escorted out if Walmart?
So that could be classified as us being kinky-misogynist or progressive or whatever, but I don't think we really cared that people saw us going into a club on gay night. In our minds, we were just doing a kind of Howard Stern thing -- go drink good drinks and watch lesbians dance. Nothing wrong with that.
Quote: DRichI was in Key West this week and my wife dragged me into a bar that was having a drag queen show. All I can say is that the drinks were good.
The last time I was in Key West was with my late friend, John, who looked like a younger version of Meat Loaf. Anyway, we drove all night from Jacksonville, straight through to Key West, and arrived a little haggard, looking like bad guys from Miami Vice. So got there on a Sunday morning, and sat down in one of two bars alleged to be Hemingway's hangout. Guys kept coming to our table and volunteering to show us to the restrooms. It got old. Sunday morning in Key West, man. I'd hate to see Saturday night.
That place is expensive. Hope you had a good time!
Quote: redietzThe last time I was in Key West was with my late friend, John, who looked like a younger version of Meat Loaf. Anyway, we drove all night from Jacksonville, straight through to Key West, and arrived a little haggard, looking like bad guys from Miami Vice. So got there on a Sunday morning, and sat down in one of two bars alleged to be Hemingway's hangout. Guys kept coming to our table and volunteering to show us to the restrooms. It got old. Sunday morning in Key West, man. I'd hate to see Saturday night.
That place is expensive. Hope you had a good time!
It was an okay time. The sun barely came out as we were there as tropical storm ETA was hitting. Fortunately if barely hit Key West and did most of its damage to the north. We only got about one hour of sun in four days.
