Just wanted to give a head’s up to my readers. Now that I’ve been here a while, I have two followings; those who knew me before I moved to Dubuque, and those who knew me after.
I wanted to share the Dubuque Street site with you. If you’re from Dubuque, you’ll enjoy the stories of residents, their struggles and successes, their foibles and and strengths. There’s something to reading a piece and putting your hand up to your mouth, your heart, and getting it. Relating, or just knowing, having witnessed something like that in your time here. The recognition of the unique community we have.
For those of you who knew me back in Brooklyn, it’s good to see where I am. What kind of people are here. It’s not a dull backwaters of corn-eating, pig raising farmers. We have culture, we have characters, we have heart. I always recognize two things in my life. One, the Brooklyn I miss is not the Brooklyn I left. The Brooklyn I miss is long gone. The place where we played on the street and went to get ice cream and our neighbors had regular jobs and sometimes things were tight and sometimes things were a bit nicer but we were all in it together. That’s gone, now I see a huge divide between the haves, and the have nots. The second thing is Dubuque is closer to the Brooklyn I miss. There are snow cones, which are almost as good as Italian ices. There are pool parties, and good food, and people saying hi. There’s working class here. Office jobs and blue collar jobs and “whatever you can get” jobs. You don’t feel like you have to compete with multi-millionaires, with bankers and lawyers who will sell their mother for a Rolls. Nor do you feel like there is no hope at all. At our worst here, I still had hope. You could usually find a meal in Dubuque, if needed. Dubuque has neighbors. I like that.
So for those who knew me back in Brooklyn, take a peek at Dubuque Street site. You’ll see I’m in good hands. It’s not dull here. It’s not cutthroat, not like it started to get when I left. There are some characters, some sad stories. Lots to be done. But the people are REAL, and that’s something that I was starting to miss from my life. I loved my circle, I loved my friends and family, but it seemed like it was shrinking. So Dubuque is the “Brooklyn I miss” and there is no way I am leaving. Read, and you will see why.
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