PITTSBURGH
I’m going to admit something here. I didn’t always love Pittsburgh the way I do now. The shift from being the “I hate Pittsburgh!” idiot I was to the “Pittsburgh is the best place in the world!” Yinzer I am now was actually quite dramatic. It was an overnight change. I’m human enough to admit it. I was as wrong as wrong can be.
But, let me be 100% clear, I love this city!
Maybe it’s because I fell in love with a Pittsburgh girl. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know what I was talking about. Probably it’s both.
Actually it is both. But let’s just call it what is was: I didn’t have a damn clue what I was talking about.
Now before I pour my heart out, let me say that there was one thing Pittsburgh had that I always loved and will till the day I die: Penguins. Oh how I love the Penguins. Growing up in South Florida, hockey wasn’t something anyone followed down there. So when I discovered hockey and wanted a team to follow, the Penguins with the dynamic duo of Mario Lemieux (199 points in 88-89!) and Jaromir Jagr (4 straight scoring titles!) made the choice easy (the Panthers didn’t exist yet and while I did like them from their inception they never took the place of the Penguins in my heart). I’ve been a fan ever since and, well, they just made that choice easier as time went on. (Hi Sid! Just in case he ever reads this - a guy can hope, right?).
So back to it. Outside of the Penguins, I didn’t think Pittsburgh was anything but a dirty place that nobody liked. Admitedly, I let ignorance rule my thoughts on the City of Bridges and was fine with it. I used to say my favorite football teams were “The Washington Redskins and anybody playing the Steelers.” Before you lambast me on that, see some photos here. I bleed Black and Gold now and have even switched to being a Buccos fan (mildly because I am not really a baseball fan anymore).
It’s safe to say that I’ve learned some valuable lessons in the twelve years Jill and I have been together. All for the better.
After several trips to Pittsburgh for holidays with Jill’s family, a family reunion, and so many Steeler games (I married into a family of season ticket holders), Primanti’s, that awesome view coming through the Pitt Tunnels, and so many other gems, I instantly realized that not only was I completely misguided in my thoughts on all things Pittsburgh, I was, ashamedly, utterly clueless. Pittsburgh stole my heart in more ways than one and I am a better person for it. You can all thank the wonderful Pittsburgh girl I get the great fortune to share my life with.
For this reason, I am adding to my pages a love letter to Pittsburgh. You can find it here. It is a work in progress that will grow with time. There are a lot of reasons for this. First just because I want to. Second, I am gathering historical information on Pittsburgh in a single place. Especially anything prior to 1960.
Pittsburgh is a major setting for some of my upcoming work. In fact, alongside 1940’s Hollywood, Pittsburgh of the 40’s will find itself a major point of focus for many of the upcoming editions of Case Files of Miles Ward. So I’d like to gather as much information as I can.
If you happen to have great photos, awesome details, and any worthy stories of pre-1960’s Pittsburgh I’d love to hear from you. Click the contact me button up top if you’d like to share!