Over the winter, spring, summer and fall break visits I have made to St. Louis throughout the years, I have learned that I can appreciate a few things about this city (if you even want to call it a metropolis).
1 - the rap and hip hop music. Maybe it's a dirty south thing (wait, what region of rap is STL in??). Call me a traitor to Chocolate City but, for whatever reason, the music selection out in Da Lou is much better - I'm hearing rappers and songs I had never even known of back in DC. I definitely pick up a ghetto fabulous musical edumacation listening to the radio in my parents' Grand Cherokee while driving through the area's multimillion dollar suburban developments.
2 - the sports teams. I grew up in Baltimore, but I couldn't give you the name of one Ravens' team player. During my visits to STL, a lot of the kids I'd hang out with followed the Cards, Rams or Blues, so I couldn't help but to pick up some spirit. Come to think of it, I've been to more Cards games than O's games. Not that I really give a shit about sports these days, but STL sports fans are definitely more serious than Bmore sports fans, and I can respect that.
3 - the number of fast food/restaurant chains within a 10-minute drive. If it wasn't for the home cooking I get when visiting STL, I would eat out (and consequently adopt the round shape of the midwesterners in this state) every single day. The selection is definitely not as complete in Rockville or even DC. We're talking Arby's, KFC, Wendy's, McD's, Burger King, Lion's Choice, White Castle, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Del Taco, Sonic, Dairy Queen, Long John Silver's, Olive Garden and, my childhood fave: Outback Steakhouse. Yes, I can definitely appreciate the need for fast food in this town. Eat on, peoples!
4 - the elaborate, state-of-the-art gym my family belongs to. Umm....not much else to do while I'm in town, so I do appreciate the opportunity to work out and proudly don my Maryland t-shirts (or soak up rays at their pool during the warm months).
5 - I can easily gamble if I want to, and I don't have to drive to AC or fly to Vegas to do it. I've only taken advantage of this twice, and the other gamblers were mostly miserable husbands, passing-through truckers, or transvestites.
6 - people are nice. They smile at you and shit. At first, it freaks me out but I eventually shed my east-coast hardness and smile back.
7 - talking about politics is considered boring. Here, the first topic of conversation isn't about the Hill, the elections, or George Bush. Most of the people in this area are apathetic to politics (or at least not obsessed with discussing it), and that can be a nice break from the stuffy politicos in DC.
8 - if I were a kid, I'd have a lot of places to go to. Bowling alleys, movie theaters, magic houses, science museums, petting zoos, water parks, butterfly houses, go-karting, mini-golfing, skiing, ice-skating, etc. Not to sound like a freaking travel brochure, but you can't go wrong with raising kids in this town. It's almost as if the city of St. Louis made an effort to distract kids and pre-teens from doing otherwise deviant things, such as the glue-sniffing and premature beer-drinking I mentioned before. Not a parent yet, but I can appreciate the family-friendliness.
9 - gas is cheap. Always, ALWAYS, a good 20 cents per gallon cheaper than what I pay back east.
I've ragged on STL a lot from day one. It wasn't my choice to have this city be a part of my life permanently - I still have a rough time calling it "home" since I never grew up here or went to school here. My parents moved to STL after retirement (when most people go to Cali or Florida, dammit) and I really didn't have a say in their decision. But I had been coming here on breaks long before to visit my sister, who constantly defends her St. Louis pride, and I felt it was time to repay this godforsaken town with this post. You've come a long way in terms of civilization, STL. This is my way of making peace. Salute.
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