As the saying used to go "you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl". Well, we made a little modification...you can take a girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can’t take the Pittsburgh out of the girl. As we grow older some of us decide that we want to go and travel the world while others decide to stay close to home. For those of us who decide to leave the city we got so used to calling home, well we will always take a piece of our city wherever we go. I don’t think that anyone can leave this city without taking a piece of it with him or her. There’s something about this city that makes it stick in our hearts. Maybe it’s the picture perfect landscape or the view from Mt. Washington. Maybe it’s even our own made up language that you have picked up from living around here for so long.
Regardless of where you end up, you will take something with you whether it’s rooting for the Penguins (especially if you find yourself in Philadelphia) or wearing black and gold because lets be honest that is a color combination you bleed. Maybe there is something that you are going to miss about having a chipped ham sandwich and/or Primanti’s at your convenience. Good luck trying to explain to someone what in the world chipped ham is. At that point you might just be better cutting your loses. You are always going to say, “pop” regardless of how ridiculous others think you sound because you were always taught it was “pop” not “soda”. That rubberband that you use to keep those papers together will always be a “gumband” since it is made from a gummy material. Depending on how much Pittsburghse your parents spoke; you will make two syllable words one. That shopping cart that people use is always going to be a buggy in your book. No fireworks will ever measure up to seeing Zambelli fireworks cascading off of the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the view of the city from standing inside PNC Park. Every time you ride the incline it bring back memories of your childhood and “The Strip” is a combination of words that will always remind you of amazing smells. As much as you might want to leave the city for whatever reason, these will be little things that will always remind you of “home”.
Wherever life takes you, you know that if you want to you can always return home. The sights and sound will always be here waiting for you. Maybe this time around you can enjoy the city in a different perspective. The city of bridges will always welcome you with open arms. You may leave Pittsburgh, but Pittsburgh will never leave you.
