Pittsburgh and Perks: What I love about being from Pittsburgh and Stephen Chbosky’s Novel

There’s something about that tunnel that leads to downtown. It’s glorious at night. Just glorious. You start on one side of the mountain, and it’s dark, and the radio is loud. As you enter the tunnel, the wind gets sucked away, and you squint from the lights overhead. When you adjust to the lights, you can see the other side in the distance just as the sound of the radio fades because the waves just can’t reach. Then, you’re in the middle of the tunnel, and everything becomes a calm dream. As you see the opening get closer, you just can’t get there fast enough. And finally, just when you think you’ll never get there, you see the opening right in front of you. And the radio comes back even louder than you remember it. And the wind is waiting. And you fly out of the tunnel onto the bridge. And there it is. The city. A million lights and buildings and everything seems as exciting as the first time you saw it. It really is a grand entrance.~ The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I’ve done that.  What that quote up there talks about.  I’ve gone on drives with my friends for the sole purpose of driving through the tunnels to see the city on the other side.  Windows down, Radio up.  Usually Lady Gaga playing or some other contemporary that we all identify with.  It really is a grand entrance.  Absolutely nothing like it in the world.  I’ve been to cities all over the place- Boston, London, Philadelphia.  And though I plan on leaving this city in a few short years to settle down somewhere else (hopefully in the UK), Pittsburgh will always be home and that view will always have my heart.

Continue reading