tourist in your own town

People rarely visit their own towns. It's pretty obvious why we aren't tourists in our own town. But we really ought to be. Our own towns often have a lot more to offer than we give them credit for.

I'm actually pretty good at knowing "my own town". I definitely know Stockholm, probably on par with any travel or tourist guide. On the whole, I could probably stack up more knowledgeable than most guides. I may not get all the dates and historical names right, but I know what Stockholm has to offer and I've experienced it as a tourist, as a long term resident and as a guide.

I used to think I knew Boston. I have also been a resident and a guide. However, as a resident first, you tend to guide with prejudice. You stick to what you know and what you think is the best Boston has to offer.

I don't know if it's because I've been absent from Boston as a resident for so many years or if Boston has changed so much during that time, but I recently rediscovered this marvelous town and feel sad that I haven't and won't explore it more.

The visit of my Swedish niece and her Iowan boyfriend put me into the North End and Charlestown. I ate in one of those North End restaurants that everyone who visits Boston talks about. It was amazing. There was a surreal feeling for me as if I were part of a movie set rather than just a few miles away from my birthplace and childhood home. I was reminded how locally restricted Bostonians are when I was talking to the woman in the restaurant. She is probably the mama who owns and runs the restaurant and has probably lived her life in the North End. She might have moved to a nearby suburb when they got wealthier; probably Medford.

Telling her I had grown up in Watertown didn't seem to convey the sense of "from here" I had intended it to. I knew she knew of it, but I realized as I was saying it it probably had the same relevance as if I met someone who said they had grown up in Medford, i.e. --pretty much nothing besides the "not too far from here" but a world apart.

I was a tourist in my own town. I liked exploring it and expanding my horizons even if just a tad.

On reflection: I think I would have been a tourist in the North End even if I were still living in Boston.