Love Note #19: I'll Be Back

Name: Danielle Dagilis
I Am: English teacher, yogi, world traveler, Massachusetts native
Years in Rochester: Years? None. I spent 5 days there in July 2013.
Current Home: Los Angeles

Dear Rochester,

I really wasn't looking forward to meeting you. My childhood best friend went on and on about you over the years, but I took it with quite a few grains of salt. I figured she had to convince herself you were hot, since she was stuck with you. Imagine my surprise when I pretty much instantly feel in love with you last summer. From riding bikes to an outdoor concert by the river, to an amazing gym, to one of the best meals I've ever eaten at Good Luck, to a yoga class around the corner, I was like, "Wait, where am I?!?!?" The best part was when a mounted policeman strolled down the block at dusk, and kids and parents all rushed out to say hi to and take pictures with Comet the horse. Seriously?!? This happens? I love you, you hot little secret, Rochester! And I miss you all the time. Knowing you are the kind of girl who will forgive my misjudgment, I feel like you'll welcome me back next time, despite my little confession.

Love,
Danielle

Comet the Horse Visiting the Neighborhood 

Love Note #18: When I Come Home, I Am Filled With Warmth For This Region

Name: Joy Underhill

I Am: Business Writer

Years in Rochester: 56 years

Current Home: Farmington, NY

Dear Rochester,

You have been my home for almost my entire life, which is saying something. I have fended off complaints about weather, smugness, racial divisiveness, isolation, and a dead downtown for decades, and I’m still fighting. Because I know a little secret that many others know – that Rochester is a wonderful place to live, thrive, and raise a family.

Where else can you afford to buy a house with a decent yard, attend dozens of cultural events of the highest quality, enjoy waterfronts in every direction, and still be within a 6-hour drive of major East Coast cities? Right here.

I love to travel, but when I come home, I am filled with warmth for this region. Yes, life is slower, but that’s a good thing. I remember one time when I’d been to Long Island visiting my son, navigating the hazards of the Long Island Expressway and searching for parking at a mall for a half hour (not during Christmas). Pack so many people together and they’re bound to get testy. But on the way home, I stopped nearby for lunch, and it was like a breath of fresh air. The people smiled easily, were kinder, and simply enjoyed life more. 

To be more specific, here’s a short list of why I love Rochester:

• Historic brick buildings coupled with outstanding architecture, all reflected in water
• A thriving agricultural community that provides great access to fresh foods
• Top notch cultural and musical events – with NO traffic
• Heavy snowfalls that soften and muffle the landscape – and invite warm nights in front of the fire
• A huge variety of ethnic and specialty foods, prepared by first-generation immigrants
• Broad educational opportunities at several fine universities
• Some of the best healthcare anywhere

Of course, like any city, Rochester has its problems. But it’s gotten a bad rap, especially about the weather. Our “terrible weather” keeps us free of droughts, mudslides, wildfires, sandstorms, and tidal flooding – and returns to us maple syrup, lilacs, apples, grapes, and summer days that the snowbirds return for. I choose to measure my years by our glorious seasons, our proud history, and our determination to make Rochester an even better place to live for our children.

Love,

Joy

Love Note #17: Like Her Seasons, She is Fierce and Gentle

Name: Aaron Gallant

I am: President of the Monroe County Young Democrats and aide to Assemblyman Harry Bronson

Years in Rochester: 25, with a stint away to attend college at George Washington University

Current Home: Monroe Village

My Dearest Rochester,

As I write these words, I'm peering out my window onto your streets on a crystal clear February day.  Although the temperature is ice cold, the blazing white sun is melting the top layer of snow as dripping icicles gleam from the rooftops.  I remember all the beautiful times we've shared.  

Your seasons are what I love most of all.  I love your summers on top of Cobbs Hill with my friends from near and far away.  I love your autumns as I run through piles of leaves in the drizzling rain.  I love your springs as the warmth returns to our own little corner of the world.  And I love your winters -- at times both fierce and gentle on days like today.

I adore your neighborhoods, with many still to explore.  They reek of history, both good times and bad.  For centuries, they have been a cradle for those seeking justice and equality.  Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass are revered around the world, but with you, they were at home.

We've had our struggles, but I know that you will persevere.  Our neighbors rely on you just as you rely on them.  So let us redeem our spirits, and look forward to the good days that are still to come.

Love,

Aaron Gallant

Cobbs Hill Reservoir during a December run

Love Notes #16: Rochester, I Love You to Pizzas

         Name: Alex Fiorille

         I am: 21 years old, student at Bates College

         Years in Rochester: 10 (used to live in Pittsburgh)

         Current Home: Lewiston, ME

Rochester,

How wrong I was. As you have guessed, I have once again left you for another. You must think me cruel, but I was young—I am young, and privy to such indiscretions. Alas, Rochester, I have gone mad. I do not expect your forgiveness, your sympathy, or anything from you for that matter, for you have given me enough. I write to say I was wrong. For years I pushed you away, muttering the three syllables preceding the comma and the “NY.” For years I dreamed of anything but you.

But today, my mind’s eye is open. The lilacs waft amidst the sweat and hormones of my modernist prison, the inescapable cold is warmed by the meaty zest of hot sauce, and the frenetic migrations through Wegmans, so comforting, yet so distant. You are as complex as your history and as simple as the smell of stale coffee and cigarettes that roused me from slumber during sleepovers at Nana’s; jam and runny eggs.

And for some reason, I rejected you. And once I was away, I forgot you.

I have been meaning to write you for years. After a considerable amount of time away, something began to change in me. It began in my dining hall as I dipped my pizza into a dollop of bleu cheese. The looks of horror struck me as odd, and for the first time I felt the divide. Others began immediately assuming by “New York” I meant “Manhattan. Corrections were met with:

“Is that in Westchester?”

“How far are you from the city?”

“That’s like Buffalo, right?”

Wrong.

“What about Rochester?” What about the barbeque, the Buffalo wings, the festivals, the beer, the communities, and the great people inscribed into a picturesque landscape? What about Manhattan Square Park at Christmastime, 100.5 The Drive, and Pontillo’s slices with blue cheese? What about these “so-called-New Yorkers” who hadn’t seen 99% of their state let alone the Flower City?

Today, Rochester, I must live with my abandonment. But today, I assert my pride, drenching my pizza in bleu cheese. Today, I write you this long overdue love letter as an apology for my indiscretions. I will return to you in six weeks’ time, more appreciative than the last; however, I will leave you again. In my heart you shall always remain.

With the utmost admiration and love,

Alex Fiorille

The beloved Pontillo's Slice