Kendall Kirby started a firestorm with a post on East Boston that will appear later in our list. She’s thrilled to be so high up in the rankings by the way.
In response, Eastie resident and fantastic writer wrote an ode to his favorite (and one of ONEin3′s favorite) neighborhood of East Boston called Home Sweet Eastie.
The original with comments and all the photos is on the old wordpress site here.
Here is the piece in full:
Home, Sweet Eastie
by Steve Holt
I’m not a lifelong East Boston resident. Far from it.
In only about four years, though, I’ve grown to cherish my neighborhood. It’s become a part of my identity. It’s my home.
Much ink has been spilled on what constitutes home. Some claim that home can be captured solely in the framework of physical place. A few even still hold to the 1950s ideal of home as white picket fence, lush yard, 2.5 kids, and a dog – and closeness to one’s family of origin.
But “settling down” looks quite different for the one-in-three generation than it did for our parents. To me, home has become both less about an American Dreamlike lifestyle or even my family of origin and more of a place or situation that allow me to discover and be myself, with no pretenses. Somewhere I can let my hair down, metaphorically. A scenario in which I am able to take off my mask. To be seen and accepted for who I really am.
In this way particularly, East Boston is home. As a neighborhood, Eastie isn’t trying to be anything it isn’t, and generally speaking, even the young people who have moved in the last 10 years aren’t on a quest to turn Eastie into Charlestown or the South End. That’s because we recognize that East Boston already offers the truly important stuff: family, neighbors that care, diversity, and vibrant spaces to gather.
