Touring Utica

Utica, N.Y., is a nasty, run-down old city that has almost nothing to offer. Once a place of proud and productive industry, Utica fell apart years ago when the mines stopped producing and the government of the town failed to keep other businesses afloat. The town now sits, a bloated ghost town, abandoned buildings lining streets created for traffic that isn't there. \nI decided to visit Utica because a buddy of mine was having his 21st birthday, and I wanted to celebrate -- not to mention get out of Washington, D.C. for a while. I ended up taking a series of Greyhound buses and spending 12 hours sitting next to increasingly disturbing people. \nMy first impressions of Utica were not fantastic, given that its children's museum's big claim to fame is that it's currently featuring the International Halls of Fame for Bicycling, Canoeing, Kayaking and Rowing, but I figured I'd give this has-been of a town a chance. \nAs it turns out, Utica is a pretty small world. Residents can't really go anywhere without running into someone they know and having polite conversation -- usually in a singsong, quasi-Canadian accent that harks of Minnesota. \nThis accent isn't too surprising given restaurants and hardware stores in nearby towns display Canadian flags. Down along the Mexican border, this type of dual-nationalism would be considered downright anti-American, but the friendly people here have no qualms with our neighbor to the north and seem much too nice to get all worked up. \nLow mountains roll in the northern backdrop of the city, with beautiful rivers and tall pines running alongside the roads and under bridges, attracting rafters, hunters and fishermen onto the trails. \nUpstate New Yorkers love their baseball, and I ended up going to two games of the local championship. This year, the New Hartford team ended up winning the series 2-1 and bringing an immeasurable amount of pride to its families and community. To these people, this game mattered.\nI'm surprised to say that I was sad to leave Utica and return to Washington. That may sound strange because Washington is a huge, bustling city with things to do and places to see. It's true that Washington is better than put-out old Utica, and bests it in nearly every single category that you can think of except one: the people. \nIn the District, nobody really gives a damn about anyone else. You don't get to know your neighbor and you sure as hell don't trust them. Washington doesn't care whether you're happy or sad, sick or healthy, alive or dead. In a teeming metropolis, you become a statistic the second you enter city limits. \nBut not in Utica. Not in a small town. People care. Families care. Real America and real people live out there, a twelve hour bus ride from the nation's capital. \nI never knew how small-town I was until I saw that under the power suits there are just people without real homes.