Originally Posted by darpizza

I was born & bred in this City. I grew up with dirty, pot holed streets, smoke & smog filled the air, streams, creeks & the rivers were so dirty you couldn't fish let alone swim in them,in a neighborhood that only saw a politician when election day was near.
Still the people were friendly, if there was a dispute they settled it, sometimes with a donnybrook, yet always ending with a handshake. I have seen the ethnic changes in many areas of our City and listened to the talk how it was going to ruin this or that, but the City has grown and prospered.
The new people are just as friendly as the old; once one gets past ideologies we are raised with. The streets are cleaner, pot holes for the most part are repaired within days. The politicians still visit our neighborhood on rare occassions. But I have to give Frank Rizzo and Angel Cruz their due both have responded to my requests quickly and efficiently. I can't say the same for Marge Tartaglione even though like her I am handicapped; when I went to her for assistance on acquiring a handicapped parking permit I was told to come back another time.
Yes, we have problems in our City of close to 2 million people. But these too have lessened. Commissioner Ramsey is working on two fronts; the crime problem & police abuse successfully.

When I want to know how our City is I look around me, I see kids going to school cheerfully and dressed in a more proper way. I see hardworking men & women up and out every day, yet they still have the time to stop and chat. I see neighbors who gather to discuss various area problems and settle on a legal course of action. I see the rivers & streams becoming so clean the varieties of fish have increased. I see vitality in the step of our citizens and determination in the faces of our youth.
Yes there are some who try to use our corners for drugs, others who use the street for a repair garage or used car sale lot and some who fill their dumpsters till the rubbish scatters up & down the street but these are all discouraged. I know a more aggressive anti-littering campaign needs to be implemented where both adults and children can be taught the importance of holding onto the trash until you can place it in a receptacle.
I don't look at the pollsters or their results. Most of them have skewed their questions to get the answer they have been hired for.
ie: answer wanted: People don't eat apples
their Question: 'How many green apples do you eat a day?'
possibile answers, You don't eat apples (none) or You don't eat apples everday (none)and when you do eat apples they are generally the most common the red apple not green (none).
Poll result: 99% of the public doesn't eat apples.
Yeah for the orange, grapefruit, blueberry, strawberry, cranberry, banana and all the other fruit industries.
My forefathers were raised here, I have raised my children here and they in turn are raising my grandchildren here. Philadelphia is aptly named the City of Brotherly Love.