The City of Brotherly (Sisterly) Love

Sometime in each of our lives, we end up going somewhere without much expectation. And when we arrive, we find that the desination offers alot more than we anticipated, and in fact, would be worthy of future visits. The city of Philadelphia is like that for me. I went on several business trips there, but have not made it back for fun yet. I think it was W.C. Fields who said that he spent a week in Philly last weekend!!!

Philly boasts several famous people: Dr. Andrew Weil, Andrew Wyeth, Alexander Calder, William Wrigley, Bill Cosby, John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Andre Watts, Paul Robeson, Dick Clark, James Darren, Frankie Avalon, and a host of American pioneers and businessmen.

I was asked to do a consulting project for a company outside of Philly one winter. I remember it was one of the first times I used my wool overcoat, and a pair of leather gloves. I was in store for a busy work week, and some fun filled evenings with some people I met.

My client put me in the Hilton, and told me not to rent a car, that he would take care of all of my transportation. He picked me up the first thing Monday morning, and off we went to this huge insurance building in a suburb of Philly. I won't bore you with the work portion of this trip. But the first night, he insisted on taking me to dinner. But first, I had to have one of those famous Philly cheesesteaks for lunch. Let it be said now and forever, that the Philly Cheesesteak cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.

The thinly sliced beef, done to perfection, with grilled onions, melted cheese, and just enough peppers to make it interesting. The lightly grilled bun tops it off. It was my first Philly, and never have I had one so good. It was in the cafeteria of the insurance company. All the guys that I ate with said it was the best Philly cheesesteak in the entire City. I would later amend that to include the entire world.

The second day, I was ready for a little more fun. The executive assistant to the President of the company asked me if I wanted to join them for an evening of food and drink. Absolutely, positively, YES. I do not remember where we went. But I did remember that American Bandstand started here. And that my friends back home told me that the young women in Philly were attractive, and good dancers. It turned out to be so true. The main processing floor must have housed 300 women under the age of 30.

I cannot recall where we ate, but I think it was a place in the old part of downtown, not far from the famous landmarks. From there, since I had the expense account, we went to a fancy hotel for some after dinner drink(s). Then we found a band at a nearby club, and danced the night away. She brought her husband, and another friend. These people are tireless, and do not care about how they feel the next day at work. I arrived for work on Wednesday with no sleep, and a big hangover.

I decided I needed a day off from the partying. So, I talked one of the VP's into taking me to a 76'ers game, so I could see the famous Julius "Dr. J" Erving play. I did not know what to expect, but the food at the game was terrific. And the fans in Philly went crazy every time Dr. J dunked the ball. I have never seen anything like it before or since. The East coast has the best basketball fans, maybe because they are couped up all winter and need something to distract them.

The next day, the guys took me to a few of the national historic landmarks, like the Liberty Bell during an extended lunch downtown. I needed a break from sitting in an insurance office building all day long. We went by the Franklin Institute, but did not have time to go in. I also saw City Hall where Rocky made his famous dance. But, guess what? I ended up back with the gang of trouble that night, my last in the City of Brotherly Love.

I lost track of where we went that night from the start. We went out to the country to have dinner. Then back to the City for a disco, and a few night clubs. Toby, their friend who they brought along, was headed to the Israeli army. If you could have seen her, it would come as a big shock. A very attractive, bright, young lady, joining an army that means certain combat. After that revelation, I sobered up quickly.

My final day there was a blur. It went by too quickly, as we wrapped things up for the week. I needed to get out of there while I still had a healthy liver, and eyes that returned to a normal white color. But I had to have one last Philly cheesesteak in the cafeteria. Little did I know that would be the last great cheesesteak for the foresseable future.

I did return a few times for other reasons. The Bob Evans restaurants are a good place to have breakfast. The must have is the scrapple. I will let you decide for yourself. Downey's and Finnigan's are two pubs worth visiting, for obvious reasons. Old City and Penn's Landing are also worth an afternoon or evening. The city has a large Italian and Irish flavor as well, but be prepared. They serve large portions of food. I went to a Dan Fogelberg concert there in the 80's. But I couldn't talk my hosts into having lunch at the insurance company cafeteria. They insisted their favorite place was better. No way, Benjamin Franklin.

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