Talking Us Up - 100 Reasons I Love Peekskill - Post 94

Talking Us Up. It’s so nice to be back in Peekskill. (I’m finally really back – not jump-on-a-plane-again-on-Tuesday back.) I've been traveling a lot lately. I made two trips to China over the summer. In just the last month I've participated in events in Canada, Los Angeles and Boston.  On my days at home I was so busy with clients I hardly got out. I've really missed Peekskill! But I'm happily back now, gradually reconnecting with my local friends and haunts.

When I travel and make new friends, they always ask where I live. Before moving to Peekskill, I would simply say, "Just outside of NYC.” Sometimes I’d add, “I can be in Manhattan in ten minutes." That was pretty much all I could say for my NJ neighborhood. That and, “I have a nice view of the city.”

Now, though, there must be something in the way I answer, “Peekskill, New York.” (In China I encountered puzzlement that an American city’s name contained the word, “kill.” I explained that its namesake was a Dutchman named “Peek” and the Dutch word for stream is “kill.”)  If eyebrows go up, I launch into my little proud speech about being part of an artist community in our beautiful location in the high hills overlooking the Hudson River. I tell them how I can walk down the hill to the train station and be in NYC in an hour or Montreal that night. How I run into friends every time I step out my door. How I don’t drive for days at a time, because I can walk to the bank, p.o., grocery store, library, galleries, music venues and more than a dozen good restaurants.  How everyone on the street says hello. How I always have to allow extra time to get where I’m going because of the inevitable impromptu street meet & greet.

I’m afraid I do tend to go on. Some people, fascinated, are practically ready to pack up and move here. As others glaze over, I realize I can verge on seeming over-zealous. But that also shows me how passionate I still am, after three and a half years, to be living in Peekskill.

That’s a nice part of being away. I have new appreciation for what I have here. When I walked into my loft after several weeks in China, I was newly astonished by the size and beautiful layout of my studio. I’m so grateful to be here. And so happy to be back.