Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
A couple days ago, Barstool Chief had the following take on Dog Walk. The Dog Walk on Twitter: “What did Connecticut do to you? @BarstoolChief https://t.co/xI64wOJdlO” / Twitter The TLDR […]
A couple days ago, Barstool Chief had the following take on Dog Walk.
The TLDR if you don’t want to watch the whole clip or listen to the podcast is that Chief thinks that Connecticut as a state sucks and the only good thing about it is its Pizza.
On the surface. This is not a bad take at all. I say this as someone who currently lives in Connecticut, grew up in Connecticut, and will probably be there for the rest of my life because my fiancée never wants to leave (still love you Em). Connecticut is not my first choice to settle down. I have been a Northeast sheltered boy my life having lived in Boston and New Rochelle, NY, but I do consider myself fairly well versed in different parts of the United States. I have had jobs that have allowed me to travel to different places, see different cities, cultures and people. I am no travel connoisseur, but I am also not like a Long Island Boy who doesn’t know anything besides what’s around the corner.
So Chief’s this take, I somewhat agree with it. I understand it. I get it. I maybe don’t agree 100% with it, but who are we to agree on everything?
But then I saw this tweet this morning.
I fucking live in Norwalk now. I grew up in Southbury. Chief and I have basically had the same fucking life. We have seen the same things. We have visited the same places. We have hit the same shitty spots on traffic on Interstate 84 and 95. (For the record, I have matured and now think that I95 is worse than I84.).
I can take the bashing of Connecticut. I get it. We are the middle child of the two most testosterone filled states in the Northeast, New York and Massachusetts. Connecticut is the rope in the sports tug-of-war. You land on one side of the aisle or you don’t, and if you are the Red Sox/Jets, Red Sox/Giants, Patriots/Yankees, Patriots/Mets variety type of people, then you politely step off because I don’t necessarily think you should exist. I digress.
For the record. Boston sports all the way.
What I can not take is Southbury getting thrown into this mess. I need to defend my home town. I need to defend where I grew up. What the fuck is so bad about Southbury, Chief? Southbury is literally in the middle of everything. You are in between the Waterbury and Danbury mall. You are in between Rich’s Ice Cream (IYKYK) and Dottie’s Diner. Southbury has dirt roads that can connect you to three different regions next to it. Chief, have you never felt the thrill of driving down Scuppo Road in the dark of night with your buddies?
Am I nostalgic, sure. But what else am I supposed to be about my home town. Southbury has a literally fuckton of little league sized baseball/softball fields that I grew up on as a kid. Ewald Park is where I was molded. Community House was the go-to spot after school to play wiffle ball, stick ball or basketball. Ballantine Park was a bike ride away and that basketball court by the river was always open. Settler’s park is literally just green grass with diamonds and soccer fields on it. There are three golf courses in Southbury and the span the gamut of Gainfield’s cheap nine-hole par three course, Pomperaug’s cheap nine-hole regular distance course, and Heritage Village country club course that is actually really nice.
Growing up in Southbury, CT was the fucking shit. Every bit of athletic activity you wanted to do, you had access to. If you wanted to go bowling you could drive 20 minutes and go to Lakewood Lanes. If you wanted to ice skate there were small parks where the ponds would freeze over. The hills in Southbury at Kettletown State Park or Southford falls were PEAK sledding hills. I was fortunate enough to live next to a massive hill that would get so icy we would go sliding across Main Street if we caught the right path down.
As a kid, Southbury was the shit.
Oh, you are hungry now after playing games and having fun with your friends being active and enjoying a sense of community? How about you go and eat at the crazy amount of Pizza places in Southbury. Chief says that the best thing that Connecituct has is the pizza, and Southbury has a fuck ton of it! Is it as good as New Haven’s pizza? No, but literally no other place in the country has pizza that can make New Haven’s.
You have DiPalma’s, Julio’s, Miranda’s, Jordan’s, Mad Greek Woodfire Pizzeria, Southford Pizza and MORE. There is pizza seemingly on every single street.
You can not go hungry in Southbury. Mikee’s Place has some of the most filling and best sandwiches you will find. If you want to guzzle down a milkshake you drive down the road to Denmo’s. If you want a fucking great Mexican meal where a mariachi band will sing you happy birthday and let you don a golden sombrero then hit up Senor Panchos.
Oh, and if you want the best ice cream in the world, then drive just a bit outside of town and go to town at Rich’s Ice Cream. The cows that make the ice cream are right there for you to pet. It is a guarantee that if you grew up around Rich’s, then you will see someone you know there. The line is literally out the farm and on the road during the summer nights.
But Stanko, what if you want to branch out? What if you are feeling cooped up? Well what do you know, like the state of Connecticut itself, Southbury is in the middle of some pretty solid options. Southbury is in the middle of the Danbury Mall and the Brass Mill Mall in Waterbury. Literally 20 minutes either way. When I was growing up, Southbury was smack dap in the middle of THREE movie theaters. THREE. You have the Seymour movie theater, then the AMC in Danbury, and the Regal in Waterbury. Now, there is a movie theater IN downtown Southbury. So if you want to go see something that your friends don’t, then ditch them and save the gas money.
Here is where I pull at the heartstrings. Chief, you are not ready for this.
You think I am going to let the slander of Southbury, CT stand when my grandfather (RIP) was the First Selectman of Southbury for 12 years? My grandfather began his tenure in 1972, and he is the man who oversaw the building of Pomperaug High School, the Southbury plaza, the town pool, Ewald and Community Park. He literally helped build Southbury up from nothing, so I can’t let you besmirch Southbury in your disdain for Connecticut as a whole.
In addition, my father served in the volunteer fire department of Southbury until a couple years ago when my parents moved to Florida. He was the fire chief for a term as well. Let me tell you, nothing is cooler than riding in a police chief SUV when the lights are going.
Chief, I don’t dislike your take on Connecticut. It is not all that great. But I could not let you walk your path of ire without a defense of The Bury. Yea, I called it The Bury. You invoking Southbury made me want to drive the unnecessarily long trek between exit 16 and 17 on I84. It made me want to stop by Patty’s Pantry and get some Fried Chicken and steal some gum. It made me want to park at the back of Pomperaug Elementary School for inappropriate late night activities. It made me want to relive the glory days when all I had to worry about was cramming in my math homework right before class started and then hydroplaning on Bucks Hill Drive during the winter on my way home.
Chief, I am happy to discuss more. I need to go do my job now which is not writing passionately about things that really mean nothing, but damn this felt good.
I stand with Southbury. And if that means I have to stand for Connecticut a little, then I guess I have to stand for the Nutmeg state as well.
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