A T-Shirt is Worth a Thousand Words

I have an "Ithaca is Gorges" shirt, which I deeply love. And other people do, too--every time I wear it, I get comments on it from strangers. In Brooklyn it was a good conversation starter with my neighbors ("Ithaca! It's so pretty up there"), the doctor at the hospital ("did you go to Cornell? My daughter did"), people in bars ("I'm from Rochester! Let's talk about Wegmans!"), the library ("I was in Syracuse once. GO ORANGE!"), and random people on the subway.I was not expecting the same Ithaca-excitement in Indiana. However, I was proved wrong. People in class (some I knew, some I didn't) told me it was funny. A guy in the bookstore gave me the up-and-down look, and said, "cool shirt" before sidling off. Best of all, I was on the bus (actually, having just sent my Brooklyn cousin a text saying, "why does the Ithaca shirt make people so excited?") when an older man got on; a professorial type with long, graying hair.

He sat behind me and kind of leaned over. "Cornell?" he said, "or Ithaca U?" " Oh, neither," I replied. "I went to school in Geneva, so I'm from the area." He paused for a few seconds. "William Smith, right?" he said.

I could have given him a hug. I've been having to explain my alma mater repeatedly since being here, and it gets a little old. Coordinate system, Finger Lakes, small liberal arts, "it's right in between Rochester and Syracuse," etc. My professors, by and large, know of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, but the other students don't. Which I suppose is only fair enough--I've never heard of their small Southern and Western liberal arts colleges, either. The only school name I've recognized so far is Sewanee. So I don't know why I feel that New York schools should be known by all, even though most of them have never been to New York. Probably an East Coast bias on my part.

So, it was nice not to have to explain, and even nicer that this guy had gotten the "William Smith" part right, instead of just calling it "Hobart," which happens a majority of the time. Which is majorly infuriating. But anyway. After I squeaked out, "yes!! William Smith," he said, "I lived in Ithaca for 20 years." Well! We had much to discuss--mostly, vineyards, Trumansburg, Cuba's garlic festival, Taughannock Falls, Wegmans (obviously), and how it does not snow nearly as much in Indiana as it does in Ithaca.

He said that Bloomington is equivalent to Ithaca in a lot of ways--Farmer's Market, artsy stuff, live music, and food, but it's not quite as cool. I had been getting an Ithaca-vibe as well, while walking around downtown. While I love Ithaca (and would live there, for sure), I have been known to make fun of it, too. Self-righteously liberal academics, eat-fresh-produce-or-you'll-die mentality, wear only all natural hemp, a slight snobbishness--it lives up to those stereotypes sometimes, I think. But for a few minutes on the bus, a stranger and I bonded over how much we miss New York. And I've got that t-shirt to thank.