Most of these articles were written for the Philadelphia Inquirer in the 1980’s when my wife and I and most of our friends were in our 30’s and newly married, the so-called yuppies (Young Urban Professionals) of the Reagan years.

      We loved city living but our commitment to it was frequently challenged in those years. The crack cocaine crisis brought a wave of petty crime; municipal city government was mostly inept and inefficient; the public schools did not inspire confidence.

     As toddlers reached school age, we saw many of our friends move away to leafier climes and so those of us who stayed sometimes felt the lonely sense of pioneers, the stubbornly remaining few.

     These pieces, though they seem to paint a gloomy picture of urban annoyances, aimed through humor and shared frustrations to bolster the faith of our beleaguered remnant.  Happily, the hope at the end of “Toughing It Out” has come to pass. Our faith in the city’s promise has been vindicated and the city has grown and improved beyond our imaginings.  All those suburban emigres want back in!

STOOP URNS

TOUGHING IT OUT

BETSY AND THE BELL