July 30, 2004 8:49 AM

We surly New Englanders
Posted by at 8:49 AM

If you're a visitor from out of town or a transplant who woke up one day to find yourself living the pain that can sometimes be life in New England, Globe Columnist Brian McGrory's write-up today may puzzle you.

You see it seems visitors this week to the DNC are giving Boston raves for it's polite people, ample parking, and clean, uncrowded streets and restaurants. No you're not wicked spacin', they're talking about us -- stand-offish, crotchety us, who would lie down in the street to save a parking space, have difficulty meeting someone eye-to-eye in hallways, and who maintain an unexplainable, tight-lipped, dart-eyed suspiciousness if a passerby dares utter a "Hi, How you doin?" to us on the street.

It's not that we're not likable folk. If we let you get to know us, we're just like anyone else around the country. Just somewhere along the way, I believe, because of our history or backgrounds, we get too caught up in ourselves so to speak. Brian hits it dead on when he writes:

Boston is receiving nothing but raves. That's right, raves. I apologize for bringing you such grim news. I know it's hard for you to accept, what with a couple of centuries of built-up inferiority and our security blanket of angst. But the convention was an overwhelming success, inside the hall and on the streets, and it might be time to accept this foreign fate...They really do like us. Now we've got to learn to like ourselves.

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