You Know You Are From Boston When…
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Boston is a city filled with college students, transplants, and tourists, so sometimes it can be difficult to define what makes up a true Bostonian. If any of the following describe you, consider yourself a native. We’ve even incorporated some of your own unique suggestions.
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Your idea of pure delight was that Bailey’s sundae with so much hot fudge that it dripped onto the silver plate beneath. – Carolyn, Belligham
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You remember when Chet and Nat anchored Channel 5 news and, more importantly, that they were married! – Susan, Dorchester
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You listened to “Sports Huddle” on Sunday nights, and you heard people from other cities say “four hours on the radio of just talk, and of nothing but sports? Who would ever listen to that?” – Rich, Boston
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You know what happens every year on the first two Mondays in February. AND, you know that Northeastern has only won 3 times. – Paul Villanova, Navarre, Fla.
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Phillips Candy House was where you learned what was inside all the chocolates from the swirl pattern on the outside and you dreamed of growing up to work making chocolates. – Laura Lyell, Marlboro, Maine
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Most of your memories of childhood birthday parties involve watching your friends tossing the pizza at Papa Gino’s and then playing “pin the topping on the pizza.” – Josh, Arlington
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No matter what else they try and call it, it’ll always be “Great Woods.” – Cap, Tewksbury
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You know where Leonard Nimoy’s neighborhood was and what is there now.– PG
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You know you’re from Boston if you know that Joe and Nemo’s was NOT a tropical fish store.– Wayne, Rehoboth
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You know exactly who is from Parry Sound, Ontario Canada.– Susan, South Shore
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You have stood in line outside Steve’s Ice Cream in Davis Square, Somerville in a snowstorm.– Rick, from Seattle (formerly, Somerville)
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A New Englander NEVER asks if the clams have “bellies.’’ Of course they do … only an outsider would ask such a question.– Ed, from Fall River
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You’ve never actually been on a Duck Boat tour.– Brisa, from Foxborough
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You ate Fluff right out of the jar – the glass jar.– Joaniet, from Boston
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You remember Shawmut National Bank (with the Indian head), Provident Institution for Savings, New England Merchants National Bank, and Harvard Trust Company. You had a savings account at one of the local banks through a weekly collection at your elementary school.– Bruce, from New London, N.H.
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You believe the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is the most beautiful place in the world.– Richard Fernando, Somerville
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You shopped at Purity Supreme, Caldors, Marshalls, Ames, Bobs, Building 19 1/2, Filenes basement, Market basket, CVS, Walgreens, Shaws, Johnny’s Foodmaster, Tedeschi Food shops, Cumbies (Cumberland Farms), and Bradlees.– Jeff, from Winchester
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You know that Good Times Emporium in Somerville meant “Saturday nights,’’ “the buffalo wings ahh the best,’’ and “it’s probably the best place, in the United States.’’- Jon, from Burlington
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It’s just “The Garden.’’ Not the FleetCenter, TD Garden, or the Shawmut Center, which it was almost named in 1995 before the Fleet-Shawmut bank merge. It’s “The Garden.’’– Smichele, from Boston
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You remember watching Frank Avruch as “Bozo the Clown’’ more times than the movies he hosted on “The Great Entertainment.’’
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You remember when there were amusements and rides at Revere Beach.– Jay, from Derry, N.H.
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You know that Jordan’s Furniture was NEVER to be confused with Jordan Marsh.– Guy Pondside, from Jamaica Plain
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You pretended Necco Wafers were Holy Communion.– Joe, from Somerville
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You remember when Legal Seafood was a novelty.– JC, from Laguna Niguel, Calif.
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It’s “The Wall,’’ not the “Green Monster.’’– Ed, from Somerville
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You’ve watched the “Three Stooges’’ New Year’s Eve marathon on TV38.– Susan M., from the South Shore
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You’ve driven to Logan Airport before the Big Dig, and successfully negotiated rush hour off I-93 northbound, merging from innumerable lanes down to two as you approached the Callahan Tunnel — without stopping, scratching your car, making eye contact, or missing a leisurely sip of your coffee.– Denny, from New Hampshire
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You’ve been to Buzzy’s Roast Beef at 2 a.m.– Eric, of Gloucester
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Seeing Shelby Scott on location in a parka hopefully meant no school.– Mark W., from Milton
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You have ever been a bleacher creature.– Mark W., from Milton
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You went to a Sox game with your father and he bought you popcorn. When you finished it, you popped the bottom out and had a megaphone.– Beebo, from Marlborough
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You remember the rumble from the balcony in the old Garden and it still gives you the chills.– Ritch, from Roslindale
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You listened to “Nocturnal Emissions,’’ hosted by Oedipus, on Sunday nights on WBCN.– John P., from Timonium, Md., via Somerville
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You’d trade all the Starbucks in the world to have ice cream everywhere the way it used to be with Brigham’s, Bailey’s, Friendly’s, Howard Johnson’s, and a whole bunch of other local shops before the only thing anyone sold was gourmet kiwi sorbet.– trolley71or73, from Watertown
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Worcester? That’s way out there in Western Mass., right?
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You remember when this guy was actually revered here.
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You know about those white lanes painted on city roads, but heck if you’re going to use them.
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You knew Adrien’s Landing was never really going to happen.
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You can — properly — navigate a rotary.
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You have never, ever, called it “Beantown.’’
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You can go north on Route 128, or 95, and south on Route 93 at the same time. What’s not to understand?
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You remember which town almost changed its name to “Ocean Park’’ in order to escape the stigma of a poem.
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You have no use for the letter “R’’ at the end of words, but just for fun, you add it to the ends of words where it doesn’t belong.
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You cringe when Jimmy Fallon tries to pull off a Boston accent.
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It’s a bubbler, not a drinking fountain.
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You drive to New Hampshire to make big purchases in order to save sales tax. On Sundays in the past, you used to drive there for beer and alcohol purchases.
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You have no idea what donut holes are, but you sure do love Munchkins.
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You think traffic on the Southeast Expressway is normal, and always find room to change lanes on it, even when it’s bumper-to-bumper. Blinker? What’s that?
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You know what makes the difference between a milkshake and a frappe.
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You’re able to point tourists to the closest Red Lobster … in Connecticut.
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You remember when Kenmore Square was gritty and dirty — and you prefer it that way.
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Your family used to buy everything at Lechmere. Or Caldor. Or Filene’s …
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You can properly pronounce the names of Worcester, Billerica, and Peabody. Speaking of Peabody, you also know just what in the world the “jughandle’’ is.
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You have never stepped foot in Durgin Park.
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You know both what it means when the Berkley Beacon flashes red, and what the Morse code on the Green Monster scoreboard stands for.
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You know where Cheers (aka, the Bull and Finch Pub) is, but you’ve never been there.
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You know well enough to flee town over Labor Day weekend, also known as the annual college student invasion.
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You’ve been to the Rathskeller.
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You know that Saturday morning TV used to mean Bob Ross, cartoons, and candlepin bowling. The WLVI Kids’ Club meant Dale Dorman, “The Brady Bunch,’’ and “Banana Splits.’’
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You remember the “Gallery Gods.’’
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You can find parking in Downtown Crossing, and even know where most of the one-way streets are in the area. Most.
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At some point, you have sunbathed on top of a car during high tide at Nantasket Beach.
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You remember the Combat Zone.
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No matter what time of year, there is always, always an ice scraper in your car.
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“Where ya goin’ this weekend?’’ “Down Cape.’’
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You know that, in its heyday, nothing beat WBCN. At left, former disc jockey Charles Laquidara.
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You purchased Hillshire Farms products specifically because of their spokesperson. And you can even spell his name.
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You have both Evacuation Day and Patriots Day off.
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You know someone from high school who knows a Wahlberg (Mark, or Donnie, or another family member).
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Yes, Ben Affleck won one for “Good Will Hunting,’’ but he should have won an Academy Award for “The Town,’’ too. Oh and “Gigli’’ never happened.
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It’s not a remote control, it’s a “clicka.’’
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Why wait until summer to drink iced coffee? It’s just fine all year.
