“The Lackawanna Review will most likely not contain any writing on or from Lackawanna County. This website, rather is an evolving weekly review (or Blogazine) of arts and letters. Moreover, it is a community of positivity, old and new friends coming together and writing. In this sense, North-Eastern Pennsylvania will live through our words as it has ever lived, in our hearts and in our minds.”
Shit! Looks like the end of that one!
I am a resident of Luzerne County, (which lies next to Lackawanna County) will be writing for this forum. Therefore, my topics, writings, rants, and raves may include tidbits of discovery from my surroundings (in Lackawanna County). Nevertheless, on we must carry.
I will attempt to compose my rants from the perspective of an always surprised, beffudled, yet cynical beast. If that is too vague of a description, I beg you to picture a grizzly man with a hairy back who has just awoken with a hangover on a Saturday. He opens the front door, expecting to gather his newspaper, and witnesses an obese man trying to snare underwear from a tree with a stick. Once again, I say, nevertheless, on we must carry.
Lackawanna Wonderful
For those of you who have not visited Lackawanna County in some time, I will have you know that there is an ad campaign that started in 2005 called Lackawanna Wonderful; it is not to be confused with Pom Wonderful – the slogan of a popular fruit juice. As a rather peculiar soul, with tendencies toward cynicism, I forced myself to examine the wonderfulness of Lackawanna County.
If you haven’t been in Scranton since 2005 or earlier, you will be surprised to discover that the city is, in fact, economically and culturally surging – at least in terms of small business. New bars, restaurants, and stores have opened in the center city, and the themes include:
- Thai
- Irish (no shit)
- Vinyl Records
- Used CDs sold by a Real Life Convict!
- Mediterranean
- Tapas
- Soupman (Soup Nazi)
- Gentlemanly Clothing
This is quite the assortment of businesses, I know. Quite an addition to the various pizza shops and gay bars that still serve and have served the community.
While observing this “business boom”, it has occurred to me that Scranton has become a model of the modern Western world. Philosophical studies have shown that modern western culture is moving briskly toward a highly individualistic cultural (as opposed to a collectivistic culture in the East). So what exactly validates Scranton as this primitive model?
Well, what I have failed to mention thus far is the fact that while business is booming in Scranton, Catholic schools are not. The Diocese of Scranton is struggling economically, and its schools are closing at a record pace – quite the tragedy for an Irish Catholic community. This leads me to a rather frightening question: Is Scranton, much like the modern day United States of America, becoming a skeleton of its former self? Yes, they are offering us goods and services, records and fine clothing, soups and libations, but I must ask, “Is this healthy?” I can only hope that the downtown Scranton area can maintain it’s unique, community-oriented, somewhat artsy culture, and avoid the vile clutches of the ignorant Ipod era.
Oh, please rest assured that University of Scranton students who hail from New Jersey and New York will cause no harm to the City of Scranton. For all the mind-expanding liberal arts that are promoted on the campus, the majority of students fail to travel anywhere in Scranton aside from the hill section and the Expressway to the Viewmont Mall.
