Filthadelphia

Philadelphia, my adopted city, has garnered some dubious "honors" of late, being named by Forbes "most toxic city" and placing second in Travel & Leisure's "Dirtiest Cities." Not surprisingly, the locals have taken umbrage. There's been a lot of "what do they know," a lot of "well, it doesn't matter what they think," and a lot of, well, Philadelphia attytood.

Well, at the risk of being accused of throwing my city under the bus, I have to agree that we are more than a little on the filthy side. I live in University City, by no means a slum, and yet I am daily disgusted with what I see (and smell) on our sidewalks, streets, and, yes, even stuck in our trees. People do notice this, especially outsiders who may be used to a higher standard of cleanliness.

And, for that matter, it does matter what others like Forbes and Travel & Leisure think. Non-Philadelphia readers form their opinions of Philadelphia based on lists like this, from which they make or don't make decisions to visit, do business, or move.

So how about we lose a little bit of the chip on our shoulder, get our acts together and pick up our litter (and pick up after our dogs - ewww!), spray some good-smelling spray all over the place, and call the press back for a visit once we've tidied up. Besides, once our visitors are here, we can give our attitudes a good workout by talking smack to them about our sports teams.