Binghamton, New York

Binghamton, NY is a city of 50,000 situated in Broome County in Upstate New York at the meeting of the Chenango and Susquehanna Rivers. Binghamton is a very nice city, with a beautiful, albeit empty, downtown. Many mountains surround, with a strikingly distinct community around it.

Binghamton is famous for quite a few things. IBM began in the Binghamton Area, as did Endicott-Johnson develop. Rod Serling, of Twilight Zone fame, was born in Binghamton. Mike Dunham of the Nashville Predators NHL hockey team, was born in Endwell. Edwin A. Link, an aviation pioneer especially in the field of flight simulators, came from Binghamton. Whitey Ford played baseball in Binghamton. Spiedies are a famous(?) food that has a massive following in the Binghamton Area. Also, IBM Owego was targeted by the Soviets.

The surrounding communities each have their own flavor. Endicott is the birthplace of IBM and the major site of Endicott-Johnson, which technically began in neighboring Johnson City. Endicott has a distinctive Italian culture, spawning the New World Order of the pizza, and the area's best treat: spiedies. These delightful sandwiches are made of skewered meat chunks marinated in a distinctive, special-purpose spiedie marinade (that's what makes it so good!), and served on Italian bread. (At least that's how I eat them.)

Johnson City is home to many people. Not as much of an identity as Endicott, though Johnson City is home to the largest shopping center in the Binghamton Area north of the Susquehanna.

Endwell is a hamlet sandwiched in between Endicott and JC, and is a very nice residential community with a frighteningly low crime rate, and a welcoming hand. Endwell is not known for much of anything, but it is a nice community none-the-less.

Vestal is the commercial hub of Binghamton, and is technically where Binghamton University resides. Many places of interest are in Vestal, such as popular shopping centers, such as the Town Square Mall, chain stores, and restaurants of all kinds, including fine dining.

Generally, Binghamton is a nice area in the Southern Tier in Upstate NY.

Bleach

I live in a dirty town,
gray as the ethereal hair of the widows
who live in the burned out peaks of Johnson City.
I wipe grime from a thin window,
which clouds like a snow globe,
left to dust and mothballs in a shoe box
filled with pictures of old vacations, sun burned
and smiling in the Keys.

I live in a town
where far more water bursts from pipes
than inspiration from empty factories,
and baby boomers cause more
fender benders than teenagers.
Blenders and microwaves rattle
the jaundice yellow of peeling paint,
not replaced since the sun set on JFK,
that top down day in Texas.

I live in a town
where ambitious work begins at midnight,
prying through garbage for beer bottles,
seeking redemption one nickel at a time.
Where shoulders brush overweight whores,
who prowl bare assed down Mather Street,
looking for a trick with a light.

I live in a town,
that is lifetime holder of the title,
"Carousel Capital of the USA,"
because even going in circles is movement.
Parents and siblings spin between three jobs,
to cling to the milky meniscus of the poverty line.
They pour into the cracks of state budgets
and a Welfare to Work program,
under the quiet snow.