D. C. Donahue Books

Happy 49th Birthday, Danny! Hope you have a safe, happy, and blessed day that carries you throughout the weekend.

This may be one of the most straightforward prompts yet! I grew up in and around Philadelphia, and have lived in Delaware County, PA, USA, from my teenage years to this day! It suits me like a perfectly warm, broken-in, comfortable jacket, shirt, or glove that feels like a part of my own skin. A place where our most cherished memories were born and raised. Also, where I met, dated, fell in love, married, raised our four children, eight grandchildren, and where many of our friends and family still live. A place where many of those same folks lie in eternal rest.

A place in and around Philadelphia, where our families and relatives dwelled for generations. A special place of historical significance that some of us take for granted at times. A place that gave birth 250 years ago to our great nation, and as it grew, became part of our family’s DNA, steeped in tradition. It’s where, no matter your color, ethnicity, or religious background, we speak the same language —and are possibly the most loyal and knowledgeable fan base in the world, cheering on the same immortalized teams our fathers did and their fathers before them. Teams whose victories and losses are shared with great passion for our – The Eagles, Phillies, Flyers, 76ers, Union, and more.

Yo! You know the type that puts candles in the window or lights on the house year-round, not just at Christmas. I grew up watching the oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade in the nation and the Mummers’ stroll down Broad Street on New Year’s Day. Visited historical places such as Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Constitution Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Franklin Institute of the Science Museum, Betsy Ross House, Ben Franklin’s Grave, The Convention Center, and ate at Dinic’s, among other venues at the Reading Terminal.

Who might give you directions using the area churches or parishes as landmarks? Who says, “Wadder” for “Water” or understands you’re from South Philly or a Two-Streeter by using “Free for the word Three and Three for the word Free” and laughs about it. Some may even use the “F” word like an adjective, or most of the time speak like Sylvester Stallone in the movie, “Rocky or show the toughness of Mark Wahlberg, emulating Vince Papale in the film, Invincible.

Yeah! Definitely a place, as stated above, that lives in your DNA, no matter where you move or Countries you may visit or otherwise. Like our marriage, a place to love, honor, cherish, live, die, and someday, God willing, peacefully rest with those that went before us – MY/Our kind of people/place.