The Guy from Upstate

So here I on sit at 11509....in the middle of down state New York. Well , I wasn't born here. I am an upstater. Albany New York area to be exact. By downstate terms I am a have not as opposed to being a have.....meaning I can't possibly be as urbane and smart as them. As I kid I grew up on a farm ........worked some summers on my aunt and uncle's dairy farm during Haying Season. That's right I helped bail hay. I think I am the better for it. Small town lifestyle and the whole lot. But as a teenager I did long for a bigger life.....away from small town America. Watched TV shows like The Saint , saw movies like Goldfinger and wanted something more from watching that model. To be educated with a drink and a smoke and of course a good looking car. I got all that and more though I deeply regret the smokes. After observing these well off people in lets face it a fairly segregated part of the world I have discovered something interesting. Some of my role models were better than theirs. The Saint or Bond treated many lesser people with honor. He wasn't rude to waiters like a couple were dining near me last evening. Many around here have little sense of how much of the world functions. I do and at this point in my life find that to be one of my accomplishments that I actually feel proud of. Sorry if I boast. I am a proud upstate guy with all my hick elements still somewhere there within me. I am a guy from upstate and probably in one way or another always will be.