A letter to Columbia: on the matter of her missing anthem
Dear Columbia , I have been pondering a question that arrived uninvited and has refused to leave, much like an uninvited guest at Christmas: What, precisely, is the song of Columbia? Many towns have been given their due in verse. Mr. Springsteen, for example, has written of Atlantic City. Mr. Joel sang of Allentown. Even towns smaller and less scenic than ours have found some troubadour willing to immortalize their streets. And yet Columbia still waits for her ballad. Let us consider, then, what such a song might contain. It would surely open upon the river herself, the town's leading lady whether she asked for the role or not: vast, shallow, and prone to dramatic flourishes. One does not simply omit the Susquehanna in a Columbia anthem. Verse two belongs to the town itself, that charm of a place where residents still know one's name and, regrettably, one's business. The antique shops sit hither and yon, but there is a romance to the streets. And here is where any honest so...