Dear Diary:
I had just moved to London and was volunteering at a soup kitchen in the Victoria neighborhood. We served all sorts of strange English things there â€" smoked salmon sandwiches, mince pies, all sorts of pies. One afternoon, I was manning the counter when a homeless man approached. I said hello, gave him a pie, and he looked at me funny.
“Where are you from†he asked. He spoke with an American accent.
“New York,†I answered.
“I know you’re from New York,†he said. “Where in New Yorkâ€
I thought I had lost my New York accent. Apparently not. “Queens, originally, and then Long Island.†After years in Flushing and Breezy Point, my family had settled in Wantagh, by Jones Beach.
“I know you’re from Long Island. You’re from the South Shore. I can tell.†He cast his head back and delivered the following in the richest of baritones:
“Baldwin, Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore, Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, Amityville, opiague, Lindenhurst and Babylon!â€
And he took his pork pie and disappeared.
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