My hometown …

I was born in Philadelphia and have mostly lived here all my life. During the first eight years of that life my family lived in North Philadelphia. Then, in 1949, we moved to Torresdale, a section of the Greater Northeast that at the time was still semi-rural. I was born in Germantown Hospital and for 20 years lived in the Germantion section of the city. Now I live in South Philly, right off the Italian Market. I know my hometown pretty intimately because I've walked all over the place.

I mention all this because last week I got in the mail a small book of photos of the city called Philadelphia Perspectives. The photographs are by Antelo Devereux Jr., who also grew up in these parts, and who really has an eye for the city. If I were any good at taking pictures, these are the kinds of pictures I would take of this town. In fact, this is probably the best photo portrait of Philadelphia I have seen. It really gives you a sense of how the city feels. That the book concludes with pictures of places around the corner from where I live doesn't hurt either.