It was an ordinary day. Reading my daily newspaper which is known as LNP. Have been reading it for close to 60 years, since I didn't bother reading it until I entered high school. I assume by now that you know that I live in the town known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is a city that has an official population of 59,302 which is 0.019% of the total United States population and 0.46% of the total Pennsylvania state population. The area of Lancaster city is 7.4 square miles and the population density was 8,063.91 people/square mile. Lancaster was founded in 1729 and was incorporated as a city in 1818. It was founded by James Hamilton and was named for Lancashire, England. I was born in Lancaster and have lived here my entire life. Those of us who have lived here all our lives pronounce the town in which we live: LANG-kiss-TUR. Say it a couple of times and see if you too can call it what those of us who have lived here all our lives call it. Got it yet? Remember...it is LANG-kiss-TUR! A few days ago on "The Today Show", our town was given a shout-out! It was cited as one of the greatest places for retirement. But...that's only if you know how to pronounce our town correctly. We don't want you here if you call our town "LAN-cas-Tuhr." Not even "LANDcasTUHR will do. Well, this morning on The Today Show, co-anchor Peter Alexander mentioned Lancaster in a segment of the "Today" show. He called our town "LAN-cas-Tuhr! I could feel my blood begin to boil almost immediately. As soon as he began to talk, the camera cut to an image of the Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home clock that stands in Lancaster's Penn Square. Now...why would they show an image of a funeral home clock while talking about old people enjoying our town? Now...they did pan to bucolic farm scenery and a shot of a roadside produce stand immediately after the funeral home clock, but by then the image was in the minds of all those old people who watch the Today Show. Anyway...Lancaster has about a 7-mile radius with about 60% the population over 60 plus. I must admit, I didn't know that! I'm not quite sure where they got their information. They did go on to say that we have some of the best medical coverage and tax breaks for retirees while still being hip and happening! We have plenty of museums, nightlife, restaurants, cafes, etc. Of course, since we live here, we already knew that. We also knew that we were ranked No. 1 in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Places to Retire." And, the population of retirees is going to begin to grow very soon, since Willow Valley's center city high rise for primarily older residents will be finished by 2026. As I continued to read the article, I saw that a segment on yesterday's Today Show featured Lancaster county's Bird-In-Hand Bakery. I did remember seeing that segment where they told about the great shoo-fly pies and other great eats that can be found in Lancaster County. A story about Pheasant Run Farm Bed and Breakfast and The Amish Farm and House were also mentioned. The segment also mentioned trips to the Amish Country. A clip at lanc.news/today-lancd29 was given so you could see more scenes of Lancaster County. Hey! If you plan to come to this area to look around and see how nice we have it here in Lancaster, at least learn how to pronounce the name of our area. Now...one more time...LANG-kiss-Tur! Say it fast and I think you got it! You will surely be welcomed no matter what your age if you call our town by it's correct name. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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