Pennsylvania plates and Pittsburgh paraphernalia

Strangely enough, one of the first things I notice when changing locations is not the differences in the natural scenery, the level of industrialization or even the character of the people in the area, but the license plates on the cars driving past me.  When I see cars, trucks and SUVs with Pennsylvania plates and Pittsburgh license plate frames, I know I'm home once again.  I don't know why this one simple detail has such an effect on me but it really is the change from seeing little pine cones and lobsters to those yellow, white and blue stripes that signal to me I'm back in PA. 

     After being gone for so long I've also forgotten how dominant Pittsburgh pride is around here.  Even an hour and a half from the city, every store in the shopping plaza and every vendor at the crafts show has at least one black and gold item for sale.  I never would have thought twice about it had I not been in so many other places lately where there was hardly a sign of any sports teams, let alone such a feeling of support and team spirit for the "home team."  So maybe it makes sense that people make fun of my black and gold gear in the middle of nowhere Maine, where the nearest sports team is three states away.  But Pittsburgh pride for some reason stretches even to the other end of the state, maybe further, so really, having grown up not more than half an hour from the city, where we still consider ourselves to be Pittsburghers, now that I'm back, it seems only natural to see black and gold everywhere I look.