I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Back then, to me, it was the capital of the world. Every other place was nothing but a suburb of Brooklyn, including even the mighty borough of Manhattan. To some extent, I still feel the same way.

Of course, my view of Brooklyn was the view of many long years ago, colored by a wonderful boyhood in a city where you could never run out of things to do and see. Also, back then, you could walk down any street in my hometown and say "Hello" to anyone. You would, almost always, get a friendly response and, usually, a smile. Brooklyn was such a warm place in which to grow up.

Well, the place has changed, and not for the better. Now, the only thing present-day Brooklyn has in common with the Brooklyn in which I was raised is the name. These days, if you're walking down any street in New York City and get the urge to say "Hello," you'd better know the person you're greeting, or you'll get a suspicious look. I'm not saying Brooklynites are unfriendly. It's jus that, with street muggings, purse snatching, etc., present-day city dwellers are suspicious of greetings from people they don't know.

So, my love for Brooklyn is really nostalgic. I love it the way it was -- not the way it is.

I have, however, been in cities, large and small, where friendliness and a smile for a stranger are still the rule of the day. I recently returned from a wedding in Houston. I was walking in a huge shopping mall in the Houston area and, for the heck of it, I said "Hi" to a stranger walking toward me and, as I expected, he smiled and returned my greeting. I wasn't surprised, though. I'd lived in Houston for several years, and people hadn't changed: Perfect strangers still exchanged friendly greetings!

There's another warm and friendly city. It's called Lampasas, and I get a kick out of greeting strangers on the street there. Invariably, they'll return my "Hi" with a warm smile, and that makes me feel welcome every time I visit. I love to take early-morning walks to avoid the afternoon heat and, every time, the friendliness of Lampasans makes my walk a pleasant way to start the day!

To me, Texas is the friendliest state in the U.S. Texans are naturally very warm and welcoming and, when I visit my daughter in Lampasas, I get a feeling I can no longer get in Brooklyn. I'm coming home.
Frank Laifer
New York