[Sidney Lanier]

We always describe ourselves as being from 'upstate New York,' which makes people from places like Rochester and Syracuse laugh--appropriately--since we're actually from the Mid-Hudson Valley. But we say 'upstate' because we've found that too many people from west and south of New Jersey assume that when you say you're from 'New York,' it means that huge city that comprises only the smallest southern tip of the state--and it is a huge state for an eastern state! When you head north from New York City on the New York Thruway, the first sign showing the mileage to distant cities says that Montreal is closer than Buffalo!...