My impression of Hartford was that it was a town for rich Americans. While it is certainly true, poor individuals are also visible from the streets, and a few are sleeping inside the ATM machine booths. But they are wonderful and harmless people who love to sing and live as happily as they can be. Just like them, I learned to appreciate things, and I learned to live on my own means. I experienced zero balance, although I had plenty of food in the fridge.
I lived in a century-old apartment; my room was in the attic overlooking the forest in my backyard, where during the winter, deer from nowhere are ordinary sightings. Those little cutie squirrels are regulars during all four seasons. My neighbors not far away are mansions, like those mansions in Nicole Kidman’s Stepford Wives (which Stepford, Connecticut, is a fictional town, inspired by huge mansions and a rich community in Connecticut). I and friends loved to walk around the area to absorb the beauty of other people’s richness and be inspired by it. We also walked around Elizabeth Park and took photos with a variety of flowers, depending on the season.
In front of my apartment are the famous Gothic-style University of Connecticut Law building and the white cube, one of Meier’s famous modern architectural designs, the Hartford Seminary building. A few blocks away is the house of our favorite Mark Twain, and next to it is the house of another novelist, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Hartford is indeed a town known for its famous people, such as Noah Webster Jr. of Webster’s Dictionary, Stephanie Meyer of the Twilight saga and series, Suzanne Colins of the Hunger Games trilogy, the powerful banker J.P. Morgan, the inventor of the revolver Samuel Colt, the McMahon’s of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the actress Katharine Hepburn, and many others.
Hartford is a progressive, small city. It was once the insurance capital of the world, as is evident with the modern skyscrapers in the downtown main street. I rarely see flocks of people in the streets, even during lunchtime and after office hours around 5 p.m. People coming out of their offices are still no match for the number of people walking in the Makati area at nighttime.
One can walk around Hartford in one day; the downtown main street is housed with the Old State House that is the site of the Amistad trial, the Wadsworth Atheneum that is the oldest public art museum in the US, the Hartford Bridge that is the largest stone-arch bridge in the world, the Bushnell Park that is the oldest public park in the US, the Ancient Burying Ground that is the oldest historic site in Hartford (1600s), and the majestic Hartford Capitol building that is looking over the beautiful city.
My memories of Hartford are endless. I can be a novelist and write hundreds of pages that would be centered on Hartford and another hundreds of pages of the amazing stories of people I have met there, especially Sherman Street’s. Hartford has seen my highs and lows, especially with my real friends, who showed me their sincerest love. I am quoting Mark Twain, who wrote in 1868 about Hartford, “Of all the beautiful towns, it has been my fortune to see this is the chief.”
Hartford County has a few beautiful towns aside from Hartford. Driving to those tiny, beautiful towns is always a beauty—kaleidoscopes of trees, green hills, snowy mountains, clean lakes and crystal-clear rivers, beautiful homes.
Not far away is New Haven, a 30-minute drive from Hartford, another city that offers a different perspective on what an ideal world should be. Its downtown street is busier than Hartford, and it has numerous coffee shops, restaurants, bars, bookshops and people. New Haven is a college town, and the home of the Skulls and Bones secret society’s Yale University.
Yale is like a city within a city, surrounded by elm trees, and centuries-old, mouth-wateringly beautiful buildings dating back to the 1700s. If UP Diliman has the IKOT Jeepneys, Yale has no-fee campus shuttles. Compared to Harvard, Yale campus is exceptionally beautiful. The place also taught me a lot of things; it taught me to eat one whole Turkish pizza all by myself, it taught me to partner pistachio with coffee. It taught me the sacrifice, (especially of having no money while attending classes), the patience and humbleness of living with other people who in the end have helped me in making things work.
These two cities in Connecticut have a special place in my heart, especially Hartford, my sixth home.
A few photos are from my pretty friends, Maya and Lady. Sadly, I have lost thousands of photos I had of Hartford and New Haven. Thank God, I still have a few ugly photos retrieved from my old files. Now that I know how important photos are, keep them because they are treasures.
apples 
squirrel
pumpkins 
Mark Twain’s house
by kadu 