THE CHANGING FACE OF AMERICA: Erie, PA & San Francisco Commentators David Greenberger and Andrei Codrescu revisit places from their past and observe how things have changed. This is the first piece in three days of stories about writers returning to locales they once knew -- part of an 18-month series that will air once a month to explore transformations in American life. Greenberger lived in Erie through high school, but his family moved away and he seldom has returned in the last 30 years. He finds the emptiness of downtown daunting and full of memories. Erie's thriving industries have melted away over the years. Codrescu came to America in the late 1960s and lived in San Francisco for 10 years. He lived the poet's life. Now walking through the Haight and North Beach neighborhoods, he feels like a comfortable middle-aged man. And he discovers he likes that.
THE CHANGING FACE OF AMERICA: Erie, PA & San Francisco
February 22, 200012:00 AM ET
Commentators David Greenberger and Andrei Codrescu revisit places from their past and observe how things have changed. This is the first piece in three days of stories about writers returning to locales they once knew — part of an 18-month series that will air once a month to explore transformations in American life. Greenberger lived in Erie through high school, but his family moved away and he seldom has returned in the last 30 years. He finds the emptiness of downtown daunting and full of memories. Erie's thriving industries have melted away over the years. Codrescu came to America in the late 1960s and lived in San Francisco for 10 years. He lived the poet's life. Now walking through the Haight and North Beach neighborhoods, he feels like a comfortable middle-aged man. And he discovers he likes that.