I sat at the Southwest terminal in Orlando Airport looking around at passers-by, the airplanes going to and fro, and the families nearby. I turned to Mark and told him “Everyone looks like such Long Islanders.” He glanced around and agreed. Many of the passengers were Caucasian with some sort of fake tan, they dressed like Long Islanders, they sounded like Long Islanders, they reacted like Long Islanders (some Long Islander complained about the Priority Seating situation as well).

Maybe it was just me, so I milled mentally, rotating my mental Rolodex, trying to remember as many Long Islanders that I’ve encountered in the past years. Sadly, most of them matched up. I looked across to the terminal on the other side of the walkway and there was a diverse group headed over to Newark. Maybe some of them were on multi-stopped routes to other cities, or maybe the fact is that the surrounding area in New Jersey has a more ranged population.

I thought to myself, am I being ignorant? But the agreement from Mark was enough to make me dispel that argument. I mean, there is a Bostonian/Massachusetts/Nantucket kind of look, but I don’t really complain there. People wearing clothes from the Lands End collection at Sears or the women purchasing their looks from Talbots. Speaking in a very regionalized accent. The belief the Boston Red Sox are actually a good team. I can accept all that. This Long Island look though seems to be bringing the rest of New York down.