Have you noticed a new pattern emerging in those “where you are from” conversations? 

The shift was slow at first, only for it to take on hyperspeed since the pandemic began. 

Like most Sullivan County residents, I remember when assuring new folks I’d met that I was “from a small town in upstate New York you’ve never heard of” would end just one way. 

After their insistence that I share the town name, just in case, they’d shrug and sheepishly admit that, well, yeah, I was right all along. They’d never heard of it.

But the landscape of the county has changed in the past few years. 

The “getting to know you” conversations have too. 

When meeting new people, I no longer describe my home as in “upstate New York” but as “in the Catskills,” and if a look of confusion does pass over the face of my new acquaintance, I add “you know, like in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?” That’s usually enough to cover it. 

I’ve also dropped “you’ve never heard of” because, well, the chances are growing that they have.

They’ve been to a wedding in Livingston Manor or booked an Airbnb in Narrowsburg. They’ve gone with friends to their country home in Barryville. They’ve taken in a show in Bethel, stopped for a drink in Roscoe, or have plans to try that place in Kenoza Lake.

In the past two months alone, I’ve encountered not one but two people who’ve not just recognized “in the Catskills” but “in Sullivan County” and challenged me with their local knowledge. 

“Do you know where Callicoon is?” they’ve asked, laughing in delight when I’ve admitted through my own laughter that I don’t just know it ... I grew up there. 

It’s a shift I admit I didn’t see coming, but it’s one I’ll take. 

After all, we’ve always known we had something special here. It’s about time the world saw it too.