Column: My Greenwich is Better than Your Greenwich

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By Bobbi Eggers

As you drive into NYC on a crystal clear evening, soaking in the bright lights and twinkling bridges, do you sometimes remember the iconic song, “I Love New York”? I can hear it now and remember the quick cuts of 80’s chic NYC celebrities proclaiming why they love New York: Liza Minelli at the Met, Gregory Peck overlooking skyscrapers, Carol Channing holding diamonds, Howard Kissinger at the U.N., sparkly Rockettes kicking high in the air and even Frank Sinatra loving New York “because it’s open all night.” That campaign was a smash success. But when you think about it, the campaign that helped rebuild New York was actually all about the people with the city as their backdrop. The good, the bad and the enticing, all there for the taking.

Hello. Here I am in 2019 and I feel that way about Greenwich. I could stand in the middle of the Avenue, arms outstretched, music playing. And just like New York, my Greenwich is different from your Greenwich. Because my Greenwich is full of my own experiences, my amazing friends and a life rich with stories and endlessly fascinating people.

So as I swipe through Instagram and see “Greenwich” served up to the world, I see pictures of glamourous parties full of familiar faces, oversized hats at polo matches, mommies in Range Rovers, endless posts of upcoming fundraisers all competing for your money, and unbelievable grand houses just waiting for you to write the check. Greenwich, The Brand. But Greenwich is so much more than that. My Greenwich has a pulse, a diverse fabric, and the heartbeat is the people we love and choose to be with, and the people we care about. It’s so much more than the hundreds of Instagram photos of the sunset at Tod’s Point. My Greenwich is who is standing next to me when I take that glorious photograph. And who I am meeting for dinner at Suzy Baker’s Pavilion at the beach, the best and most popular restaurant in town during the summer.

I will bet that your Greenwich is like that too. We rally around our friends and family who need us, and they rally around us when we have fallen. We celebrate our friends who are being honored and cringe to hear about a revolving door of hopeless dates on Match.com. Because when you look at the perfect family on the holiday cards, life happens to them, too, and that’s a good thing. It builds relationships and teaches children resilience. We get through it together. We laugh, we cry, we meet for lunch or dinner to pour our hearts out, we pack each other’s moving boxes or bring meals in those times when it’s too hard to think about what’s for dinner.

Greenwich friends are local heroes and they make this town a compassionate, generous place. The little girl with burns on her face at Kids in Crisis is safe now because a group of women in the Junior League of Greenwich got a house donated for a dollar and built a safe home. Because of Shari Shapiro, who has been running KIC since 1980, thousands of children have been protected. That is just one of many stories of local heroes that adds to this crazy quilt we call home. My Greenwich is full of people like this and I’m sure your Greenwich is, too. I am proud and I want to show you my Greenwich because I want you to see the hidden treasures. There are so many layers and fascinating people. I have some amazing stories to tell. Meet me on the Avenue and we’ll do some Rockettes’ kicks.

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