Before The Bridge....

That's what we called native Staten Islanders. "Native" meaning that they were born before the bridge or that their parents were living on Staten Island before the bridge.

"The Bridge" is the Verazzano Narrows bridge which links Staten Island to the other boros, specifically Brooklyn. At the time that it was built, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world...so long that the engineers had to consider the curvature of the earth in the planning and construction.
The bridge changed the entire Staten Island landscape. It made Staten Island very accessible and soon people from Brooklyn and other boros were moving in. The landscape began to change...slowly at first as the farms dotting the countryside were replaced with houses and roads; and much later - highways.
I noticed the change in the area where I grew up. When I was very young, my street was not busy at all. The corner of my street had a stop sign and there were no paved sidewalks. There were trees as far as the eye could see. Eventually, the trees began to be replaced with homes, the sidewalks were paved, and a traffic light replaced the stop sign.
For my entire life on Staten Island, there was an "us" and "them" mentality. We were the natives...the mentality was so strong that when I began dating my high school sweetheart, his mother asked me if I was before or after the bridge. Had I been after the bridge, his parents would have forbidden him to date me.
I alreadys remember there being resentment from the natives regarding the newcomers. My feelings were mixed. Many of my friends were "after the bridge" and many post bridge folks became community leaders and worked tirelessly at preserving the history of our Island as well as its natural beauty.
Still, Staten Island changed so drastically over time that it wasn't even a shadow of it's former self anymore. So few natives remained that I didn't feel bad when I left.
It wasn't the Staten Island I once knew.
In the community where I had my store -- the story was the same. There was no bridge; however, an influx of new residents had created a similar situation...resentment from those who had grown up in an area which had drastically changed.
Now here I am in Leesburg, Florida and I can't help but think that the people who lived here for years and whose families have long histories may resent folks like me. It's because of folks like me that there are highways where farms once stood and that new houses and shopping centers are being built.
I no longer belong on Staten Island, but I don't belong here either. I don't plan on leaving and I want to assimilate rather than stick out.
I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at this brain dump.