What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

by Howard Altman

The long, strange trip is almost over and I cannot help but think that I am really going to miss the madness.

The maybe Molotov.

Stolen phone records.

Notlim.

TuTu.

Kentu.

Blood.

The bugs.

The insane clown posse that has visited Philadelphia almost on a daily basis to spin and spew.

Carville, Giuliani, McAuliffe, Jackson. And my favorite insane clown, Attorney General John Ashcroft, the man who lost to a corpse.

There have been moments, of sheer exhaustion and nausea-inducing frustration, when I have wished this whole thing over, but then comes something like this missive from Cheri Honkala, the ex-stripper turned rabid activist, who Tuesday filed a temporary restraining order against Ashcroft and his Justice Department, to stop the Justice Department from interfering with Philadelphia's municipal election.

Ode to Joy.

On the whole, I am glad I am in Philadelphia.

It is not until you stop to explain this danse macabre that you can really appreciate what a special place Philadelphia is.

Yoshiko Matsui had never sent an e-mail off her island until she sent one to me a couple of weeks ago.

I am a university student in Japan, she wrote. This is the first time I send e-mail abroad. My teacher said to make contact with a person living somewhere in the U.S.A. and find out about everyday life in that city or town.

This e-mail came on a Monday.

Boxes were being carried out of city offices by federal agents with nice clothes and no humor.

Funny you should ask about life in Philly, Yoshiko.

What do you tell someone about Philadelphia?

Philadelphia became a city in 1682 -- old by our standards, fairly new by Japanese standards, I replied to Yoshiko. Philadelphia was home to this nation's first school, first newspaper, first hospital and first library. And of course, Philadelphia is where the Founding Fathers gave birth to this nation.

And let us not forget that it was a Philadelphia lawyer -- Andrew Hamilton -- who took on a malodorous attorney general of his day to win for John Peter Zenger, and, ultimately, our national heritage, true freedom of the press.

Well, there is that.

And there's also this other thing.

Bugs. Boxes. Subpoenas. Warrants.

Today, Philadelphia is still home to political intrigue, I wrote as I introduced the cast of characters whose lives were being pulled by the marionette strings of a sweeping federal corruption investigation, their movements choreographed by the steady tempo of daily gummint leaks.

I explained to her that the investigation was causing racial disharmony and that, counterintuitively, a mayor under the cloud of suspicion actually benefited from that cloud, his numbers shooting upward in the wake of the discovery of the bugs.

I also asked Yoshiko why Philadelphia, of all places?

Her answer was humbling.

When I was a high-school student, I learned that the Declaration of Independence had been published in Philadelphia, she wrote. So it is an impressive place for me as a historical city. This is the reason I choose Philadelphia.

I don't know why, but I was amazed to learn that our present reputation also precedes us.

I knew that there is still racial problem afresh, Yoshiko wrote. And I thought it was really so serious as to influence an election.

But as horrible as that might sound, Yoshiko seemed more ashamed of Japan's political landscape.

In Japan, shamefully, people are not so interested in politics, she wrote. However, political scandals are covered frequently. I think this is superficial interest, but I can't say I am not affected by news.

Yoshiko may live in Japan, but she speaks like a true Philadelphian.

The sad thing about all this is that, despite the insanity, this mayoral race was ultimately a battle between two very good and decent men, which is not something that can always be said when it comes to politics.

I have been fortunate, over the years, to have gotten to know both John Street and Sam Katz and I can say this much without hesitation: Despite their foibles and shortcomings, they are men who want a better world for their children, which is as good a way to judge a pol's character as any.

That said, there is one thing I will not miss from this race.

And that's race.

I know I am not alone.

Yes, Street is black. Yes, Katz is white.

Yes, most blacks will support Street. Most whites will back Katz.

But not like you think.

Forget the pundits and talking heads. Forget Ron White's bitching. Forget the lug nuts who care only about having a white man in City Hall.

When the votes are tallied, they will show that despite all that has transpired, Philadelphians really are better than that.