h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Somewhere in the uncharted, Unfashionable backwaters of of the Western part of Upstate New York lies a small, unregarded little city.

This cities, has, or rather had, a problem- Which was that most of the people living there were unhappy pretty much all of the time.

Lots of suggestions were made about how to change tis. Surprisingly, remarkably few of them invovled the changing of little green bits of paper. This was largely because the people of Binghamton, New York did not actually have large quantities of green paper on them.

So many, in particular the head strong and the bold, would often speak wistfully of the day when they would one day leave the city and move on to better and brighter things. They would sit in Silver Bullet Diners drinking coffee and speaking wistfully of the time when they go to seek their fame and fortunes in far off lands. What they did not know, was that Binghamton was a Vortex, sucking people into it, never to escape. In truth many of the young men who left home would try as hard as possible not to return, and very very often they would fail, coming home with their tales tucked behind them.

Until one day, one young man by the name of Rod Serling decided that this time he would leave, it would work, he would write a television series based on this miserable strange little vortex city, and no one would ever have to be nailed to anything. (Not that that had really come up before.)

The young man was in fact successful, and in his own brought a certain fame and fortune to this mysterious city. Binghamton has become known, now and forever as the twilight zone. And the young man aquired fame and richest beyond his dreams

This is not his story.

But is the story of that terrible, miserable little town called Binghamton, New york, a small forgotten Blip on the map about halfway between Buffalo and New York City, and about the people who live there, and also, about the phrase that each and every man woman and child hears when he goes to bed in the greater Broome County area. Quitely, benieth te rumble of Riverside Drive and the roar of Route 17. The voice of a Dead writer whispers: "You are about to enter a place where time has no meaning. It is a vortex. and there is no escape."

Bravo! Well Done!
Escaped Binghamton with the aid of the US Army, on 17JUN71... it's been a haunting part of my past ever since. Last attempt to visit was Christmas, 1978... a resounding disaster all around. I'll NEVER return.
Fourth grade teacher tells us a small city in Baden-Baden, Germany is #1, and Binghamton is #2... Cloudiest City In The Whole World!
1968 Centennial Parade! Boy Scouts pulling platforms upon which are inflated.... CAMELS!!! YES!! Camels! Patched (with double band-aids in an "X" shape!) and drearily faded CAMELS!! What Thuff...?? "Binghamton, Known the WORLD Over for its CAMELS!!"
I have NO memories from the first eightteen years of my life which include THE SUN SHINING!
Thank You, US ARMY!

I have something good to say about Bingo (!): the Binghamton Mets, AA affiliate of the NY Mets, are fun. It is good to to games at NYSEG stadium. Thank you.