Are we talking West Side of Manhattan, Westchester, or ... Hyde Park ...? :D

Probably not what I was going for, growing up: I think the goal was just to emulate my idea of "normal", at the time--'70s TV news anchors, more or less. On the other hand, the way that my neighbors spoke ... sort of mixture of Sly Stallone & the Dukes of Hazzard (Northeastern, yet hickish) ... well, it just wasn't me ...