Back in the Heartland

Greetings from Smalltown USA! Rachel and Jonah and I have been back in Wisconsin visiting Rachel's parents for the week. The weather has been surprisingly nice, and it's been one relaxing vacation for us. Let me tell you why I like coming back here:


- It's the kind of place where your cousin's husband's parents buy your grandma's old house. True story.

- It's the kind of place where they announce your cousin's birthday at the supermarket. A supermarket, by the way, that the same people you used to bag groceries with 10 years ago still work there.

- It's the kind of place where someone you know drops by almost daily because "they heard from someone" that you were back in town and wanted to check out your new baby.

- It's the kind of place where the main staples of every meal are meat, cheese, and beer. Cheddar is the cheese topping of choice on pizzas. Where the best bar in town also happens to be the bowling alley, which also happens to be the best place to hold an event such as a reunion.

I love coming here for all these reasons. I also love it because it makes my wife happy to see all her friends and family, the people she doesn't get to see as often as she'd like because she made the somewhat strange choice to marry this gray-haired weirdo from Oregon.

The things you overhear at work

The things you overhear at work


Yes, these conversations actually happened:

"Hey, when's Cinco De Mayo?"

"May 5."

"Gotcha, thanks."

"I love having all this useless knowledge at my disposal!"

......................

"Hey, what state is abbreviated MI?"

"I think it's Michigan, but I suppose it could be Mississippi."

"Mississippi? That's not a state is it?"

(Granted this conversation involved a person not native to the US, but still)

...................

God bless work!