the heartland

i have to say that ohio was an adventure....my most hardest working adventure as of yet. there was one day in particular that started at 6am in the morning and end at 4am the following morning...yes, a total of 22 hours of work and then up at 10am to start again.

in my time that i was there i had a wonderful chance to work with a very dedicated high school football team and their coaches. a school that was the most cooperative location site that i have every worked on and I learned to appreciate what the midland of this country provides for us.

one person with us made a very observant comment "Thank God for the Midwest, they provide our corn, our soybeans, and our future service men."

-everywhere i turned there were corn fields and soy bean fields and cattle. everything you ordered came with bacon and cheese on it, unless you specified otherwise.

-the town that we were staying was one of the most recently affected by the war in iraq. a recent roadside attach claimed 9 marines from this one town. morning after morning there were announcements on the radio of memorials, funeral processions and description of the lost boys (ages 19, 22, etc.....)

-there are people in this town who raise livestock for competitions at the state farm and a prize chicken can be worth as much as $650

-most stores still close on sunday so people can spend time with their family. however there is a 24 hour walmart and kmart within 5 miles of each other

-the area is in a drought and the economy is so stressed that the local movie theatre is closing and cattle grazing tips on the local radio station to make sure that the pastures are not over grazed and farmers don't run out of hay stock piles before winter

-one town has a pumpkin festival every year that makes the town population jump from 30,000 to 400,000 for one weekend. hence the pumpkin shaped watertower in the center of town.

-football is more than a past time there, it is almost a religion. a way to get away from town and see what else is in the world.

there are so many more things that i could go on and on about. and although my time in south central ohio was brief, i took away with me more knowledge of the world beyond the city, beyond the northeast and a gratefulness for the diversity that i get to experience because of my work. it is amazing to see what and who america is made up of, and if you have never travelled o the midwest than you are missing why people call that part of america "the heartland".