Round On The Ends and Hi in the middle

When I was in college, a friend and I kept a list of the ugliest and the prettiest words in the English language. Top on our list for ugly were words like stink, sassafras, and cooties. Two of the prettiest words were winter and whisper.

I thought about that this morning as I woke up here in Ohio and we were having a soft (another of our prettiest words) fluffy snowfall. Winter and whisper both came to mind. Snuggled under a big comforter, I was amazed at the peaceful beauty of it.

And then I got up.

I have lived in Texas or California for thirty years. My blood is not used to this 20-degree weather. But I love all the things that go with it, like fireplaces, hot chocolate, sweaters, and soup. So I'm loving the extreme change from West Hollywood.

The other thing that fascinates me is the amount of land occupied by shopping centers and GIANT stores like WalMart and Target. They are like Starbucks out here . . . one on every corner. And you can barely see them because the parking lots are more enormous than the stores.

I know I'm sounding like a stupid city slicker, but it is overwhelmingly shocking and yet so incredibly convenient. When was the last time I had the opportunity to actually walk to a Home Depot?

Right here on my street is a Home Depot, Staples, Michaels, Barnes & Noble, Marshalls, Target, WalMart, Meiers, and of course, a GIANT EAGLE. Also represented is every imaginable food chain. My sister knows I love buffets, so my first night here she took me to Hometown Buffet, which we lovingly refer to as "The Trough."

Being here reminded me of some old jokes about Ohio:

You know you're in Ohio when . . . . 

-- You know what's knee high by the fourth of July

-- Every festival is named after a fruit, vegetable, or grain

-- You think the major four food groups are beef, pork, beer, and jello salad

-- You know about cow tipping and possum kicking

-- You only know three spices; salt, pepper, and ketchup

-- National and international news takes up one page in the paper.  Sports takes six.

-- The four seasons are Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter, and Construction

-- You know what a real buckeye is, and you have a recipe for candy ones

-- You can spell names like Cuyahoga, Tuscarawas, and Cincinnati

I'm happy to be here with my family, and more than anything, so thankful to be able to travel again.