Ahh, The Midwest.

One positive thing about living in the Midwest. The fall sunsets are breathtaking. So simple, but so radiantly beautiful. That idea pretty much captures Midwestern life. Although, I must admit, I am a bit naive-- as I have lived in the Midwest my entire life. To be honest, I would like to branch out, explore a bit, but for now I am happy with where I am. I get all warm and fuzzy when I see a silo. There is something secure about this part of the country. Something wholesome. I suppose, as it has been brought to my attention recently, this wholesome atmosphere can be rather overwhelming. . . As I have mentioned before a friend of mine is visiting from Sweden, and he brought his friend. As we were sitting in our (one) quaint little town coffee shop the friend asked if, "Everyone here is Christian?" I suppose that the Midwest could be rather arresting at first, with our Jesus billboards and Christian bookstore (which they say would not go over at all in Sweden). They don't call it the Bible Belt for nothing. Lets just hope they don't visit Utah. . .

Pinafore.

Yesterday, in order to give our Swedish friends a true taste of Mid-Western life, we went to an Amish store. The store sells mostly small bags of candies, grains, and dried fruits. They also, however, much to my delight, sell minute replicas of true Amish wear. I snatched a quick picture of such, with my flash off, mind you, because I would never want to unknowingly steal someone's soul. I'm not sure how shooting with the flash off rationalizes this, but it does, and here are the dresses. You can bet your ass if I had a little girl she would be wearing one of these, and her hair would be in braided pig-tails.

Walk in the park.

My friend Paul is here from Sweden and he brought his friend Anders. Maurine and I tried to show them a good American time. Which included but was not limited to: Amish, trains, driving, and cows.

I am: The StairMaster.

I started working out again tonight. 45 minutes on the StairMaster. I find that I am much more motivated when I have good music, and right now the best music to work out to is Electric 6 and Brand New.

Night drives.

Night drives feel the best with a cigarette and good music.