People often ask me where I'm from. My latest and most smart-assed answer is "Building 8061" (our apartment building). First a giggle, then the "No, really." that's where I get stuck. I pay some ridiculous taxes to Wisconsin, and that is technically where my home of record is [note: he lists a "rural route" address that has long since been replaced by a "fire number"], but I no longer have any connection. To call it home seems a little awkward. I can't think of a reason why I would ever go back.

Sometimes I say "Chicago." After all, it is not only my birthplace, but home to the highest concentration of Family in one place and the where I graduated high school. So that one makes sense. But end-to-end, I only spent 7 years of my life there, or just over 23%. The first six years really didn't count, either.

When I tell them the truth ("I'm not sure"). They sometimes ask where my parents live. I tell them. They sense a strong, strong disconnect. It would appear that I do not look or sound like a native of Southern Louisiana [note: our parents moved to New Orleans last May]. Go figure.

I think I have settled on the answer: "The Greater Wisco Area." This term was coined by one Captain Craw. He is your classic "New England Liberal Elite" as Rush Limbaugh would define it. Except that unlike Rush Limbaugh, Craw has actually served his country in combat--twice.

Perhaps the only Harvard graduate to do so since Korea. Anyway, despite being a graduate of both Harvard and Ranger School, Craw has absolutely no knowledge of the America between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains north of the Ozarks and therefore refers to that geographical region as "The Greater Wisco Area." This is a great term because it pretty much covers everyone who speaks decent English. [Wife, who is from Minnesota] has begun to use it and I have heard people from Kentucky, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio and Michigan do the same.

Perhaps, when you get to Brazil you could teach me how to say "Greater Wisco Area" in Portuguese?