Kevin in the Tar Pit

Every year my family and I have the generic tradition of going around the table and saying what we are thankful for. A tradition I found meaningless when I was younger. Everyone had the same response   “Oh, I’m thankful for my family, this food, and the house”  “I’m happy to share this day with my family and have a roof to live under”  “Thank-you to my family for making this food and being here with me” Every response was a variation of the last. Each took little to no effort to say, as if we did it because we should. Not because we wanted to recollect on everything, we take for granted on a daily basis. It seemed remedial to me. Like making turkey on Thanksgiving because it’s a societal norm, even if no one in your family enjoys it.                           I find myself questioning this saying of thanks every year before Thanksgiving break. Same  with most holidays, why do we give presents on December 25 th , why should we get money for losing a tooth? All of the

            Most people who grow up in Central Illinois have one word to describe it, boring. In my opinion this rings true.                         Driving through Illinois feels like an eternity because it’s flat. My family and I make a trip to Georgia every summer and driving through Illinois is the longest part. It’s to a point where a goal is to get out of Illinois before we stop. Which is four hours. In addition to the flatness of Illinois, construction also makes a trip a lot longer. The state of Illinois while in debt still funds construction projects. That appear to make no improvements on anything and never get done on time. The second thing that confuses me about Illinois is that we are the pumpkin capital of the world. Where are the pumpkins? I see miles and miles of corn and soy beans but not a single pumpkin patch. If I want to find a pumpkin patch it is a deliberate action, for example, going to Negangard’s Pumpkin Patch to look for pumpkins to carve. If anythi