Jefferson City, Missouri

State: Missouri
City: Jefferson City
When: March 14, 2017

Any good “Show Me State” stories?
I have several friends in St. Louis – the city where I also, during college, met my future wife.

Did you travel to the top of the St. Louis Gateway Arch?
Of course. Lovely view.

What’s the story of Starkenburg?
In 2001-2003 I joined pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, the handiwork of 19th century German immigrants located in the town of Starkenburg. The shrine commemorates the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
(1) The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
(2) The escape of the Holy Family and their flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13)
(3) The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:43-45)
(4) The meeting of Mary and her Divine Son as He carried His cross to Calvary
(5) The Crucifixion of Christ on Calvary (John 19:25)
(6) The piercing of the side of Jesus with a spear and His being taken down from the Cross (Matthew 27:57-59)
(7) The burial of Jesus in the Holy Sepulcher (John 19:40-42)

How did Jeff City gets its name?
The name is a tip of the hat to Thomas Jefferson. He was U.S. President when the territory that would become Missouri was acquired from the French in the Louisiana Purchase.

Springfield, Illinois

State: Illinois
City: Springfield
When: March 13, 2017

How was the trip to Springfield?
I arrived by airplane in Bloomington and then drove to Springfield. My father having been a 40-year State Farm man, Bloomington – the company’s corporate home – was a frequent family conversation topic.

Is it true that Abe Lincoln played a role in making Springfield the capital?
Yes, it is true. Aside from being centrally located in the state, Springfield was an up-and-coming township that was home to Abe and his Long Nine associates.

Any other Illinois memories?
Many business trips to Chicago. Michigan Avenue was a commonly visited site, as was Schaumburg. One of my clients was Kraft Foods, and I slipped this Easter egg below into one of my wire frame deliverables for a project.

This is Nacho Regular Cheese Experience!
In an effort to break the mold and brie ahead of the rest in this cottage industry, we’ve made munster efforts and worked our fingers bleu to fashion a fresh and tasty cheese phenomenon. You might have heard the cheddar on the social sites that this colby a gouda development for the business. No whey you say? Well it’s true: our policy of “your swiss is our command” allowed us to move past biased, parmesan considerations. As a result, cheese-lovers are fondue of our product, and all the other fetas in the trade are green with envy. Our can-do approach is summed up in our motto of “where there’s a wheel there’s a way!” So roll on by and enjoy a slice of our latest offering.

Madison, Wisconsin

State: Wisconsin
City: Madison
When: June 4, 2016

What’s the story of how Mad City was named?
Madison is named for U.S. President James Madison, and city streets are named for (among other sources of inspiration) the 40 signers of the U.S. Constitution.

How was the capitol building?
The capitol of the Badger State is modeled on the U.S. capitol in Washington. Madison’s capitol is in a neoclassical style out of Paris called Beaux-Arts, and was completed at the dawn of World War I.

Plan to ever make it to Marquette University in Milwaukee?
Indeed – the library there has the original manuscripts of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit  and The Lord of the Rings; I’d enjoy having a look at the original Red Book of Westmarch.

Des Moines, Iowa

State: Iowa
City: Des Moines
When: June 2, 2016

Family ties to the Hawkeye state?
My grandfather was born in the corn belt city of Des Moines.

How was the capitol building?
The building is in a beautiful Renaissance style. The whole is surmounted by five domes; it is the only U.S. capitol with such a a feature.

Biggest surprises?
The large number of wineries in the state – by my count there are several dozen, with half a dozen wine-tasting festivals thrown in to boot.

How was the road trip across the state?
From Des Moines I drove 35 north, then east on 20 for a fair piece, then north on 150 to go visit Minnesota friends. I saw many, many corn fields and grain silos – exactly as expected.

Carson City, Nevada

State: Nevada
City: Carson City
When: April 16, 2016

Where did Carson City gets its name?
The inspiration for the city’s name was frontiersman, trapper, and guide Kit Carson. The honorific was the result of pathfinder John C. Frémont naming the river that flowed through the valley the Carson River, in gratitude to the scout he’d hired to lead his expedition.

See much snow in the Silver State?
Though Nevada is the Spanish for “snow covered,” I saw only small bits of snow on my visits. Incidentally, in addition to its silver production, Nevada mines huge loads of gold.

Were you ever close to Frenchman Flat?
Not being in the nuclear industry I had no business there, though I did once make a business trip to Las Vegas 70 miles southeast.

Sacramento, California

State: California
City: Sacramento
When: April 16, 2016

Family connection in California?
As a youngster my father lived in Alamo (álamo is Spanish for “poplar”), not far from Mt. Diablo outside of San Francisco. On this trip I drove through the neighborhood to find the old family house. The family later lived in Solvang before moving to Florida.

Where else have you been in the state?
Sacramento of course, and San Diego and San Francisco. Of the few small towns, La Jolla was an unexpected surprise. And on the drive to Carson City I drove around Lake Tahoe, which is a gorgeous place.

Where did the city of Sacramento get its name?
First the river to the west was named Santísimo Sacramento by Gabriel Moraga (d.1823), a Spanish cavalry officer who explored the region and named several rivers. The city takes its name from the Santísimo Sacramento river, and is a reference to the Blessed Sacrament of the altar that is the traditional purpose and focal point of every Catholic church. Fittingly, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament is just a short walk away from the capitol building.

Austin, Texas

State: Texas
City: Austin
When: October 5, 2015

What brings you to Travis County?
A work conference. That is, a work conference that happened to be in the Texas capital.

What’s the link between Austin, Texas and Athens, Greece?
Both places are known as the City of the Violet Crown. Sunsets in Athens are frequently accompanied by a purple aura over the nearby mountains; similarly, the Austin boast of a connection to Athens was spotlighted in a short story written by the witty and playful author William Sydney Porter, a personal favorite who wrote under the nom de plume O. Henry.

What’s the story of the six coats of arms that adorn the capitol building in Austin?
Going back to 1519, six countries have had sovereignty in the territory or state of Texas: Spain (for about 300 years), France (for about 10 years), Mexico (15 years), Texas as a republic (10 years), the USA (16 years), the CSA (5 years), and then the USA again (since 1865).

Isn’t the capitol building gorgeous?
Yes, it’s in the style of the Italian Neo-Renaissance. The place is a popular spot for wedding party photos and similar gatherings.

Jackson, Mississippi

State: Mississippi
City: Jackson
When: September 6, 2015

How did Jackson get to be such a focus of ballet?
The USA International Ballet Competition (IBC) was founded in Jackson in 1978 by ballet author Thalia Mara, whose career in the art took her from her home town to Paris to New York to Jackson. My sister, who was in the Atlanta Ballet Youth Ensemble, competed at the IBC in Jackson in 1986.

Where is Yoknapatawpha County?
It’s a fictional place in the Magnolia State  that sprang from the mind of Nobel-winning author William Faulkner, but it was probably based on his home county of Lafayette in the north-central region of the state; the county seat is Oxford.

How fast can you say “Mississippi”?
If it takes you longer than one second then you’re doing it wrong – e.g. one Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

State: Louisiana
City: Baton Rouge
When: September 6, 2015

Family connections?
An uncle used to live in the state named for the Sun King – in Gretna (New Orleans), to be precise.

What of the capitol building?
The capitol is in the Art Deco style; one is reminded of the Chrysler Building in New York, which was built at the same time.

How was the cuisine?
In New Orleans I dined on red beans and rice with sausage, a glass of Merlot, and a chocolate mousse cake flourish. I almost didn’t want to come home.

New Orleans – naturally you visited Bourbon Street?
I did visit the French Quarter (in daytime), but I merely crossed Bourbon – I was traveling on St. Peter Street.

Indianapolis, Indiana

State: Indiana
City: Indianapolis
When: July 4, 2015

Any Indiana relatives?
My mother’s mother was an Indiana farm girl, a very sweet woman. In her last years she wrote a short memoire of his life as a young girl on the farm, an account that is now a family treasure.

Any Hoosier friends?
Smile when you say that. I know a few good folks in Fort Wayne. I also know several folks who lived in or went to school in South Bend.

Connections to other persons of interest?
My father’s father was a rocket scientist at General Electric, and back in the day he helped NASA put rockets in space. My father saw a number of rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, and in high school he also met all the Mercury and Gemini project astronauts – including Indiana native Gus Grissom.