Saturday, June 07, 2008
Random thoughts while walking the dog
Dog walking has got to seem pretty odd from the dog's perspective. You, the alpha of the pack, lead her around but then stoop to pick up her poo, put it in a bag and carry it home. Maybe that's why she spends so much of the walk seeking out other dog leavings. On the off chance that you might want to take them home as well.
Why do we say Pacific Northwest? We don't say Atlantic Northeast. Northwest should be sufficient.
And what about with Midwest? Mid, fine. West, not so much. The geographic center of the continental US is in Kansas, a midwestern state. Even if you account for Alaska and Hawaii, the geographic center is in South Dakota, also part of the midwest. According to Wikipedia, the term Midwest has been in use for over 100 years and replaced "Northwest" and "Old Northwest". Clearly these terms evolved as the country expanded westward. It's 2008, can't we drop west and just say Mid or Middle now?
Why do we say Pacific Northwest? We don't say Atlantic Northeast. Northwest should be sufficient.
And what about with Midwest? Mid, fine. West, not so much. The geographic center of the continental US is in Kansas, a midwestern state. Even if you account for Alaska and Hawaii, the geographic center is in South Dakota, also part of the midwest. According to Wikipedia, the term Midwest has been in use for over 100 years and replaced "Northwest" and "Old Northwest". Clearly these terms evolved as the country expanded westward. It's 2008, can't we drop west and just say Mid or Middle now?
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