One of the great things about living in the Midwest is getting to say you’re from the Midwest when you go abroad. I find that it almost always endears you to whoever you’re talking to. It shows that you’re a little bit humble. It shows that you probably had a simple upbringing. It shows that you’re probably going to be a nice person. This isn’t universally true, of course. There are plenty of meanies and arrogant people from the great region known as the Midwest, but it’s not the majority. I don’t know why it’s true, but it is, we’re just a kinder species of people.

Maybe because we know how important it is to laugh. We know we need laughter to keep things light, so we’re always cracking jokes. We’re like the dad joke capital of the world. Because when you’re laughing, you can’t be complaining.