Drive North to get to the Midwest

So I had the distinct pleasure of going to visit Eric (does he have a Pardy name??) in Tennessee. For those of you that don't know my system of US geography there are 4 sections "The Northeast" (MD, DE, PA, NY, NJ, ME, NH, VT); "The South" (GA, AL, SC, LA, MI, WV); "The West" (CA, OR, WA, NM, TX, AZ); and everything else falls under the ubiquitous "Midwest" category. Sorry Harold, no "Pacific Northwest" crap on my map.

Anyway, back to the trip.

We stayed at his family home in Knoxville, TN. I honestly believe you don't know a person until you see the house they grew up in. Sometimes it comes as a surprise, but usually you can immediately understand how that environment produced the person you have thought you knew. We began our trip at one of the homes of E-Rock's childhood friends. No surprises here. A bunch of fun, loud, easy to laughter people. Thankfully, no one resembling those Patent office trouble makers!!
From there we went to visit the "city" of Knoxville. With excitable E-Rock leading the way we hiked up and down this college town. I must say, for being a small city it is very pretty. Nice architecture, good green areas...etc. Of course, in his excitement he forgot he was leading around an injured war vet, and poor Maniac was huffing and puffing and valiantly fighting his way up hills and stairs. The city once held the World's Fair in 1981 or something and is seems to be living a bit in the shadow of those glory days.
We then settled down to watch the most awesome display of fireworks I have ever seen. I can't even begin to explain the magnitude of these balls of light. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Boomsday in Knoxville, don't pass it up my friends.
Eventually we made it back to the childhood home of our good friend. Hoards of blackmail material decorated the walls and the memories of his family. Please E-Rock, bring some of those pictures home and hang them above your fireplace!!
His family is the epitome of Southern (Midwestern?) Hospitality. We ate homemade biscuits and sausage while his parents and grammy regaled us with tales of fishing, guns, neighborhood gossip, and tales of E-Rock's childhood. The picture albums were broken out, family recipes were shared, all from the comfort of a country kitchen (complete with artifacts from old family dairies). When it was time to for Red and Maniac to hit the road, it felt like we were leaving family. With laughter and promises to keep in touch and visit whenever we were craving a good meal and better company we left feeling full and content.

There will be a time where meeting friends parents will not filter into the equation, where we will visit each other's houses and fill them with our own spouses and children and it will feel like home. But until then, I hope to understand all of my friends a little more by entering the world in which they grew up in, even if only for a day.