The minute you said "Piqua," I got one of those sensations like when you smell something that reminds you of your childhood. I know where Piqua is. It also reminded me that I got this by e-mail just today:


You Are From Ohio If:

1. You don't think of Florida first when someone mentions Miami.
2. You snicker when someone's from Tiffin, because you think of the State
Hospital.
3. You think Pro football teams are supposed to wear orange!
4. You've heard of 3.2% beer.
5. Schools close for the state basketball tournament. Deer season, too.
6. You're proud of your state fair, but would rather go to Cedar Point.
7. You know all the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and
Construction.
8. You live less than 30 miles from some college or university.
9. You know what a buckeye really is, and have a recipe for candy ones.
10. "Toward the lake" means "north" and "toward the river" means "south."
11. You've heard of the Great Nickel Beer Night Riot.
12. You know if other Ohioans are from southern or northern Ohio as soon as
they open their mouths.
13. You root for a college team though you've never taken a class there.
14. You can spell words like Cuyahoga, Olentangy, Bellefontaine, and
Tuscarawas (Wapakoneta?) and you
know which letter is doubled in Cincinnati.
15. You always visit more than two amusement parks in one summer.
16. You know that Serpent Mounds were not made by snakes.
17. You know what game they're playing when the Mud Hens take on the Clippers.
18. "Vacation" means spending a day at Cedar Point or King's Island.
19. You measure distance in minutes.
20. Down south to you means Kentucky.
21. Your school classes were canceled because of cold.
22. Your school classes were canceled because of heat.
23. You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way.
24. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
25. You know what's knee-high by the Fourth of July.
26. You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example:
"Where's my coat at?"
27. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both
unlocked.
28. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O
salad with marshmallows.
29. You carry jumper cables in your car.
30. You know what pop is.
31. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
32. Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with
snow.
33. You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie.
34. The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page
but requires 6 pages for sports.
35. You think that deer season is a national holiday.
36. You know which leaves make good toilet paper.
37. You thought that the Michael Stanley Band was the most popular band in
the country.
38. You actually get these jokes, then forward 'em to all your OH friends and relatives!


> Today we were out apartment hunting, and afterwards we had to drive up to Piqua to do our grocery shopping. I was going to take our normal route up Troy-Piqua road, but wouldn't you know it, there was a train coming through town at an incredibly and offensively slow rate of speed. Couldn't have been going more than 25 mph. So I did a three point turn and headed for Troy-Sidney road, an alternate route. (It goes *under* the train tracks farther out in the country.)
>
>
> On your way out of town on this road, you have to drive through an intersection with a four-way stop and a flashing red light. As we drove up to this intersection, we noticed a police cruiser sitting in a parking lot on the opposite side of the road, presumably watching for speeders. I checked my speedometer, and I was okay, so I promptly forgot he was there as I coasted to a stop.
>
> Then I suffered a mental lapse. My wife and I were talking, and I just sat there, waiting for the light to turn green. This is a blinking red light, mind you. It never turns green. You're supposed to come to stop, give the people sitting at the light on the intersecting street a chance to go, and then move on. But I was in traffic light mode, and kept waiting for it to turn green. I must have sat there for at least two minutes, oblivious, while other cars came, stopped, and moved on. It didn't hit me that I was doing anything wrong until Mr. Police Cruiser pulled up behind me with his lights flashing. Whoopsie.
>
> Smacking myself in the forehead for my stupidity, I pulled through the intersection, but Mr. Policeman wanted to have a chat with me, so I pulled over to the side. He asked me if I was tired, drunk, or what, and took my license and ran a record check on it. I've only got one citation on my record, and that was three years ago. I sat in the car and laughed at myself while my wife made fun of me until he brought it back and said to please pay more attention to my driving. I didn't see it, but Mrs. Grishny said he smiled and shook his head as he walked away.
>
> Boy, do I feel stupid. So c'mon now folks, tell me all about your brain freezes and make me feel better. I need some comradery here.
>
> Gri"at least I didn't hit any MOOSES"shny