> As most of you know, I live in Louisville, where the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, is run.

Cynthia mentioned something about Derby Day to me last night, and it made me realize how large and diverse one country can be. She said something along the lines of there being a lot of beer consumed today, and I said, "Yep, for Cinco de Mayo." But no, I was wrong. She was referring to Derby Day. "Is that a car racing thing?" I asked. She corrected me, saying that it was horse racing, and then it sounded vaguely familiar. However, (ironic or not) I'm still more familiar with the annual Derby Days event put on by sororities than with the Kentucky Derby.

But here in California, there was much partying and celebrating for Cinco de Mayo, or Fifth of May. It's a holiday in rememberance of a significant battle Mexico won with France, and I've never thought about it NOT being celebrated. However, I have a feeling that people in Kentucky probably weren't even aware of the holiday, and that's probably the case in other states, too.

This idea is a bit strange to me, but I guess it just goes to show that a country with 50 states is a pretty diverse place. Each state is different, and not all of them do the things I now take for granted. As another example, I never thought twice about the fact that California has agricultural inspection stations at the borders until my visit to New Hampshire last summer. I noted that it would be kind of hard to monitor that sort of thing, since New England state borders are vague and even run through towns. Sam had never even heard of an agricultural inspection station before, and couldn't believe such a thing existed in his own country.

So anyway, Happy Derby Day (if people say that), and Feliz Cinco de Mayo (well, now it's seis de Mayo).

Ell"Hola. Me llama es Ellmyruh. Necesito dormir."myruh