Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum (member #7777!) and am another #1 fan of OSC and love his work to the max, etc etc. I'm also from western Kansas, and I just thought I'd share a funny (to me, at least) little story that I remembered as I was looking through to the topics here.
It was a few years ago when I was in 8th grade (I'm a sophomore now), and I was at a Scholar's Bowl meet and one of the questions that came up was "Who wrote the words to the Star Spangled Banner?" And before the question was even finished, my friend Matt buzzed in and said:
"Orson Scott Key."
He got that question wrong. I stared at him in disbelief for a few minutes, and when I asked him how he could come up with that answer, he replied "hey, their names sound the same!" The good news, though, is that we still won that round; the bad news, I don't think dear Matt's read any of OSC's books! A shame, but I'll try to remedy that.
I have an odd habit of remembering random insignificant things or conversations or events like this that aren't really important. Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Anyways, nice to be here and thanks for taking the time to read my post. My name is Paul.
[ April 10, 2005, 01:11 AM: Message edited by: Nero ]
Posted by Mr_Megalomaniac (Member # 7695) on :
Welcome seventy-thousand seven hundred and seventy seven number one fan of OSC.
I tend to recall lots of stupid pointless stuff, but of course I can't recall any at the moment, because then I would have a use for them, and my memories can't do somethign like that for me.
Posted by Jonathan Howard (Member # 6934) on :
quote: seventy-thousand seven hundred and seventy seven
You got that wrong.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Welcome to the forum! Hope you like it here. If you don't mind my asking, where in Western KS do you live?
Posted by Mr_Megalomaniac (Member # 7695) on :
quote: You got that wrong.
So I did. So I did. Well, I'm too lazy to fix it, and if I do change it, it may only add a momentary confusion for the readers, so let my mistake stand.
Posted by Nero (Member # 7777) on :
quote: where in Western KS do you live?
A small town of about 1500 people called LaCrosse. You probably haven't heard of it. It's about 20 miles south of Hays though, maybe you've heard of that?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Actually, I know where LaCrosse is. My father grew up directly south of you in Belpre, and I've still got a fair number of relatives in (or rather around) Larned.
[ April 10, 2005, 01:43 PM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
It's a myth. There is no Western Kansas. Just past Lawrence, it becomes this flat, barren landscape that contains absolutely nothing except the road to Colorado.
Oh, wait. Sorry. I was thinking of Clovis, NM.
As for that story - I'm so, so grateful that my parents did not name me Francis.
But wait. They DID name me Orson.
But they named me for my grandfather, Orson Rega Card, who actually went by Rega.
So I'm also really really grateful they named me Orson.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
I lived in Clovis for 3 years. I find that comment highly offensive. You forgot about the cows.
Posted by Nero (Member # 7777) on :
Yeah, you're right about western Kansas. Lots and lots and lots of flatness and brownish-yellowish grass. It's not very asthetically pleasing, but the small-town life is something I wouldn't change for the world. Except the tornadoes, those suck. There was a tornado warning here and in the surrounding counties today, but luckily it missed LaCrosse...for now...
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
Rega...I'm now naming one of my kids that. That just sounds like a cool name.
Posted by Meshugener (Member # 7601) on :
i'll tell ya a good name, its the name of my grandfather: S. Herbert Handler.
his first name is just the letter "s"...
why would someone name their kid "sherbert handler"?
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
That was also Harry Truman's middle name. Who would have thought "S" was such a popular name?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
As it turns out, my wife has cut wheat in LaCrosse. Her dad was a custom harvester when she was growing up, and she spent a couple of years driving a combine for him.
Scott, I had no idea that you'd been through Lawrence. Did you stop there, or just pass through on your way to somewhere else? I'll agree with you that Lawrence and the surrounding area are the best part of the state, but then I'm a bit biased on that question, being from Lawrence and all. You're wrong, though, in thinking that Lawrence is the cutoff for landscapes that are conventionally thought of as attractive. If you take the turnpike you'll find yourself driving through some beautiful rolling flint hills. They're burnt once a year, and it's breathtaking to see the lines of flames marching across the hills at night. Seeing them in the spring, vibrant green with an underlayer of black from the last burning is amazing as well. There are also a number of rock formations and such in the western part of the state that are not unlike pictures I've seen of Utah. Rock City is pretty interesting, and in terms of man-made things of interest there's always The Garden of Eden. I think I made a "natural beauty of Kansas" thread once that contained links to a lot of really cool features of the Kansas landscape, but that was long enough ago that I expect it's been deleted by now.
As you get farther west it does indeed get pretty flat, and since this area is in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountains, it's almost desert like. I personally am able to see the beauty in this area as well, but I'm aware that most people aren't.
This, by the way, is where you completely ignore everything I've just said and reiterate what you've already said about KS being flat and boring. That is definitely the common reaction when I say something like this. I've always found that a bit odd, myself, but there you go.
[ April 11, 2005, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: Noemon ]
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
quote: But wait. They DID name me Orson.
But they named me for my grandfather, Orson Rega Card, who actually went by Rega.
So I'm also really really grateful they named me Orson.
That could become very confusing, very fast.
Edit: Nero used a funny word, anecdote. For those who don't have any idea what I'm talking about, I have a mental list of words that sound funny.
[ April 11, 2005, 08:37 AM: Message edited by: SteveRogers ]
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
I saw no cows in the flat stony sagebrushy land around Clovis. But maybe that's cause I came into town on Friday night, and every living thing was going up and down the main drag, cruising. I mean cars full of FAMILY, not just teenagers. There was literally nothing else to do but burn gas and wave at each other. There might well have been cows among the cruisers. That would explain why they weren't out in the fields providing "scenery."
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Hmmm. SURELY you saw the train tracks that are never used?
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Kansas... Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
I crossed Nebraska a few times... 565 miles of corn. Who in the world could eat so much corn????
Posted by AB (Member # 7458) on :
Who could eat so much corn? Cows, pigs, chickens.
Then "we" eat in the form of milk, meat, and eggs.
We also eat it in the form of corn syrup, aka Coke & just about every packaged food available(unless its kosher for Passover).
Posted by Gryphonesse (Member # 6651) on :
I'm actually a direct descendant of Francis Scott Key on my paternal grandmother's side. (Or so they tell me.) And No, I wasn't named for him. My mom was too busy naming me for everyone else in her own odd (read: hippie plus Catholic)way.
Suffice it to say that I go by my middle name, Sorcha. It's Gaelic, translates loosely into Sarah or Sally. It's for my mom's mother Sarah. Before you ask, it's PROPERLY pronouced "sor-kah" (or if you're Irish, more like "sur-a-kah".) The "h" is a silent letter in the Gaelic language. Either way, I generally answer to anything close. I also answer to "dammit".
![[Angst]](graemlins/angst.gif)