One for the "You'll Never See This in Jersey" File

Leslie plunked down a chunk of her allowance for some raffle tickets a couple months ago. It was to raise money for Svensk Hyllningsfest, a huge Swedish heritage festival that Keith's hometown puts on every other year. A good cause -- we go every time -- so I told her to go ahead and buy the tickets if that's where she wanted to spend the money. Turns out, she won.

Her prize? Half a pig. I should clarify: half of a dead pig, cut up in its asundry parts and ready to cook and eat. Actually, Leslie only got half of a half because the ticket had her and her grandma's names both on it, so they split their winnings. We brought Leslie's share home at Thanksgiving. Bacon, sausage, pork chops, pork steaks, pork liver -- half of a half of a pig is a surprisingly lot of pig. We're having some of the sausage tonight for dinner. We're not huge pork eaters, so we may still have chops left to grill next summer.

Keith also saw an ad in the Sioux City paper a while back for another raffle of some kind in town. The prize? A rifle. No lie. Yeah, you'd NEVER see that happening in Jersey.

Something you don't see in Siouxland? Traffic jams. Unless they're caused by a freight train sitting on the tracks.

Rush Hour in New Jersey: That time of day when all God's children are trying to get to or from work and the traffic on major streets and highways is practically at a standstill.

Rush Hour in Iowa: That time of day when all God's children get a bite to eat for lunch and listen to Mr. Limbaugh.

:) We sure miss New Jersey . . . but I think we're going to like Iowa.