ONE: Travelog

I’m beginning to have a theory. We drove through the geographic center of continental United States and it is stunning. Located at the center of northern Kansas, you might assumed its flat. Far from it. The Geographic Center of America is marked by hills that gradually rise and abruptly descend, with a few that look like grassy tidal waves, one in particular. It’s beautiful, and so is the Geographic Center of Colorado.

Google Maps failed me for the first time, once out of two hundred or so uses isn’t bad; and in the end it was still Google maps that lead me to the geographic center, as no other map has any of the streets marked so well out in the countryside. It was Google’s satellite view that confirmed that the center is right smack in the middle of someone’s private property, which is a stunning hunk of land, to say the least. We nervously drove up the hill which was kind of marked “NO TRESPASSING” but we felt that our cause was worthy. We made a note for the owners of the Summer home, which in some ways is better than surprising them in person. Rather than grabbing the shotgun and firing a round into the air, they can look at the note, laugh at it together, look at the website, and more than likely they will send me an email.

Still, the surprise of being told in person that your home is at the exact geographic center of an entity has just got to make you feel good. It’s kind of like when someone calls you to tell you that your phone number, 816.746.8486, can also be spelled 816.SHOTGUN — that makes your day. So take a moment, and call someone you don’t yet know; let that person know that their number is 972.RAUCOUS or 212.DA.PARTY, may they’re having a raucous party as we speak.