Demographic reality confronts the geographic snobbery of Massachusetts. If the state is such a great place to live, then why is everyone leaving? "So when you are growing up there it is difficult to escape the impression that you are lingering too long in a story that has long been over," writes John Hodgman in a hilarious essay in the Boston Globe. Hodgman brilliantly captures the Bay State paradox of self-importance meshing with a declinist mood. He writes, "[I]f you look at a map of Massachusetts and squint your eyes, you might imagine you are looking at the nation itself, only with no Texas, and a horribly deformed Florida. You might be tempted to believe that the whole country shaped itself in Massachusetts's honor. Certainly many in Massachusetts have believed so. From its beginning, Massachusetts was self-importantly aware of its own self-importance, its special place in the history of our country. Outlining the divine mission of the colony he helped to found, Puritan John Endicott would call it the 'Bulwark Against the Kingdom of the Anti-Christ.' I still call it that today--it's better than the 'Bay State.'"

I love it. When I encounter people from parts otherwise and tell them I’m from Mass., they react like the Tom Arnold cowboy character in the Austin Powers flick when he asks why Austin is wearing the funny get up. When he answers that he’s English, the cowboy says “I’m sorry”.

If it weren’t for a honey here, I would be writing this from California, the state where I was when discharged from the military.