For my thirty-six years, I'm still proud to call Iowa home. Towns like Centerville, Oskaloosa, Ottumwa, Albia and Agency are stomping grounds. Their funny names and quirky kinfolk embraced me with Midwest hospitality.

Midwest hospitality has its uniqueness. When people say "Hello", they're meaning that word. The "Hello" is given to your face. Go to New York or Chicago. Say "Hello" and look at the person you're greeting. You'll be lucky to not get a response of "What you're looking at?" You definitely don't receive a smile following that hello. Midwesterners are easy-going and laid-back. When they leave their cities, nature is greeting them. Cows grazing or laying on the grass and farmers toiling their fields are soothing to them.

People here are neighborly. You can ask for directions and get help. People don't act like they're rushed or bothered too much. Big cities have their traffic jams, emergency sirens and hordes of pencil-pushers hustling to work like driven cattle. Small towns in Iowa have vast land of corn and space with trees and animals running free. Big cities are over-populated with Starbucks where commuters get their triple-flavored, smooth lattes. Small towns customers are enjoying their hot coffees and cappuncinos in family-owned cafes.

The Midwest also has one more thing. In the Midwest, you're in God's country. You can't be the King of New York while walking a three-hundred acre cornfield. Farmers are working their entire lives on these lands. They're providing food for billions around the world. The Midwest will always be America's Breadbasket. The Midwest will always be bigger than you and me.

Learn more about this author, Marcus Brooks.
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