Roots

In St. Louis, a common form of introduction is to mention where you went to high school. Apparently, cultural stratification is so strong there that this information alone tells you about a person's socioeconomic status, religion, politics and parentage. Of course, in St. Louis, there are Catholic high schools, secular college prep high schools, public high schools and even a yeshiva.

Where I grew up, there was only one high school in town. While there were certainly cultural strata (jocks, geeks, freaks, theater), we all funneled into the same school. Three years, 1800 students.

I have some fond memories of high school. Most of them revolve around the relationship with my future wife. Some of them revolve around track and cross country. A few revolve around yearbook staff. And yes, I had many friends among my high school contemporaries; a couple of them live within an hour of us now.

Ultimately, I lived in Oak Ridge for about 15 years, and somewhere in Tennessee for four years after that. I was born in PA and lived a couple years in the Canal Zone. So I don't really identify as from East Tennessee.

If I identify with real estate, I'll identify as "American." Even when Trump became president, the majority of voters voted against him, and I identify with that America. My prediction is that my fellow citizens will once again reject the anti-Americanism of the Trump cult. Certainly, my fellow citizens of Rhode Island will. I am at peace.