Hello!!
Ya'll know I'm from South Dakota. I don't know if any of you are but here is a list to know if you are from South Dakota -

1. The first, and perhaps only celebrity you have ever met is Captain 11.

2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting on I-90 for the "follow me" car to come back during road construction.

3. "Vacation" means stopping off at Wall Drug for Friday night dinner and a drive through the Badlands early Saturday morning, with the rest of the weekend driving through the Black Hillsbefore heading home for Sunday night chores.

4. You've seen all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular.

5. You measure distance in minutes and hours.

6. You know several people who have walked to school uphill in knee-deep snow in a blizzard....and they weren't lying.

7. Your school classes were canceled because of cold. And cold means 10 below zero.

8. Your school classes were canceled because of heat.

9. People ride the school bus for an hour each way.

10. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

11. Everyone's parents knew everyone else's parents and grandparents.

12. You know what's 'knee-high' by the Fourth of July.

13. Stores don't have bags; they have sacks. It's not soda, it's pop.

14. You know not only 'what' but 'where' Sturgis is. And, your first big trip in life was to see Mt. Rushmore and visit the Flintstone's Bedrock City in Custer.

15. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it no matter what time of the year.

16. "You betcha," and "You guys." Need we say more.

17. All the festivals across the state and a major attraction are named after a vegetable, grain or animal, i.e. Corn Palace.

18. You install security lights on your house and garage and, yet leave both unlocked.

19. You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, Beer, and red Jell-o with marshmallows (and maybe those little fruit pieces).

20. Everyone carries jumper cables in their car.

21. You know what "cow tipping" and "snipe hunting" are.

22. You only own 3 spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup.

23. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.

24. Driving is better in winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

25. You think everyone from out of state has an accent.

26. A big shopping trip is going to Sioux Falls -Empire Mall. OR Minneapolis, if you are really living.

27. The local paper covers national and international headlines on one page, but requires 6 pages for area sports. You know who won the State "A" basketball championships for years back - girls and boys.

28. You consider deer season and pheasant season national holidays.

29. You know which leaves make good toilet paper while camping and hunting.

30. You know all 4 seasons: Almost winter, winter, Hotter than Hell, and winter again.

31. There is a McDonald's in every town with a population of 1,000 or more. Over 1,000, there is a McDonald's on each end of town.

32. Eight-foot tall snow piles divide the lane down the middle of Main Street from November through March.

33. Pop is a Coke and soda involves ice cream and root beer.

34. You plug your car in at night, but it's not to charge the batteries.

35. You could always count on the local truck stop or The Happy Chef for the best breakfast in town.

36. Aside from pheasants, mosquitoes are the state bird.

Later guys!!

My husbear is from South Dakota, and I have visited the state for political and personal reasons over the years.

Always enjoyed myself and found the people there incredibly friendly and basically open minded.

Just wanted to mention the gay bar in Sioux Falls, Touche, which I believe is still operating on the main drag, at least it was when I was there three years ago.

There are also quite a number of gay religious groups in the state, and they're always making heading for better and equal treatment for gays and lesbians.

When I was in South Dakota in 1992 during the presidential primaries that year, I was blessed to work with Rev. Don Reusch, who was with the MCC of Sioux Falls at the time. He's a native, proudly out of the closet and always putting a face on gay South Dakota for the media.

Thanks for reminding me about some of the cool things about South Dakota.

Oh yes. Touche'z. God, what a great place to get my training wheels for exploring gay life. That was the first gay bar I ever went. I even met my first boyfriend there as well. I guess some of the guys still talk about me. I'm glad that was my training ground when I first came out.

Allen

Isn't SD the home of both Mike Miller and Eric Piatkowski? While neither is essentially a superstar in terms of talent,I'd easily put both of them in my top 15 in terms of "hottest" players in that league. :cool:

Mike Miller is butt-ugly. He kinda looks like Gargamel from the Smurfs. Adam Timmerman, I think he is with the Rams, is not a bad looking guy if he shaves. Kevin Kaesviharn, from the Cincinnati Bengals, is a hottie!! I don't know the other person. What team does he play for?

Allen

Liz Phair has an awesome song called "South Dakota," but I don't think it's supposed to be flattering to the state. Is one of the Dakotas trying to drop the direction from its name in order to differentiate itself? Or something? I thought I heard somebody saying something about something like that.

Interesting factoid (I'm pretty sure I have this right).

South and North Dakota were both admitted into the Union at the same time, with a huge rivalry as to who was first. The solution - the President signed both bills (to make the respective territories states) and then mixed up the pages so no one else would know which was signed before the other.

Yeah Wm'65 -- it's the North -- this from 2001.

"The state of North Dakota is thinking about dropping the word "North" from the state's name. The proposal has drawn plenty of attention—not all of it favorable.

The proposal is included in a package of economic development suggestions that was put forward last month by the Greater North Dakota Association, which is the state's chamber of commerce. Backers say "Dakota" has a more pastoral, Old West ring and better appeal than "North Dakota," which can evoke images of towering snowdrifts and wind-swept, barren prairie.

People in South Dakota definitely don't think much of the proposal. "Well, you can put a pig in a dress, but it wouldn't change the fact that it's a pig," South Dakota state Rep. Mel Olson said last week. "I can change my name to Arnold Schwarzenegger to make people think I'm big and muscular, but the first time people see me, they'll know it's not true."

Changing North Dakota's name would require a state constitutional amendment, approval from voters, and a change in federal law. North Dakota's Legislature considered an amendment to drop "North" in 1989, but the proposal was soundly defeated in the state Senate.

I hope this proposal doesn't go through. Dick Pence, one of the early pioneers of genealogy technology, is a native of South Dakota, and he delights in telling North Dakota jokes. I am not sure they will sound the same if he has to drop the word "North" from all those punch lines!"

from ancestery.com

[ June 10, 2003, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

I'm not kidding when I mention those things in the initial post. There are differences between North Dakota and South Dakota.

In North Dakota, they have Theodore Roosevelt and Lawrence Welk.

In South Dakota, we have Mary Hart and Tom Brokaw.

In North Dakota, they have miles and miles of miles and miles.

In South Dakota, ditto.

In North Dakota, they have the Badlands.

In South Dakota, we have the Badlands as well. We also have Wall Drug, Crazy Horse Monument AND Mount Rushmore.

In North Dakota, they don't.

Is there a gay bar in Rapid City? I was going to take a trip to Rushmore this summer, and with the military community there, I thought there might be one....hehe

There is a Touche'z too near Rapid. You may want to call the Touche'z in Sioux Falls to get the number. I cannot remember what the name of the town it is in. Have fun ... hehehehehehehe

Y'all may want to pick up the latest issue of Frommers "Budget Travel" magazine, as there is a huge, very positive writeup about South Dakota and what it offers, namely incredible places to go/see, and very affordably too.

Dude ... everything is affordable in South Dakota. I could rent a 2 bedroom house for $300 a month. Check it out here!!

Allen

Is it wrong that I kinda wanna go home to South Dakota soon? God, I just got a urge to see my family. I haven't seen them since Christmas.

Isn't now the time when the bikers hit Sturgis for their annual run and festival?

Allen, are you going to Sturgis, by any chance?

If you do, make sure to take pics of the hot biker men and share them with us here.

Got your hot biker man right here:

http://odinn-frigga.tripod.com/me.jpg

http://odinn-frigga.tripod.com/scoot/

Remember, these are Harley owners we're talking about. OK, Sturgis is not exclusively for Harley owners.

More pix.

Hot, hot, hot!

[ July 30, 2003, 11:17 AM: Message edited by: twin58 ]

Woops. I thought Darin Erstad of the Angels was from SD, but he's from Jamestown, ND.

The guy I share an office with at work is from Rapid City and he couldn't wait to get out of there. Another gay boy who migrated to an urban gay ghetto.

Obligatory photo of hot biker man.

http://www.americanmotor.com/images/photos...os/bmw_chps.jpg

Yes, it is time for the biker-fest. And it's the 100th anniversary of the Harley too. I've always wanted to go to SD. See Rushmore, badlands, west to Yellowstone and of course, cray horse. I'm sure I'll be talking myself into making this my next trip in autumn. What a wonderfull time of year to go.

Hot biker man.

I don't suppose I have to point out this is really, really stupid, right?

But pretty damn cute. Could the wind blow those shorts up just a tad more?

Yea, maybe they can show this pic at the guy's funeral, which can't be too far off.

Well, Thursday, I am heading home to South Dakota. God, I haven't been there since Christmas!! I find it funny that when I say I am from South Dakota, people feel sorry for me. Why? I am happy to come from there. It was a simple, uncomplicated life growing up and I'm glad to be a part of it. There are days I wish I could move back home, but since I am gay, it would be more difficult for me to live there right now.

I cannot wait to go home.

Actually Allen, I don't find being gay all that difficult here in Montana. I also have lots of gay friends who have lived in various places in the US, Seattle, California, Las Vegas, Florida, ect, and MOST of them think that being gay in a smaller town is really not much of a big deal.

My opinion is that location should have nothing to do with one's self esteem, or personal happyness. If you're not comfortable being yourself in you home town, how are you going to be comfortable being yourself in your NEW home town. Just my thoughts. I know sounds like the end of into the woods huh. No matter how far you run, if you leave things undone, you will feel more tormented somewhere else because of those things you left undone.

Have a great time, Allen. Be good, play nice with the family, then go out & cause some kind of scandal in the SD Gay community! Let them talk about you all the way until your next visit wink

That's really easy to do. Just being there makes a scandal. When I told one guy that I am not attracted to him ... SCANDAL! (I love tiny gay communities. wink )

I'm from South Dakota too. When I tell people where I am from they always say "You are the first person I have met from South Dakota". It's a great place to be from and there is no other place in the world like it (and I have been to all seven continents. I'm actually on my second round of visiting all seven continents as I am running a marathon in each continent, but that's another topic). Who else can say they have the world's only corn palace?

Okay, I'm going to say this. I hadn't seen my family since December and I have to say that it wasn't long enough.

I love drama from my 20 yr old sis and my Mom.

One creepy thing my Mom said is that, " I have to pay for Grandma's and your funeral." Does she know something that I don't?? Hell, I'm disease free ... what is up w/ that?? :confused: Oh well.

Go to a funeral home and prepay for your own funeral so Mom won't have to worry about it.

Okay, I'm not going to worry since I am only 26 yrs old. I don't want to think of death at the moment.

Allen,

Moms can change. They go through so many emotions when it comes to dealing with their gay & Lesbian children. I sometimes think they say things just to shock us. My mother used to say some pretty ridiculous things when I first came out.

But now she's pretty cool, it only took her 7-8 years. The last time she visited my bf and I we took her to this "Peacock in the Park", a big drag production they have here (in Portland, http://www.peacockinthepark.com/Default.asp) and she had a blast.

I know this doesn't help with the creepy comment, but in time she'll forget she even made it.

Allen,
based on what I have read in your contributions here, you're either really well-adjusted with a terrific sense of humour, or you're faking better than any of us can detect.

I think it's the former. Your mother will come around; just smile, don't acknowledge any comments that shouldn't be dignified, and be positive. I feel like that should be easy for you.

Keep posting dude, you ARE really funny.

Oh, it's just the "yearly yell" my Mom does to me. "Why aren't you using your degree?" Because it is extremely difficult to find an advertising job w/ not much experience in my bag.

She does this almost every time I visit. I pay her as much as I can for the $$ I owe her from college. Also said, I didn't talk to Dad enough. I embarrassed her when she use to work at a bank in my hometown. I shouldn't have went on that Spring Break trip 5 years ago. What was I thinking when I dated my ex?

I just say, It's the same old song, but w/ a different key since I've been gone. And she did this dramatic scene outside in a parking lot where anyone can see.

Well, you can guess what I'm giving my Mother for Christmas, huh?

Wire hangers and that lovely book from Christine Crawford.

Okay, what is going on in my small town of South Dakota?

There is this kid I've known since he was three years old and he is now heading to the South Dakota State Pen for six years for drug possesion and posession of a fire arm (sawed off shotgun).

I know a bunch of girls around my sister's age who are pregnant and married. By the way, my sister is 20 yrs old. Janelle freaks out that her friends are Moms. Hell, Janelle thinks she is way too young to have kids.

I know some guys that have felonies back home and think nothing of it.

What is going on? I don't get it. Is this an epidemic that is going on in other small towns? Does this sound a little familiar to you?

Stuff like this goes on everywhere and always has. It's just that in the old days it was kept hushed up.