Goin Hoosier: Episode 1

It started one morning in May. My lovely wife, Lisa, stood crouched over me as I slept. I know this because she was standing over when I opened my eyes. I blinked a few times and she said, "I've got a job opportunity. It's in Indianapolis." "Indiana?" I queried. She nodded.

Indiana. I knew only a few things about Indiana. For one, as a child growing up in a suburb south of Chicago, I knew that Indiana was where you could got to buy fireworks. For another, the Music Man, starring Robert Preston, and Indiana were synonymous, in my mind anyway; with "capital T" that rhymes with "P" that stands for "pool." Thirdly, one cannot forget the Indianapolis 500; as a young boy it was my earnest wish to be killed in a racing accident at the Indy 500. So there you have it. My sum knowledge, at that time, of Indiana. And since then of course, there's John Mellencamp -- does he still use the Cougar name --Mr. Hometown Homebred Indiana.

"Don't worry," I said, reassuringly. "Something else will come up."

As long-time residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, we cringed at the thought of leaving, and for Indiana, of all places. So as it was doomed to be, in June we left for our first exploratory trip to Indianapolis, the cultural center and capitol of the state, and location of the job. We were surprised to find, early on, a place called the Corner Wine Bar. Being from California -- at least long-term transplants -- wine is essential tour well-being. I mean, lets face it, San Francisco is almost a European sub-state. Well, San Franciscans, and Northern Californians in general, like to think of ourselves -- themselves -- that way. So finding that we could get good wine in Indiana was a BIG plus. We had dinner there one night, watched a goose hang out the fire station across the street, and ate a delicious meal and drank good wine at a comfortably warm outdoor table. It was almost like we could live there, I mean, here. One big question loomed: was all this for real or was it just the demo?

Goin Hoosier Indi-Facts:
1. Would you be surprised to learn that the National Organization of Women held its 2009 National Convention in Indianapolis?

2. Bouchercon, the quintessential mystery writer's and reader's annual convention is taking place where?! Indianapolis! My friend and fellow writer, Cara Black, author of the Aimee Leduc detective novels, will be there.

3. And lets face it: every time President Obama wants to make a point and take it to the masses, he goes to Indiana.