There is something about Midwest in general, that has kind of an underdog quality.

You don't feel like smiling? Then what? Force yourself to smile. Act as if you were already happy, and that will tend to make you happy.

After a while, the fear became a habit, too.

They never discussed it, but both came to understand it as a promise: he would always make sure there was a place for her. She would always be able to say, Someone is coming. I am not alone.

There is something about Midwest in general, that has kind of an underdog quality.

If a news camera shows up, people will line up, they want to be seen. But at the same time they want both to be chosen and not singled out. I think that is an endless struggle within most.

I'd like to think of my self as not melancholic at all, I think I'm a pretty cheerful person, really.