Sikeston, MO

I spent the Memorial Day weekend at home up in Missouri with my parents. I had a terrific time hanging out with the family, especially my niece and nephew, the most beautiful small children currently on the planet. I was going to do my first remote post from there, which I was very excited about, but my parents' computer recently died a violent death so I had to wait until I got back home.
Where in Missouri you might ask? I never mention the town because 99% of the population has never heard of it. I went back to a little place called Sikeston, where I spent the first 18 years of my life.
There's not much exciting about Sikeston...except everything! If I might, let me indulge with a brief portrait of my hometown.
Sikeston is in the southeast corner of the state, about 20 miles west of the Mississippi. Drive 2 hours north and you'll be in St. Louis, drive 2 hours south and you'll be in Memphis, drive 2 hours west and you'll be in Deliveranceland. It is tabletop flat: From the interstate overpass at the edge of town you can see for miles and miles.
Sikeston has about 17,000 residents. For a small town, however, Sikeston is known for a great many things. For instance, here is a list of famous people who once called Sikeston home:

Excited yet?
We also have the Cotton Carnival, which is held the last weekend in September. There's a crunk carnival, parade, and the crowning of Ms. Cotton, Ms. Cotton Carnival, Little Ms. Cotton Carnival, Little Ms. Cotton Boll, Miss Cotton Bale, Miss Sikeston, Mr. Boll Weevil, and countless other pageants. In May we have Springfest, which celebrates Spring, or something, and has no pageants. The carnival is also a bit more trashy.
No trip to Sikeston would be complete without a visit to Lambert's Cafe. In Nashville terms you could describe Lambert's as a meat and three, except the dinner rolls are thrown at you from across the restaurant. Nothing's funnier than seeing a big hot buttery dinner roll knock some small child unconscious. The food is delicious, and its probably the only restaurant within 100 miles where you'll have to wait more than an hour for a table.
We didn't go to Lambert's this weekend. The locals rarely do; it is mostly all tourists these days. We mostly hung out at home, grilled out on the back deck on Saturday night, and played with the kids. It was a good weekend. It is always good to get back up there. However, like the old saying goes, "Its a nice place to visit..."