I guess it's safe to say...I am NOT your typical middle-age Midwestern guy. Although I grew up in Cincinnati, my career took me out of town for several 2 year stints - Key West, FL., Virginia Beach, VA., Baltimore, MD. I think it gives me a different perspective - I can see how Cincinnati earned the famous quote from Mark Twain "I want to be in Cincinnati when the world ends because it'll be 5 years later"! But for all it's "clanishness" - you know - the East Side vs. West Side thing...it's still a great place to raise a family. I still see the guys I went to grade school with 40 years ago, and my 8 brothers and sisters celebrate holidays, birthdays, and other special occssions together.
I'll go out and toss a ball...rather than watch a ballgame. I'll find the time to volunteer and mentor a kid from the projects...rather than complain that Cincinnati is "an expanding ghetto". I'd rather dream and try something that everyone else predicts is doomed ...than be stymied by fear of failure.
Maybe I'm a Renaissance man?! I can put on a dinner party for 12-20 people and have everything "timed" perfectly (early years spent in Food/Beverage in Hotels...). Might look for a little help cleaning up later...but after our guests have left, you'd be the recipient of a long, slow, sensuous backrub!
I'm still a work in progress - I continue to work on my spirituality...and (for me) it's not nearly just belonging to a traditional church/religion. I work dilligently at balancing work and play, planning/deliberation vs. "just do it" and, most importantly, being content and still pushing myself.
I think this is an old Native American axiom...and if I live long enough I hope it can be said of me: "True wisdom is like a river - the deeper it flows the less noise it makes".