My 2-cents: I left Iowa as a 5-6 year old and don't believe I have any trace of "Ioway-nian" in my dialectal utterings, however, I STILL have people ask me where I'm from! (54 years later.) Having this discussed here reminded me of my Mom's name...Dorothy----always pronounced "Door-thy" EXCEPT by my great-grandmother, (and also Auntie Em in the Wizard of Oz), who pronounced it "Dar-ah-thy". My great-grand was born and raised in Van Wert so I'm wondering if "Dar-ah-thy" is how it's typically pronounced in Iowa, (and Kansas). Anyone know? Just got several inches of rain in Northern Calif---some snow in the mountains---so looks like we'll get to use our ski passes afterall! Missed the rain since we were in Southern Calif., but we're back now and READY for Christmas. Hope everyone is enjoying "the season". Sherry balowmsg@earthlink.net NOW BLOGGING http://www.settlethedust.blogspot.com/ "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." - James A. Baldwin