That really is a sweet sweater.

"What Happens in Duluth, stays in Duluth" is not a great quip. It's a ripoff of an ad for Las Vegas.

Great story, Wildgoose, another one I'll have to send to my friends elsewhere.

Yes, Will, but it's *funny* because it's DULUTH, not Vegas. The reference is what makes it funny. The fact that Duluth is a punchline name meaning something like "back of beyond, hicksville, nowhere" is why it's funny. Sheesh. Don't you ever tell people somewhere else where you live? Don't they always say, "DULUTH??!" with a barely sustained expression of incredulity spiced with an unmistakable sense that you're a little bit crazy? 

/overexplaining jokes to the overserious.

@ Actually, WildGoose, Mr Claire and I moved here b/c he got one job offer after he got his Ph.D. So, it's by choice now, but at the time, we were pretty grateful that he got a job *anywhere.*

@hbh, I know *exactly* what you mean. I was at my college reunion, and the admissions councilor was talking about the incredible variety of applicants to the college, and said something like "we have applicants everywhere from Duluth, Minn to Big-City-Wherever," and *everyone* at my table looked at me, like, OMG, there are actually other people living in Duluth, not just Crazy Claire!

What I mean is that everyone responds like Katherine Hepburn in that movie clip somebody here showed at their class reunion. "Duluth!?? That's west of here isn't it? Full of old relics..."... we are a real place that equals BFE to America at large. I *love* that.