Since Evan came along, I have made a habit of getting him a keychain at each new city that I visit. He has quite a collection from all over. I think it has helped him learn a bit about other places. I have written before that my fear is that it has just left him with the reminder that I have had to travel a fair amount while he has been growing up.

In any event, I recently was in Madison, WI. It was the first time I have been there since Evan was born so I stopped by the airport gift shop to look for a keychain. Normally I like to find keychains that have something on them that the city is known for.

In Madison, here are the keychains I could choose from:

1) A plastic mug of beer that said "Wisconsin" on it.
2) A wedge of plastic cheese that said nothing on it. I liked the cheese but it said nothing about where it was from. I suppose one could assume it was from Wisconsin but, still, that bothered me.
3) A picture of a bunch of bears sitting at a bar, one who has recently fallen off of his stool due to drunkenness. It did say something about bears and Wisconsin that I really didn't understand.
4) A small plastic cow that squirts fake poo out its backside when you squeeze it. (If you know anything about nine-year-old boys, you know that they need absolutely no encouragement when it comes to things involving bodily functions.)

The end result: My son did not get a keychain from Madison ... not this trip at least.