This tweet has caused a stir among Scaiaholics:

Undoctored map of the Midwest as found on google pic.twitter.com/kHdABWxM60

— Anders Hagstrom (@Hagstrom_Anders) April 25, 2019

I received a text from my first boss alerting me to this tweet. He declared that he laughed out loud when he saw this because Ohio is in the Northeast, not the Midwest.

Because I am notoriously difficult to work with, we would argue on the air quite frequently. One of those arguments was whether Ohio was in the Midwest or the Northeast.

Now, thanks to technology, we can argue with each other in real time even though we’re 1,800 miles apart!

Jeff’s position was that Ohio is in the Northeast.

“If you drew a cross across the United States,” I vaguely recall him saying 14 years ago, so it might be strange that I’m putting this in quotes. “Ohio would be in the upper right.”

No one would argue Hermiston is not in the Pacific Northwest, he reasoned.

My position is you’re lookin’ at only four regions in that map. Each region is too large.

We reached a compromise. At least, I vaguely recall us reaching a compromise, agreeing to call Ohio a “Great Lakes state.”

The US, I explained, is actually made up of bubbles. And Ohio is in the Great Lakes bubble.

“You need to settle down,” JW replied.

I don’t vaguely recall this: I vividly recall him telling me to settle down quite frequently during our on-air banter. He has a very distinct voice. And I’m frequently riled up.

After the text the other day, I would mention this debate during a summit with associates.

“Ohio State is a football powerhouse,” one posited. “That means it’s in the Midwest.”

I agreed wholeheartedly. I’m neutral on Ohio State football, but I agreed wholeheartedly.

“What about Penn State?” another asked. “And all those powerhouses in the Southeast? Maybe Ohio’s in the Southeast.”

Foiled again.

I would also bring this up to Mama Scaia. She raised us punk kids in Ohio. Surely she’d know.

But she agreed with this Southeast situation, throwing another wrench into this plan to state definitively which region Ohio is in. She said Ohio is too hilly and doesn’t have enough farmland to be considered the Midwest. At the same time, though, Ohio is absolutely not cosmopolitan enough to be considered “Northeast.” [She’s from Connecticut]

Ultimately, JW and I could only agree on one point. Observant Scaiaholics would have noticed Texas isn’t in a circle in the map above. Texas, we concurred, is not in the Southeast, the Southwest or the Midwest. Texas is in the Texas region.

It’s possible I don’t have enough to worry about.