{"id":646,"date":"2021-04-14T08:47:25","date_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=646"},"modified":"2021-04-14T08:47:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T12:47:25","slug":"show-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/14\/show-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Show Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The origins of state nicknames are a bit of a mystery.

As social historian Bill Bryson points out in Made in America: <\/em>\u201cNo one can say for sure why Iowans are called Hawkeyes<\/em>, why North Carolinians are Tarheels<\/em>, why Kansans are Jayhawkers <\/em>(there is no such bird), or why Indianans are Hoosiers.\u201d<\/em>

From time to time Arkansas has been called the Hot Water State, the Wonder State, and the Toothpick State.  Georgia has been the Buzzard State and the Goober State. 

Illinois was long known as the Sucker State and Montana the Stub-Toe State.  No one really knows why.

In recent years a few states have given themselves rather optimistic nicknames.  New Jersey tried to call itself the Switzerland of America, which seems to be a bit of a reach. 

New Mexico has gone through a slew of hopeful nicknames, including The Land of Heart\u2019s Desire, the Land of Opportunity, the Land of the Delight Makers, and the current Land of Enchantment.  Indy \u201c500\u201d fans have always been content to call New Mexico the Land of the Unser Family, while TV binge-watchers might opt for Breaking Bad-Land.  

Then there are the nicknames that fall into the category of What Were They Thinking \u2013 slogans that don\u2019t appear to have won marketing awards.  South Dakota is the Blizzard State.  Tennessee is the Hog and Hominy State.  South Carolina is the Iodine State.  And New Jersey was once known as the Mosquito State \u2013 perhaps not the ideal slogan for a vacation ad campaign.  

Then there\u2019s Missouri.  For a while it was known as the Puke State, for reasons that are probably best left to the imagination.  Today Missouri is celebrated as the Show-Me State.  Historical research reveals that \u201cshow-me\u201d was originally an insult from outsiders:  Missourians were reviled as so thickheaded that they needed instructions on how to do anything and everything. 

Missouri residents, however, have endeavored to invert that put-down into a compliment.  \u201cShow me\u201d has come to imply shrewd caution, as in, \u201cI won\u2019t believe that until I see it for myself.\u201d

Which means that Thomas, one of Jesus\u2019 first disciples, was the original Man from Missouri.

The gospel of John reports that on the day of his resurrection, Jesus appeared to 10 of his 12 closest companions.  Judas had already removed himself from the scene.  Thomas was\u2026where was<\/u> Thomas?  <\/em>The Bible reports simply that he \u201cwas not with the disciples when Jesus came.\u201d (John 20:24)

The others were understandably excited.  \u201cWe have seen the Lord!\u201d  But Thomas was having none of it.  \u201cUnless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side [where a Roman centurion had pierced the crucified Jesus with a spear], I will not believe it.\u201d

What\u2019s going on here?

It\u2019s hard to say.  Perhaps Thomas is giving vent to a healthy skepticism.  Perhaps he’s protecting himself from disappointment.  Perhaps he\u2019s simply a nuts-and-bolts kind of guy who needs to see something, and touch something, in order to believe it.  Just show me.<\/em>

How does Jesus respond? 

Seven days later he appears again to his disciples.  This time Thomas is in the house.  \u201cPut your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting and believe.\u201d 

Note the sequence.  Jesus doesn\u2019t demand, out of thin air, that Thomas should just \u201cbuck up and believe.\u201d 

First he shows him <\/em>the evidence.  Then he says, \u201cThomas, you\u2019re now at a crossroads.  It\u2019s time to decide.  Are you ready to follow the evidence – starting with what you’ve just experienced – wherever it leads?” 

All of us stand at that crossroads, too.

What we learn soon enough is that if we choose to act on the clues we already have and move from show-me<\/em> to follow-me<\/em>, we will definitely end up in a better state.  
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The origins of state nicknames are a bit of a mystery. As social historian Bill Bryson points out in Made in America: \u201cNo one can say for sure why Iowans are called Hawkeyes, why North Carolinians are Tarheels, why Kansans are Jayhawkers (there is no such bird), or why Indianans are Hoosiers.\u201d From time to time Arkansas has been called… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[126,211],"class_list":["post-646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-doubt","tag-thomas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":648,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions\/648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}