A thousand yellow birds

“According to a 2007 story in Forbes magazine’s list of “America’s Wildest Weather Cities” and the Weather Variety Index, Springfield is the city with the most varied weather in the United States.”

“On July 21, 1865, Springfield helped give birth to the Wild West era when the town square was the site of the nation’s first and only recorded duel shootout, a “quick draw” duel between Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt Jr.”

“Springfield was once home to the headquarters and main shops of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (Frisco).

“The origin of the name Springfield remains unclear; however, the most common view is that the city was named for Springfield, Massachusetts. One account holds that a James Wilson, who lived in the then-unnamed city, offered free whiskey to everyone who would vote for naming it after his home town of Springfield, Massachusetts.”

“According to the Springfield News-Leader, the city has been ranked the second-least diverse city in the United States.”

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” - Ira Glass