Date:  Tue, 24 May 1994 09:39:06 CDT

From:  Mike Picone <MPICONE[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UA1VM.BITNET>

Subject: King of the hill



Dennis Baron wrote:



>In Illinois they don't play king of the hill because most of the state is

>flat--and most of east central Illinois is below sea level. Or at least it

>seems that way. The kids here play king of the damp basement.



As a native son of Illinois, I am honor-bound to correct the record on this

one. Natural hills are a seasonal phenomenon in Illinois. They are scarce in

the summer, but they arrive in the winter in the form of hardened drifts and

snow levis lining the streets after the plow has been through. I remember

playing king of the hill (no, it was not king of the snow drift) on such

like on many occasions. In another instance of `hill improvisation', we

would seek out new construction sites in the neighborhood. When the cats

were done dozing out foundations, they invariably left a large hill until

the house or building was done and attention was turned to landscaping.



Mike Picone

University of Illinois