The first time I heard the expression "Silicon Holler" was during that Google Earth session at the Tech Fair. I was familiar with silicon and I was vaguely familiar with the area in California that was considered Silicon Valley. I believe I related that subject matter more to the entertainment industry than computers. There are times when I’m a little slow on the uptake. Keep in mind that English is my second language. Wanting to know, I did what I usually do when I am in doubt about an issue: I Google.

My friend Harold Newman could have told me a lot about silicon, had I asked him. Thanks to Harold, I own a small collection of minerals. It is not nearly as big as Harold’s collection, but I have some opal, some quartz, some amethyst, some agate, and a lovely flint arrowhead I found in the planter in front of my house. Harold made me aware of the fact that long before Springfield existed, Indians camped out in various places in this area. It was my husband who found the bird point, a very small arrowhead.

Silicon, it appears, is an element, an abundant element with an atomic number; 14, to be exact. Of course, if you add an "e" to the end of the word "silicon," you are informed that it is used as a lubricant, polishing agent, electrical insulators, and medical implants. That brings me to my first idea of Silicon Valley, those lovely creatures with all those implants in the movie industry. The Ozarks are a long way from Hollywood.

It can’t be denied that this area has grown since the time when TV antennas sprouted from tar paper shacks along Highway 65 on the way to Branson. We have more entertainment than we used to have. Take Branson, for instance. Still, Silver Dollar City is not quite ready to compete with MGM.

I can still hear Terry laughingly declaring: "Welcome to Silicon Holler!!" At least, since we couldn’t be Silicon Valley, we could be Silicon Holler.

Curious matter one encounters while digging for information. Paul Graham, addressing a tech convention, stated Silicon Valley was not restricted to California. He implied that anyplace could be Silicon Valley, provided, "…if you could get the right ten thousand people to move from Silicon Valley to Buffalo, Buffalo would become Silicon Valley." By "the right kind of people," Mr. Graham suggested a mixture of 50% excessively wealthy and 50% nerds.

Feeling sufficiently informed about silicon and Silicon Valley, I thought I’d take a chance and see if there is a listing for Silicon Holler.

It appears that there are several who stake a claim to that name. It was not so surprising that a location in Tennessee had a claim to the name.

Maybe we need to come up with something so original that neither Google nor Wikipedia is informed about it. It shouldn’t be that difficult. After all, at the turn of the millennia, I had no idea what an ICON User was.