Free Range Children

I didn't really read the story - but I got the gist. Somewhere out east, a dogwalker saw some "loose" children at play in a park. They were GASP not being supervised by an adult. Gulp. How dare they. The children were taken in by some type of protective services and the parents were arrested. Someone labeled them the "Free Range Kids" - like they were chickens.

Um, I'd like to put out a warrant for the parents in Atlantic, Iowa in the 1960's and 70's. You're busted! I know it's a different era now - but arrest. Really? Kids can't even go to the park?

Mom's fortress - as painted by Marilyn VanAntwerp

Last summer a little girl was taken in here in Des Moines because she was left at a park all day. I can't remember if her Mom was working? Looking for work? In a bar? That made headlines too. The little girl was around eight years old, and didn't have any way to have lunch - so that's understandable that people were upset that she was left alone. So what is acceptable?

I saw a funny blog last week "What Would Mom Do?" Sneak preview - Lock us outside and drink a Tab.

That was pretty much our childhood - but Mom didn't lock the door - she just shooed us out. We ragamuffins did show up for meals though. Peanut butter sandwiches with a lettuce leaf in it. Iceberg!

Cindo and me today

When I got to hang out with my big sis Cindo on vaca in sunny Florida (Yeah, I'm rubbing it in), we talked about our idyllic childhood. The neighborhood was our kingdom! We'd trot through storm sewers, climb barbed wire fences up above Bredensteiner's house to get to the pond (Thar be frogs here!), and make anyone's yard our own. Any open space was open season for a pickup game of anything - football, freeze tag, hide and seek, and kick the can. My mother didn't lay eyes on us for hours at a time. Free range!

As a young adult I was a life guard at Sunnyside Pool. There I saw many Free Range children - on their own for the day....or under the life guard's supervision only. That meant they'd come and go to the park, eat junk if they had any money. Freeze if they only had a towel and it got cold. There was nobody at home if their parent(s) worked. Many rode their bikes to the pool (no helmet), or were dropped off with a wave. They survived.

I'm not advocating that everyone today should send their children off by themselves. Paul and I sure didn't allow our kids to explore on their own any too soon. I remember the first time I left Amy in the yard of our first home in Creston all by herself. There were large picture windows so I could keep an eye on here - but it was on a somewhat busy corner...and the street...it was so close! I watched like a hawk.

The first time we left the kids at home without a sitter, the Kristina and Kim McFee were with them at our house. Amy must have been about 12 and we adults were just downtown. Let's just say it didn't go the best - something about our dog Moki barking and the big girls thought someone was there and they all went outside...We received a phone call and had to go home.

Everyone needs to know their own child's limits and slowly let the string out as they begin to function on their own. I saw a great quote yesterday - it's very appropriate here. It's by William G.T. Shedd. “A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” You can't keep your kid in the harbor forever!

I feel fortunate that I grew up in the golden Free Range age. I hope today's children are allowed to range some too!

Reconnecting with Bobbie and Jeff

My grandfather was a gentleman farmer. Wallace Bullock used some of the proceeds of his job selling children's clothing across Iowa to purchase several small farms around Atlantic. I remember riding with him in his Volkswagon bug (a real farmer's vehicle...) to visit his tenant farmers. We'd smell the hogs (before confinements) and scrunch up our noses. Bubba (our name for our granddad) would say, "That's the smell of money"!

That is not the way our friend Jeff McFee, a cattle farmer work it. He's a real farmer, often working 7 days a week, rain or shine, hot or cold. This year Bobbie and Jeff had a vacation in September and when they got back it was harvest time. He's been running ever since. I'm glad he took some time off to hang out with us.

Paul and I started out yesterday fairly early at our fave breakfast place, the Waveland for sustenance for the day. We had lot of errands to run. We arrived home to watch the Cyclones get their injury-ridden tails whipped. Prior to the game, Paul dug out Christmas lights for the front and back of our town home.

Clark Griswold, Jr.

During the game, to distract myself, I heaped ornaments on the dainty Christmas Tree in our living room. Bobbie and Jeff arrived later in the afternoon after a bit of shopping. It had been many weeks since we'd seen the two of them so we had a lot of catching up to do.

I'd made reservations at Ohana Steakhouse. It is a Teppanyaki cooking house - where they cook on a big hot griddle in front of you. It's fun to watch and we had a good chef - he was quite intelligent and witty. And a good cook! My scallops with lemon sauce were delish.

Bobbie and Jeff check out the veggies

  It was a fun night with our longtime pals. We retired back to our place...and all had a hard time keeping our eyes open while the evening football game played out.

On Sunday we attended the ISU Women's game against Stony Brook University, thanks to free tickets from McFee's daughter Kristina. We met their other daughter Kim for lunch at the new Wallaby's. There I ran into my high school classmate Jeff Becker and wife Sharon with their son. Small world department. We made fun of Roger Underwood. haha

The Cyclones made the game closer than it should have been - but pulled it out in the end. Phew! One place we couldn't go this weekend was the best dive around - the Locust Tap. It's out of commission, shut down by the health department. I have high hopes that all problems will be remedied by the slumlord soon!

Health update: the shoulder continues to improve, I continue to take Methimazole to block the thyroid - I will have another blood test soon to see how the hormones are doing. I feel much better than I did prior to being diagnosed. Graves Disease is a journey and I'm now a warrior on that path.

Must upgrade tailgate experience

That's what Jeff McFee said after last night's game - a loss vs. the University of Northern Iowa. I was expecting a close game - usual against an in-state rival. They bring their A-game to play us. But I wasn't expecting the butt-kicking that felt like. Between that, and the 90 degree heat, it was pretty brutal. Take away the RV tailgating we've grown accustomed to...together with the fact my honey was gone. It was pretty sad.

My day didn't start out badly. I took a nice early morning walk. Then Odie and I drove to the neighborhood Starbucks. I haven't gotten the coffee recipe down for 1 person - it's been too weak since Paul left. He usually makes it in our Bunn-O-Matic drip coffee maker, manufactured right in Creston with Starbucks beans, ground by him. I'll have it down by the time he gets back - then I'll forget again. Anyway - I got a skinny vanilla latte for a million dollars. The barista asked if Odie would like a puppy latte. Um, would she ever! She had to wait until we got home to lap it up and read the paper. haha.

Next we were off to get her nails done. They grow out every three months or so. I like to take her to PetSmart - they use a grinder thing that leaves them smooth. It's $11. The guy was pretty busy - grooming a Westie, so I just stood and waited. Odie moaned the whole time she was on the table! Very dramatic. She was very happy when she was done, and received a nice treat when we got home.

Bobbie and Jeff arrived about 1 p.m. I was packed up and ready to go. I even remembered to put the tickets and parking pass in my purse ahead! It was a lot of pressure doing all this without Pablo to help. We decided to eat lunch at Mavericks before heading to Ames - out of the heat. We were the only Cyclones amidst Hawk fans there, but didn't take any heat.

We arrived at C4, our parking area, about 3 p.m. and there were still many spots to choose from. I think many were avoiding the heat. B & J had picked up Don's tent - to help shade us from the sun. That was a life-saver! We got that set up along with our chairs and plopped down with our drinks sweating. No TV, so we just sat and talked. I wasn't really hungry. We were parked next to ISU punter Kirby Van Der Kamp's family. We noted how they were using a generator for crock pots. We may need to get a generator for a TV and crock pots.

Soon our friends Bob and Sheryl Young walked by with their son Jesse. They stopped to chat. Then Beth and Todd Nielson came. They were our Creston neighbors - good to catch up with them. Hard to believe twins Olivia and Evan are seniors, and Alex, a junior, helped the CHS Panthers defeat Chariton the night before. Then Kimmy McFee arrived with her new roomie and bf. Kim just returned to school at ISU to obtain a degree in genetics. It was nice to see my little buddy - she was using Paul's ticket. She has been dog sitting for us the past year - we'll miss having her in DSM. Putting the tent back in the back before we headed to the game proved to be a team effort, but we got it done (it might not be too pretty though). Don and Diana arrived just in time to head to the game.

Folding up the tent - with Kim and her roomie's BF's help

It was damn hot at game time. They did allow people to take full bottles of water in. It was nice to see our usual seat neighbors - Pam and Randy from Carroll and Andrea and her husband, the enthusiastic guy from Ankeny. Even the lady behind us that Diana chewed out a couple years ago seemed happy to see us! Kim got to hear that lady yell "Run forward" throughout the game, as we have the past few years. So enlightening! Stofferahns sit by us too, but we sure missed Higgins who didn't renew their tickets this year. The place was packed though.

The air seemed to go out of the crowd quickly - between the play of the team and the heat. The Cyclones couldn't get much going on offense and the D could not stop the UNI Panthers. At halftime we were behind, and the UNI band played. They sounded great! The normally excellent ISU band tried to do a medley using the giant video screen between songs - but it didn't work for me. Every time I started enjoying a song, they'd stop playing it. It was like they tried too hard. Maybe that was what was wrong with the football team too - they were trying too hard to tackle so they missed! Right...

Paul texted me a couple times during the game. I tried texting him game updates, but I'm not sure they got through. He's lucky he was spared from seeing this though. Jud too - who is with gf Kara in Nashville this weekend doing the tourist thing. Good choices for my guys. I'm glad they're finding other outlets besides football. What's wrong with me?

By the end of the game, I was a tired, melted, disgusted fan. I just wanted to get home and shower the day off of me. Jeff had a great quote. "I think I'm going to need an improved tailgating experience to get through another game like that." That is fo sho!

West End Blarney

Homegirl Bobbie Mac texted Friday night that she was heading to the big city from Crestonia on Saturday. Yay! It had been quite a while since I'd seen that girl. She arrived promptly at 10 a.m., just before her sis-in-law, my former roomie Joanie Mac B. Paul enjoyed chatting and catching up with the two. But then it was time to head downtown to check out West End Salvage - of HGTV fame.

The show premiered about a month ago on Thursday night. I actually visited the store 10 years ago - when it was a small corner store. Today it's 4 floors of junk, um stuff plus a coffee shop. And T-shirts (I liked the "cute shoes discount shirt). One could spend hours there. The place was packed on a cold rainy Saturday. Don and Hal - the shows "stars" were in the house.

Bobbie and Hal's back...

Don is on the phone

Joan secretly wants that rocking chair...no not really - she already has one!

Hal and Elk friend. I didn't get a price...I wonder if they'd like a couple deer heads?

 

Bobbie's daughter, Kimmy joined us after she got off her shift at Mercy Medical Center. Then we headed to Noodle Zoo for lunch as Zombie Burger looked too crowded. Love those noodles! A quick stop at Sticks to see all the art/furniture I can't afford.

Then we decided to head across the river to my fave bar The Standard to await Bobbie's daughter Kristina and her husband Caleb. They were doing a pub crawl/run benefiting the Amanda the Panda grief support center. The race had a St. Patrick's theme.

As we stepped in the door at the bar, the guy looked at us funny like we were out of place. Well...we WERE the only ones not in green running clothes/costumes. I tried to huff and puff to pretend I'd been running, but didn't pull it off. We rounded up the last table for 4 and ordered up beautiful dessert martinis (except Joan, our Designated Driver). Not being in costume, and the fact that 3/4 of us were 50+ made us approachable for some reason. Lots of people stopped to talk to us. They liked our martinis - conversation starters.

I had a blast! And probably 1 too many martinis, especially considering it was like 3 in the afternoon. Runners, mostly 20 somethings, were dressed in various costumes. But there were people our age-ish. I think I'd like to do this race next year. I hope the weather is better. The cause is something dear to my heart - as someone who has experienced loss of a loved one. And dealing with children who have lost a sibling. Plus it looked like lots of fun. Check it out.

How would you like to run in that hat?

Talked this poor chap into a photo, and then got photo bombed by the guy behind us, who we'd been talking to earlier

There was a girl in a slinky nightie (with running gear under it) that told me it came from the Ottumwa Wal-Mart. Another fella who talked to us had on Michelangelo's David boxers over his running tights. And they were complete with anatomically correct drawings. Very funny! I need to start looking now for next year's costume!

Needless to say I was quite worthless the rest of the evening, after Joan dropped me off. It was worth it!

Lifeguard confessions (Part 2)

Marci Merrick - as seen from the high guard chair

Those work/study basket kids got an education working at Sunnyside pool that summer. The two I remember are a boy and a girl - Sharon, a skinny 15ish girl, and Rod? a boy of similar age. Both were shy, at least at first. As they got to know us they loosened up though. I don't know if the education served them well or not...

Aha - I just remember Pat Allen was another guard I forgot to mention, along with his bro Mike - both really nice guys. They were Sunnyside neighborhood kids - blue collar parents. Cindy Sheppard and Kim Waters too needed to depend on their earnings and student loans for college. Thinking back, I was still at the age when I took it all for granted how much my parents had provided for me - a college education, money for a car. I hope I wasn't too snotty about how fortunate I was.

The lifeguards were on 15 minute circuits - depending on how big the crowd was that day. There was the tall chair near the deep end of the pool, a station where a guard hovered on the side of the pool in shallow end, and another chair on the other side in the middle of the Olympic sized pool. There were 3 diving boards - a spring low board, a high dive and a medium. Even though we didn't have slides and other fancy schmancy stuff - that high dive was as thrilling a thing as I ever got myself to go on in a pool! Three meters is a long ways down!

The lifeguard chairs had microphones - which made me all powerful. It's a godlike feeling. "No Running, 3 Springs and off the board, That's it you're outta here, Break Time". Or "Pool is closed due to lightning" was a fave when we were burned out and needed a break.

The sound system carried tunes from the day that still take me back to that time.
The only radio station we could get to come in was WOW, which wasn't our fave station, but I do remember hearing some good bands like Commodores, Foreigner was new - had to go to Omaha to buy their LP, my buddy Robyn loved Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town" because her bf was on an Henningsen Construction road crew and they traveled.

Sunnyside had a loft above the office - accessible via a wood ladder. Shag carpet and bean bag chairs were up there along with extreme heat. I spent a lot of time reading up there, sweat rolling off me.  I also made a latch hook rug that summer (remember those?).

Mark had sent me flowers to end the year...then he broke my heart..I found out later he was dating someone else too!

I was a little lovesick - I had been dating Mark, a guy from Fort Dodge who evidently decided summer was a good time to cut ties - but he didn't tell me, he just blew me off. In the pre-cell phone, email world, I sent him a couple letters that were un-requited. Perhaps all my wild partying was my way of dealing with heartbreak. Or it maybe it was just was fun to do...

Sometimes in between guarding gigs we'd sit on our towels and sun - you know with Baby Oil, frying like meat. We'd read Cosmo magazine and gossip. My dermo Ava Feldman is helping me remove evidence of that time in my life - annually frying off pre-cancerous spots.

After-hours in the loft we sometimes played a lil game called "Chugalug". Yes folks, the lifeguards were a bunch of crazy partiers. We never drank during pool hours - but at 9 p.m. - closing time, we got our party on. Heck, I learned to do a flip after a few beers. (I was too chicken without beer). And we didn't just drink at the pool - we drank all over SW Iowa - the Super Bowl, The Villa and other bars around town, Oakland, Greenbriar.

I remember driving over to Audubon on Saturday night with Kim and others to see a live band at a bar - (The band was called the Uglies from Creston with a singer named Mike Bullock. I can't remember my own kid's names sometimes but dumb stuff like this is stuck in my mind...). I don't know what we drank (did they have rufies back then?) but I ended up laying in the parking lot somehow getting pea gravel in my purse - I found it the next day. I hope I wasn't driving. Another time I helped at a swim meet - serving as a timer. After hours in the hot sun, I decided that was a good night to try gin and tonics at the Super Bowl. Five of them on an empty stomach. I still don't drink gin to this day..

There were no swimming lessons on weekends (thank goodness!), and Sunday was always a big hangover recovery day. But it was also pool cleanup day. Not always a good combo...We'd go early and float in the pool on rafts, rehydrating with water and laughing about the events of the night prior. But eventually Marci and Cindi would crack the whip. It was time to clean the changing rooms and pool deck. That's how I learned to clean toilets ya'll - you see at home we had Leona Wheatley - the cleaning lady. We'd also sprinkle stuff call HTH (it was like powdered bleach) on the bathhouse floor and on the pool deck and then hose it down, scrubbing with brooms.

Sunday nights were usually quieter - I needed to stay home sometimes! And please don't let me give you the impression all the lifeguards drank each and every night. I'm sure there were plenty of nights we didn't. I just don't remember those boring nights!

But it's no wonder my mother invited me not to come home that next summer. Who would want a crazy party animal like me around? Someone who was partying hard, only stopped at home long enough to sleep, eat stuff and do laundry. So even though most of the rest of the gang went back to the pool, the summer after my sophomore year I got to go to Grand Junction, Colorado to take a couple summer credits at Mesa Junior College and hanging with big sissies Susi (who lived there) and Cindy (who lives in Vail). It was much lonelier (I lived in the dorm by myself for a month), and less alcoholic, but  I grew up a bunch. And when I got back in early August I was still able to sub at the pool a bit before heading back to ISU.

You know they say, what goes around comes around. Our daughter Amy was a lifeguard the summer after her senior year in high school and the next summer. Her stories are just starting to trickle out. We were relieved when she stayed in Ames after that. You were right Mom.

The Adventure Begins

We leave for DSM today as Pablo the Poolboy starts his new Pool job tomorrow. No, it's not really a pool cleaning gig. But we're going on Sunday, because just like when I started at my DNR job, that first day - one wants to arrive on time, bright and shiny.

Our loft won't be available for a couple weeks. So we're living out of suitcases in motels until then. Marriott this week, Embassy Suites next - decent places at least. I get to travel to Spencer and stay in the AmericInn Wednesday though, for work. Yeehaa.

We've called the neighbors to let them know to watch our home. Plus we have the Kimster cat and house-sitting. If you are a robber, consider stealing our 18 year-old kitty, or other old things. Think again. She will hurt you. Odie will be at Lila's for this time. It's Odie's birthday on the 26th - she'll be 7! We'll have to celebrate on the weekend. I'll pick her up something fun

The next two weeks will be a transition to our new temp life. Change is good. Bring it on!