Carrying the Bags

We came together in Arizona - carrying our baggage. Beat up old bags and newer ones, Some were big and others small. We came together to help each other carry our baggage. Sharing the load makes all the difference, yes? Yes.

I first saw Robyn and Paula at the rental car depot in Phoenix, after leaving frigid Des Moines at 5:30 that morning before the Martin Luther King holiday. Thanks to all the TSA employees at the airports I flew through for cheerfully sending me on my way while working with no pay. I thanked them in person too.

We hopped into the rental van and took off to meet the rest of our gal pals for this year's rendezvous. We are a ragtag group of friends who reestablished our friendship that started in our hometown of Atlantic, Iowa. I like to brag about the fact that my friendship with Robyn and Paula has lasted 57 years or so - but there were some long breaks in there. I've known Watson, Julia, Sally, and Pam for much less time - only 45 to 50 years.

This group of us reconnected around ten years ago and a strong bond formed - even closer than our childhood friendship. We discovered at age 50 that we love each other and have very similar world views. We fill each others' buckets - and mostly we think we're funny.

Watson moved to the Phoenix area a couple years ago. Sal and Julia flew in on Thursday and stayed with her. The van girls had a mission before we met at a Mexican restaurant. To pick up a tall can of Pam - to represent our missing pal Pam who stayed home to support a loved one with health issues. Hugs all around as we joined together. Laughter filled the air around the outdoor table where we sat. (Meanwhile, snowy and cold in Iowa).

The trip south to our Oro Valley (near Tucson) condo took just over an hour. Watson had done a great job preparing for the trip - purchasing food, booze and she even made soup! We were set. That night we just hung out enjoying each other's company. That was when we started unpacking our bags.

These girls are my loves in a way I can't explain. Their friendship is a very safe place that boosts me. It picks me up when I'm down. If I'm having a bad day - I can start a text message with them and soon, I'm feeling better.

On Saturday after we arrived in AZ, we visited the Tohono Chul Garden. I didn't know there were so many types of cacti! One even shot a sticker ball out at Robyn. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at the bistro there. That night we visited Robyn's brother's place. Mike and Kathy Henningsen kindly invited us over for a drink. Mike's grandparents were friends with my grandparents. My dad was a pal of Tom Henningsen - who called Dad "Bullock" to the end. Mike and Kathy have a beautiful winter home to go with their summer place in Atlantic. Son Brad now runs Henningsen Construction. It was fun to catch up with them and talk about the old hometown.

View at Henningsen's home

On Sunday we traveled to downtown Tucson for the Women's March. It was a group decision to participate in this event. Why? Women are making progress - but there still is a long way to go to continue the work done by those who went before us. Paul and I attended the Ruth Bader Ginsberg based movie "On The Basis of Sex" Saturday night. It reminds me how far we've come.

It was a wonderful group of progressive people with interesting signs. I especially appreciated seeing the indigenous people of the area, some in their native clothing demonstrating a field hockey type game. It was a gorgeous day in the low 70's. We listened to speakers and walked together with many, circling city blocks. One water stop featured glass jelly jars instead of plastic. Yay!

We headed back towards the van - hitting the jackpot by finding an artisan area with a bar. Drinks and food were in order - along with a bit of shopping. It was game night - NFL playoffs. We stopped at the store to pick up supplies for the game watch - wings and stuff.

I'd been in contact with homies from my other hometown - Creston. Dwight and Marilyn Conover, now of Okoboji, who also winter in Oro Valley. I first met Dwight when I took a job as a bookkeeper at First National Bank in Creston. DC was the bank pres. I was the lowly lippy help. Marilyn aka Merle and I were in a women's sorority together and became friends. Later, we moved next door to the Conovers. They didn't keep us awake at night with loud music or anything! Dwight's work took them to NW Iowa so they eventually moved, but we still see them frequently at ISU events - mostly tailgating. I invited them over for a drink - our condo was a short drive from their home. My A-town friends were delighted to meet them, and besides, they know our pal Roger Underwood, who has served on ISU fundraising boards with Dwight.

Later that night we Facetimed Pammie, who couldn't be with us. I really missed that girl. She is one who I have really gotten to know better as an old lady than I did as a youngster. She's so open, fun, and funny. We celebrated renewal after a tough health year by a couple of us. And Watson's birthday.

A gift of infinity bracelets

French Silk! 

Then we played Left, Right, Center - an easy dice game that even I can play (no real skill is required). After, we sat around and chatted - dragging out some of our baggage and other things going on in our lives. Those are our gathering times I love the best. The support and unconditional love pours out and surrounds us. We laugh, we cry. We share personal care and health tips. Girlie stuff! Some of us sat in the hot tub overlooking the beautiful mountains. The blood moon wolf moon solar eclipse was just starting. I was tired - I had to see it via photo the next day. What a great day!

Marilyn, Watson and me

Marilyn had offered to take us on a hike to Honey Bee Canyon on Monday to hike to see petroglyphs. It was Robyn's first excursion test driving the new hip - walking in a sandy wash. We all made it! Got some good pics and a feeling of accomplishment.  Paula and I got a tour of the Conover home - Dwight says it a view with a home - the back window framing up the area mountains.

When we got back to the condo, the gang was starting to pack up as Sal had a Monday evening flight. It was a flurry of activity that involved packing up most of the food, bevs and their belongings. Jules and Rob were going too - leaving only Paula and me in the condo. Parting was hard - especially this year. We're tough old coots. Hmm, where to next year?

There was a snafu with the rental van keys. They disappeared. Oops. Paula stepped into biz mode and dispatched the van. We arranged for a shuttle to Phoenix. Thanks to Dwight and Merle for driving us to the pickup site. Nothing like old friends! Goodbye to Paula - it was fun to see her twice these past few months.

I kick myself for scheduling my flight through Detroit. What a dumbass. It was fall when I booked the ticket - and I was trying to coordinate with others. Still, bad plan. I ran through the Detroit airport and got to my seat just in time for the airport to be shut down due to ice. First for an hour, then for the night. I considered getting a hotel but just didn't want to spend $130 for a night of non-sleep. So I slept at the airport. The next morning my flight finally took off at 10:30 a.m. I do know how to stretch out a vacation! My honey picked me up.

Another bucket filling vacation was in the books. Time to put those bags away. Until next time.

Big Screen Memories

Do you remember the first movie you ever saw? For me, movie memories are similar to songs - who was I when I saw this movie?

One special movie memory is from 1967, when I was ten years old. Gone With the Wind was re-released and our mother took my sisters and me to see it in a big city - Des Moines? The theater had a curtain that closed at intermission. Mom cried during the opening credits - she'd seen this show before. The saddest parts of the movie to me, even then, were when Scarlet rode the horse to death. And when Rhett shoots the pony.

I have many more wonderful memories of "going to the movies". My movie love affair started even before age ten. Our school and the local theater had a summer movie deal. We could buy a sheet of summer movie matinee tickets - giving our parents (moms really) a break from the kids during the endless school break. We saw movies like Frances the Talking Mule and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (Don Knotts Y'all).

The tickets were valued at something like $.25 each. The real money for the Atlantic Theater came from concessions. Popcorn and candy! Back then, soda pop came from a machine in the lobby - a thin dime for a small cup that would shoot out, be filled with some crushed ice and Coca-Cola. It was fun just to watch the machine make the magical mixture! But wait...there's more! If you got the "lucky cup" you got to go to a movie FREE.

Face it, in small town Iowa, there aren't a lot of options when it comes to activities. So we went to "the show" a lot. It was exciting to see the movie marquis - to see what we could go to next. One theater in the whole town of 7,000 people. Comedies, RomComs, Horror - we went to them all. I went with girlfriends. In junior high, I met my boyfriend Mike Carlson there. We held hands. It wasn't all it was cracked up to be. My hand got hot and cramped. I wanted to move it, but was scared to....that boy/girl stuff was hard. In the balcony at the theater there were actually twin seats - with no arm in between. Sweet! My high school boyfriend, Mike McCauley and I went to Funny Car Summer - a movie about drag racing. Hmmm, must have been teen love - that movie sounds horrible to me now.

I saw a few more movies with my mother that were important in my life. I was in high school when the movie Summer of 42 came out. It was rated R so I needed an adult to take me. Sally's mom Anna Day and Mom took Sally and me to that show - a coming of age story about a teen and an older woman who loses her husband to the war. Mom and I cruised over to Omaha to see the movie Jaws. She left to go use the restroom and didn't appear until much later - after I began to get worried about her. She said she ended up sitting down in the back - because she didn't want to miss the action. I also saw John Travolta's Staying Alive with her. She became a huge BeeGees fan after that movie. These memories of Mom make me smile.

Okay - when I said there was only one theater. That is true. But in the summer there was one other movie option. The Drive-Inn! I don't remember our family going there. As a teen - you can bet my friends and I went. With beer! We saw all sorts of crazy movies - like Death Race and Blazing Saddles. It was easier for me to go to horror movies at the drive-in - I could distract myself there - not as scary. Wednesday night was Buck Night - we'd all pile in one car. Lots of good Drive-Inn memories.

College was another great movie memory time. There were some classics from that era. My college pals, Sally, Vicki, and Jane loved Rocky so much. We listened to the soundtrack endlessly. We had the poster. Adrian! One Saturday, after a long week, we attended a sobfest The Other Side of the Mountain - the Jill Kinmont Story". It's about a skier who becomes paralyzed. Then we went to a party and drank beer. Oh, college. Ghostbusters, Animal House, Halloween, Monte Python, High Anxiety, Kramer vs. Kramer, Grease, Heaven Can Wait, Goodbye Girl. I could go on...Halloween scarred me for life against horror movies.

We've come a long way from buying sheets of movie tickets for summer school break. Paul and I went to the new "A Star is Born" Friday night. I loved it. Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) was perfect in her role, as was Bradley Cooper. Lady Gaga's voice has it all. I really appreciated a chance to see her without all the glamour of makeup. It was her first acting gig and she nailed it.

We live right by a huge theater complex. We used to look up movie times, arrive at the theater and buy tix. No more. There's a new way to buy movie tickets - it's complicated! I miss the days of real people. Yesterday I got online to buy tix on the Cinemax website. I needed to login with a new password and select the time and seats. Then I needed a password for Visa. Sure it may be less complex next time I get tix. If I remember my password. And my seat did recline - even better than those twin seats at the Atlantic theater!

Paul and I like to re-watch some movies - sometimes over and over again. We especially like comedies. I tease Paul about his go-to movies. Gladiator, Twister, Shawshank Redemption. He just can't seem to flip by those on the TV Guide without watching. We must watch Animal House, Caddyshack, Vacation and Ghostbusters every few years.

Paul and I don't to nearly as many movies as we used to. We have Netflix. There aren't as many that we wish to see. Movies are expensive (and tix are complicated). But I'm glad they still keep making them. Movies are important in our culture and as stated in this blog, they help make up the framework of our lives.

Paul is Leaving Me

Just after our 36th anniversary, Paul is leaving me. For just over a week anyway.

Thirty-six years. I can hardly believe I've been alive that long, let-along married! How did this happen? Luck and good choices. Both of us were lucky to live at 230 Campus Avenue our junior years at Iowa State University. It was a brand new apartment complex built on the west side of campus. My roomies, Sally, Jane, Vicki and I were the first ones in unit #421.

230 Campus Avenue

Paul wasn't there that fall quarter. He was off in southwest Iowa tagging geese at Forney Lake in Fremont County. His cute roommates lived in #209. We met them through our friends who also lived in the 200's. Eventually, Paul came back to visit and I met him at an FAC (Friday Afternoon Club) at the storied Ames restaurant, Aunt Maudes. It wasn't love at first sight.

During the spring of our junior year, Paul was determined to put together a co-ed softball team. He must have heard what excellent athletes my roomies (not Vicki :>)) and I were. I also snagged Jennifer Deter. He asked his buddies and between us, we had a kick-ass team! Before I knew it, I went on an actual date with the coach, one Paul Goldsmith.

That summer, my roomies and I lived in Ames and did odd jobs for the university. Important stuff like paint the broomball rink boards. I worked for the rec department and counted the number of people in the gym - walking a route between two buildings. It was a pretty good gig.

College Paul

At night, Vicki and I spent time watching a men's slow pitch softball team sponsored by Minski's Pizza. Paul and Vic's honey Fred played on the team. It was a great time, drinking beer and cheering for our fellas. One weekend, they played in Harlan, so we visited my Atlantic hometown. My parents got to meet "Goldy" as everyone called him. Some people still call him that.

Run Paul

Still - I thought it was a summer fling. He likely wasn't "the guy". Was he? Everyone has this dream picture of who they'll marry. I thought my guy would be a big dark-haired dude. Not this wiry blond farm boy. Still, we did have fun and both liked sports.

When I graduated in the spring of 1980 and moved to Sioux Falls, he still had some school to finish up. I wasn't sure what would happen. He came to visit me. We wrote letters and talked on the phone (expensive long distance calls). That was when we really got to know each other - without all the background noise of college life. We fell in love in slow motion and became best friends. It hasn't all been easy - but there is nobody else I want by my side.

Now I've been married to my best friend longer than I've been alive...okay, not quite that long. I can't imagine life without him. So when he leaves this week to go hunting in Colorado, he'd better not croak! I need the guy. Happy Anniversary 8/28/82.

  

VIPs

Looking back, there have been many Very Important People (VIPS) who have touched my life when I needed a helping hand, guidance or maybe just a hint. Wayne Rodgers, my friend Sally's father, provided equine and life guidance when I was in those tender junior high hears especially. He was a great role model. Wayne, the General Manager of Walnut Grove Company in Atlantic, was an intelligent, quiet, mostly serious man who I looked up to. 

Me with Frosty - Wayne is in the background

When I was in 7th grade, my mom asked Wayne to help find me a horse. My parents (and grandparents) got me a horse for my birthday. He accepted that challenge, hunting down my first mare, Frosty. She was owned by a family in Yale, Iowa. Wayne and I drove together to pick her up. I was overjoyed to be getting a horse. I must have talked his ear off. One year later, the family wanted Frosty back, so I "traded up" for a 3-year-old registered quarter horse gelding they had by the name of Poco Hi Jack. Then my new young horse needed training - Wayne helped with that and he lined up all our horses (he/Sal had some too) medical and shoeing needs.

Wayne and I went on many a road trip together - sometimes with my friend Sally, other times it was just he and I. We talked about many things in life, but mostly stuck to horse talk. Years later, when Paul and I were dating, I was so pleased that he got to know Wayne and his lovely wife Anna Day when he helped Wayne build a shed at their home in Atlantic. Paul agrees with me. Wayne was a VIP - to many people.

I read today about another VIP. He meant a great deal to many young people at a school in Ohio. Dan Wirth was a custodian at the school. I read about him in a Washington Post Article. Mr. Wirth passed away recently after a short illness, and the students were saddened. He was a "security blanket" in their young lives.

Many of the students are from low-income families. They relied on Mr. Wirth as a "steady Eddie". He swept up messes and helped coordinate departures at the end of the school day. It sounds like he did his duties with a smile. I read that this man was a former steelworker and owner of an electronics store, who found himself working as a custodian. He might have considered that this job to be beneath his skill set. But he didn't. We need more Dan Wirths in our world. I'm sorry we lost him so soon. RIP.

I told Paul about this story, and we decided Creston has had a similar VIP gem in Darwin West, bus driver extraordinaire! Darwin drove bus routes and drove the bus for sports teams. He always had a bright smile for everyone - and a few smart comments.

I bet you have VIPs in your lives too. Take time to thank them - if you can. I get to see Wayne's daughter Sally soon. I'll tell her how much her father meant to me. 

Continuous Improvement, Lady Bird

Do you remember when you learned how to line up? I mean form a line with other people. If you're like me, it seems like I always knew. My first memory was of standing in line after recess at Washington Elementary School, waiting to go back into the school. Everyone would wiggle around and be loud. You know who you are Robyn, Paula, and Sally. Then the teacher would blow the whistle, indicating we should straighten up.

I'd never thought about lining up as a skill. Then one of my friends became a Kindergarten teacher. She explained that she had to teach the students how to line up. I think me and my pals were precocious learners - but we did have the benefit of Mrs. Luin's awesome Nursery School, when I learned to sing "Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch" and ate sugar cubes and graham crackers with Kool-Aid.

When I attended LSI Refugee Community Services (LSI) training last Saturday, the instructor explained the literacy challenges refugees face. We learned about the "intake" process when refugees visit LSI Community Services.

Volunteers were told there are different learning styles for literate and non-literate students. Just because a person has not attended organized school or a certain level of school, that doesn't mean they lack intelligence - just opportunity. Refugees from countries with different types of alphabets and pronunciations have a variety of challenges when learning English - from making rounded letters to how they hold their mouth and tongue when speaking. Some students don't understand that when given a worksheet, you write on the lines provided. They must be taught all of these things. The adult brain does not learn as quickly as the child's, providing additional barriers. Despite all these things, LSI does this training and many other great things in our community.

I volunteer as a classroom assistant with an Intermediate group. Most likely the students I work with have had the opportunity to go to school in their country of origin, as they have met a certain testing level to attend this class. We started a new semester after Christmas and have seen an influx of students.

Sue, our instructor, amazes me with her kindness and flexibility as she works the new people into the classroom. They appear at any time, while the class is in the midst of an activity. Sue brings the new students up to speed as much as she can, making them feel welcome, at the same time, assessing their skill level.

By the end of class Tuesday, there were eighteen students. Thankfully, we also had five volunteers, unlike the week before when I was the only one. We worked on describing people - hair, height, weight, age. It was a cold-hard reality to see that my age group is "old'. They needed to figure out when to use a or an or nothing.

List of words students practice

For example: Leslie has a blondish (or is it gray? only my hairdresser knows) hair. Sue would ask them if that sentence is proper. Most would say NO! (Some can be very dramatic) There is no a. Then when they do worksheets, some get it wrong, and I ask them to say the sentence out loud - would you say "He has a brown hair"? No, they agree. They erase the a.

On Tuesday, the students had a worksheet with adjectives and their assignment was to identify those types of words in a short story. I find that at times, I'm unsure what the right answer is. Did you know that when saying "football player", even though football is usually a noun, together with player it becomes an adjective? It is good to show students that we make mistakes too.

Many times the volunteers look for examples on our phones to show students, as even simple things we understand, they may not. For example the word "unusual". Sue is good at coming up with ways to describe words like that. She said our usual days for class our Tuesday and Thursday. If we came on Wednesday, it would be unusual.

I continue to struggle with ways to assist students with the worksheets without blurting out answers! I feel I'm making progress, but it's so much harder than I ever thought this would be. Add in my lack of knowledge of each student's culture. Sue has been very encouraging after my individual/small group work with students during the second hour of class. I tell her what happened and how I reacted. Last week she told me I have good instincts. That made me feel really good.

Just like the program I oversee at DNR, Environmental Management Systems, I'm striving for continuous improvement in this volunteer role. Wish me luck!

 I've seen so much about the movie Lady Bird and wanted to see it before it disappeared from area theaters. I knew it wasn't likely one Paul would want to see - so decided to go by myself. That was probably only the second time I've gone to a movie alone, and I enjoyed my company.

The movie was super! I laughed out loud, chuckled, teared up and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The movie is about a high school girl in 2003 in Sacramento, California coming of age. She goes to a Catholic school, so those scenes brought back childhood memories. Though Atlantic didn't have parochial school, the mass scenes were great. Lady Bird's angst to "get away" was not something I could identify with, but I knew kids who felt that way. Actress Saoirse Ronan was cast perfectly as Lady Bird, as was Laurie Metcalf as her unique "good mom/bad mom" mother. I loved the movie.

Friends for humanity

I'm still basking in the glow of a fabulous trip to Oregon with five of my best friends in this world. As I traveled to see them last Thursday my mantra to myself was that I wanted to be able to fill up their buckets over the weekend. And with any luck, I'd get my pail filled too. You know that deal - each day you start with a pail and some people scoop it out and others scoop stuff into it - filling you up.

I kinda needed some filling. It feels good to help fill others' pails too. This year Sal had invited us to Oregon. Two days at the beach and two days at her place on the Sandy River. Robyn, Paula, Chris, Julia and I were all able to make it. Pam couldn't make it, sadly. We had to make due with - you guessed it (or maybe not) a can of Pam.

I was the last to arrive at the airport. Wouldn't you know it - they had made a new friend, Eddie the bartender. And had a few drinks...

Eddie loves the AHS Class of '76

And we were off! To Rockaway Beach on the Oregon Coast - a nice 3 bedroom little condo. We hung out, talked, walked on the beach and laughed. My ribs got sore. On Friday afternoon we stopped by a little spot and picked up dungeness crab for the evening meal. My good cook friends took care of meal prep. The crab was already steamed. There were yummy red potatoes and a delish peach salad too. A meal fit for the queens that we are. We talked politics, health, family, sports - all of it.

After supper,  Jules broke out her Cards Against Humanity game. It's pretty raunchy but was quite fun - and this from a known game scrooge (me). We howled with laughter at times. Robyn kicked our butts - clever gal that she is. Each night I was first to go to bed. It seems laughing wears me out! But I was up early.

On Saturday we shopped a bit in our little beach burg. I scored some colorful fingerless gloves for work (aka the frozen cubicle). Then we were on our way to wine country via cheese country - Tillamook. It was a fun day with a couple wine tastings and a picnic at a place called White Rose - just like our favorite Atlantic bar. We'd picked up chicken and pork at a roadside grocery store in one of the small towns on the route.  Too bad there was any Armie and Irma.

Wine tasting

Sally and husband Bob's place on the Sandy River is perfect and so was the weather. We arrived there Saturday evening. It was a nice relaxing night sitting on the deck. On Sunday morning we went out to breakfast before saying goodbye before two of our group had to say goodbye - Robyn and Chris.

With our friend the bear

 We went for a hike that afternoon. The Sandy River is low. And it was smoky in the area due to fires in Washington. The drought is taking its toll. Paula, Julia, Sal and I watched a movie that night, and headed to the airport Monday morning.

Sitting on the deck at Sal's solving the world's problems

Julia took off first, but Sal and I got to meet Paula's friend Vic who flew in to meet her. They were going to travel on to Seaside, Seattle, Victoria and finally a cruise in Alaska. That sounded better than going back to work! My flight stretched late into the night, but I wasn't sad or grumpy. I was smiling.

My pail was full from a few days with my besties. Those are some great ladies. They shared their joy, sorrows, aches and pains. And listen to mine. Somehow that helps me feel better. Sharing the one's load always does. They filled me in on life tips and recipes.

Sally thinks we should put together a booklet from the weekend full of all the information passed out through our time together. I don't think Julia has a recipe for that salads she created - she just knows how to throw stuff together and make them fantastic. Rob can do it too. Just like the hair gene...I don't have that food/entertainment gene either. I need an actual recipe. I am able to spout off many insignificant factoids however - a font of knowledge! Too bad that doesn't feed anyone. Paula is also competent in the kitchen. Though she, Chris and I tended to work on the clean up crew. Rob is also an excellent bartender. Great skills that girl.

Good thing I get to see them all again next summer at our 40th Class Reunion in Atlantic (or risk the wrath of Roger Underwood).

Don't fail to allow failure

Are we a nation of Helicopter parents? This article in HuffPo has me scared. The title is, "Are We Raising a Generation of Helpless Kids?"

A couple of the stories in the article have me shaking my head. What have parents come to? We're afraid to allow our children to fail - paving their way through life until...when? How will they react when something doesn't go their way?

One story in the article is about a college freshman who receives a C- on an exam and right in the middle of class, she calls her mommy who wants to speak to the prof. He declined. Pat Bullock wouldn't approve. She believed in the school of "hard knocks". You deal with it. Mom did have her limits.

She picked me up when I didn't get any bids to be a sorority girl at ISU. Mom knew when to swoop in when necessary. (I guess Betsy's car getting nailed before her early morning in-home nursing visit in Omaha didn't qualify - sorry Bets). Staying in Ames would have left me hanging in the wind all weekend at the dorm while the other girls I went through rush with were getting ready for their welcoming ceremonies - torture. I don't remember the ride back to Atlantic for Labor Day weekend, but I'll wager it was painful for both of us.

Mom had encouraged me to go to Ames for Rush Week. I was a Kappa Kappa Gamma legacy! She loved her sorority experience at the University of Iowa and remained active as an alum. Cindy also loved KKG at Drake. Neither of Mom nor I knew what was in store - that the Iowa State University Greek system was at an all time high in popularity. That this little somewhat introverted SW Iowa bumpkin without the hair fixing gene was ill-equipped to face the gauntlet of rush.

While getting ready for the tours and parties - I started to "get it" - I wasn't a good fit for sorority life. I'd put my clothes on (I hadn't purchased a new wardrobe for this occasion) and a little eye shadow. Done! The other girls - oh the gyrations they went through and the beauty that emerged when they were through. I still don't know how to do that stuff, and obviously don't care to learn...it's not in my nature. Why would someone want to curl their eyelashes. Ouch! My makeup kit is a joke.

After my rejection from the Greek System - it was hard to return to ISU. But I sure wasn't staying in Atlantic! I bet Mom was fretting about it as she dropped me off again. Of course I wasn't thinking about her - I was all about me!

Dorm party - my roomie frosh Loraine on the left, Vic on the right and Jane in the back

The good news was that my pals Sal, Julia and friends I was soon to meet - Vicki and Jane, were not sorority girls. They lived on my dorm floor. It turned out better than okay for me - I met lifelong friends and did just fine without the Greek system. Thank goodness my mother didn't call the KKG main office and force them into admitting me into that house. I bet she considered it though...


My fro makes me taller than 5'10" Sally?

The next challenge was that D I got in Biology! Mom didn't call anyone then either. I figured out on my own how to change majors (several times - ending up with Fred Hoiberg's dad as my advisor), looked into (and rejected) the idea of going to a smaller school, and arranged for a tutor. It was all really hard to do. Doing all these things helped me grow up. My parents provided support to me in weekly phone calls (and cash). By spring semester I was getting As and Bs. I took Biology over and received an A my sophomore year. Still, as a third child and an introvert, it took me a long time to mature - many more years past college. Growing up is hard, even with supportive parents.

We parents do not like to watch our children fail. It hurts! Just like when they fall down - our urge is to rush in and fix it for them. When they were babies and took a spill - you could downplay it. Instead of rushing over you could say - from afar, "You're okay!" They'd often dust themselves off and keep on going. Real life can work like that - encouragement goes a long way.

Paul and I cannot claim perfect parent status. Just ask out kids. I swear they remember every parental "No No" I ever did, not thinking about the times I read to them, took them to the playground - the good stuff! But we did allow failure, and punishment when they were naughty. Again - not perfect but not helicopter.

In 1997, when I worked as Recycling Educator in Creston and my office was at Creston City Hall, the McFees and Goldsmiths took the children to the Lighted Christmas Parade. There was a soup supper at the Meal Site at City Hall. The kids got antsy and started running around. Amy and Krissy locked themselves in the City Council Chambers. That infuriated Kimmy and Jud who poked a plastic thing into the lock and snapped it off. Oops!

Jud and Kim HS Grad

The parents required them to apologize to the City Manager (the custodian was able to remove the plastic item) who gave them each a couple hours of trash pick up duty around City Hall as penance. Lesson learned. (At least it made me feel better - haha.)

One other thing we held back on was talking to coaches. And our kids played about everything so there were lots of opportunities! Parents get too wrapped up in this little microcosm of life -we were guilty too. We talked about sports too much at home - in front of Amy and Jud.

Coaches (and teachers) are like bosses - you're going to have good and bad ones. Kids need to learn to deal with them. It will help you later in life. They shouldn't have to put up with abuse, but when it comes to playing time - let them deal with it.

I believe in people being accountable for their actions. Too many parents today are trying to find ways to hold others accountable for what their kids do. How will that help them succeed in life?  I'm preaching to the choir here - I just wanted to let you all know that you're doing the right thing. It's not always easy. But it's right.

Iowa State Vs. Iowa football - memories

I was there for the first game when the ISU vs. Iowa football series kicked off again in 1977. So many students wanted tickets that you had to enter a lottery to get the privilege to attend. My college roommate Vicki and I hit the jackpot and were able to purchase tickets for something like $8 each. Woohoo! We made plans to stay with my high school buddy Mona Jones who was a frosh at Iowa.

Check out the Iowa banner behind me...

On Game day, Vic and I tailgated with Vicki's folks - they were ISU grads, but they had Iowa tickets for many years with their friends who had an RV. The game didn't go as planned - ISU was the favored team yet Iowa came out on top that day. Mona's dorm was rockin' with all the partiers later that night. Vicki and I decided about 1 a.m. that we weren't going to get any sleep. So we headed back to Ames. All the way Vicki took me through some story - where you had to make choices and those choices told you about yourself. It was cool! And kept me awake.

The girls at the game

The next year we must have all won the lottery. Or ISU received more tickets - because we all attended the game - which again was in Iowa City. Sal, Jane, Vicki, Moose and Steve. I kind of lost though - because I had to drive...after pre-gaming at Cy's Roost. We drew straws. We passed beers between cars on I-80. Crazy college days.

It was a long night for me - staying in the Chi-O house with Christie Jo Deardorff. I got a post drinking migraine - before I knew that's what I had. The game outcome was much better that year and we danced afterward with Vicki's folks and friends at the Airliner.

During the 15 year losing streak, time my parents, who were Iowa grads, invited Paul and me to attend an Iowa game as their guests. We lost something like 60-6. Butt-kicking. Thank you sir may I have another!?!

The losing streak thinned my skin. It's why I don't get into texting Hawk fans and joking about the game as much as others. They had the edge for 15 years. That took away the fun for me - not due to the good Hawk fans that cheer for their team through thick and thin. But we know those who like to jab like they're true blue and are quick to through the team and players under the buss at the first whiff of a rough season.

I'm trying to lighten up - it's been 16 more years after all. And the Cyclones are holding their own in the W/L department since that time. It's time for me to chill.

More Memories:

I was at one of the kid's soccer games when I heard that ISU was leading Iowa in 1998 - and it looked like the good guys might finally win one. The streak would finally be over. I still love watching reruns of that game. JJ Moses. Finally Jud had a reason to be happy to be a Cyclone - born into a losing streak as his birthright. Amy was happy too, but she wasn't into it like Jud.

2002 - Seneca Wallace brings the team back from several touchdowns down, giving Iowa their only loss. That guy was something to watch. I talked to him last year at one of our home games.

2005? Iowa was ranked and heavily favored. Jud and Paul went to the game. I stayed home. ISU won fairly easily. Drew Tate knocked himself out of that game after a pick.

2007 - ISU The Shaggy game - Culbertson, ISU's kicker, knick-named Shaggy, hits enough field goals to win the game. A drunk Iowa chick, smoking a cigarette shrieks at me from a car - calling me an "F'ing old Hag". And I said - "But I'm a winning F'ing old Hag". Love that story!

Iowa fan in a kilt...

Iowa won the next three - until 2011 when, in Ames in a back and forth game, I won the game for us in triple overtime by standing in a lucky spot on the stairs below the concourse. The excitement was heart stopping - over and over as each overtime went by. I high fived strangers. My phone blew up as friends around the country texted after the game. It was awesome and so very fun. My most fun time at an Iowa game.

2012 - watching on TV as Iowa State linebacker Jake Knott saved the game in the closing minutes by tipping and intercepting a pass. The radio feed notes Iowa's color man Ed Podoak stating "this should be a touchdown". Not. Phew! Relief!


There is some talk of ending the series. Logically it may make sense for both teams. ISU could use a cupcake. Why can't we schedule one or three? The Big 10 now has 14 teams in the conference - and scheduling issues. I don't care. This state loves this game. It's good for commerce, workplaces, media and people. I hope it never ends. I'll continue to work on my attitude.

Pot O Gold Bread (Pat's delight)

I might have mentioned before that I pledged my head, heart, hands and health to those wonderful gals, the Glad Girls of Grove 4H Club. Is that for life?

Better living through the letter H!

When I was fortunate enough to get a horse, I joined a 4-H club in order to show that horse and win ribbons. Sally Rodgers and Jennifer Deter were in my club. That organization had rules. Tough love for this girl. To be in 4-H and show my horse I had to, gulp, also be in Food and Nutrition. That meant cooking. And other stuff like decoupaging a recipe box.

Last weekend I frantically dug through all my recipes looking for one for beans. No luck on that - but I did find this.

It's cheese bread - baked in seasoned clay flower pots. Mom cleverly tied a cloth ribbon around the pots - to make the loaves attractive when serving the bread. Yeah - Mom did more of the work. As I said - I was in it for my horse. The bread (and Mom) earned a blue ribbon but no purple and no State Fair. I didn't come from the right "family" for that. (4-H Mafia) haha. The horse show was fun!

I don't look all that happy

Homesickness can make you puke

I'm listening to a book on CD where a character lays on a mattress "like one finds at summer camp." It made me think about the summer camps I attended. First, Bar-L Ranch in Guthrie Center. Cindy and I talked about Bar-L last week. I have so many great memories from that place.

The summer after I graduated from fifth grade - I graduated to a camp my mother and my aunt had attended. Camp Cheley in Estes Park, Colorado.

Like they say in the song - It Was the Summer of '69. I was 11 going on 12. A month is a long time to be gone when you're that age. I arrived at camp with my friend Sally Rodgers  - fresh off the plane from Omaha with my trunk of camp clothes. We took a bus from the airport up to Estes Park. After about a day - it hit. I'd never really been the homesick before. I could stay all night with friends - or go to camp for a week, without much thought of my family. But I got it bad.

When we arrived at camp, Sal and I were assigned different cabins - what up with that? In retrospect, probably a good idea. To an 11 year old, why isn't my friend in my cabin? For young person development - split them up and let them grow as people. Issues for me: The showers/restrooms were down the road - my bladder burst one morning before I could get to the latrine. How embarrassing for someone my age. We had to help with meals, but I was afraid I'd drop the plates. Psych!

A prized possession - I made this owl at Cheley. They fired it before I could paint the eyeballs...Pottery Class

All of the sudden I didn't feel well - vomit. I guess needed a little TLC in the sick bay. I think they'd been through this before...the camp has been around since the dark ages! Reassuring words were said, hands were held. Sick Bay was boring. After a while I decided to suck it up and get over myself. And just like the Camp Grenada song - after the emotional rain, I had a blast!

We rode horses, hiked, did shot 22 rifles, did archery, did crafts and went tent camping. We learned awful camp songs that I can still sing today. Campers could earn awards by learning names of the mountains in the range near Estes. Or the parts of a saddle and the horse. We were constantly challenged physically and mentally, but gently. I became attached to my cabin counselors Colleen and Nancy. I especially liked the overnight trek we went on somewhere in those mountains near a place called the Baldpate Inn. I remember seeing the keys hanging all over.

At camp Sally and I would walk up to the canteen at break time for a nice cold Coca Cola and a Snickers bar. We also liked the paddle tether ball game for excitement and hanging out with a few choice campers from each of our cabins. They were from all over the country - including Hawaii.

By the end of four weeks I couldn't believe how time had flown by. But I was ready for my fam to come get me so we could head back to the flatland. Where I didn't vomit.

Meanwhile back in Iowa, in present day...

Brazilian Twins in the background

We a great day Saturday! Deb visited from Creston and we hit the Farmer's Market. A fave musical group from last year - Brazilian Twins were there - electric violin. We enjoyed a nice bloody M outside at a corner bar. Then we headed to Mullets where the Flack girls were breakfasting with Susan's fiancé Denny. Always fun catching up with the Flacks. And we learned Deb's Fonda classmate was Susan's Colo High School bball coach. #allofIowaisonetown.

Finally Deb, Paul and I rode bikes out to West Glen - stopping at Bike World to drool over bikes/equipment. We saw Crestonites Mike and Traci Tamerius outside testing couple bikes.

On to Wellman's Pub for a bit of lunch. And a Mojito. Of course Deb and I are talking a mile a minute the whole time - we had a lot of catching up to do! When we left to ride back to our house, it started sprinkling. By the time we turned south - it was a downpour. We stopped at an underpass but we were already soaked. Onward! I'm glad I didn't wipe out. Riding in the rain was kinda fun. #squishyshoes

That's Deb and Paul leaving me in their mist...

Bar L Ranch - paradise for kids

I must have been happy to see Betso when they came to pick me up at camp - check out those boots!

I drove through Guthrie Center as I traveled back from Cherokee yesterday. I'd gone there for a work trip. I took I-35 and drove on across Highway 20 on the way to the Cherokee Landfill to talk to the director and a couple other folks about my programs. The trip took longer than the meeting, which went well - they appreciated my visit. Ever the trailbreaker, I took a different route back - heading south on 59 and 71 then to 25. This route took me by a place I spent many a happy hour in my youth - Bar-L Ranch just south of Guthrie Center.

Bar-L Ranch was the summer camp of choice for many families from my hometown of Atlantic - some 45 miles from Guthrie Center. Bar-L was a horse ranch and you know how girls love horses. I was crazy about horses from an early age. Today the place looks rather shabby.

My sisters Susan and Cindy blazed the trail to Bar-L before me. I remember going along in the car to drop them off at camp before it was my turn to go. We'd watch them get assigned their horses and ride off into the sunset (or at least the show ring). It was so exciting - I couldn't wait for my turn! Dad took home movies of Cindy stepping into the saddle stirrup on one pony, stepping up with the wrong foot. You can see on the video that she realizes she's going to be pointing backwards. Funny! Ah, the stuff of America's Best Videos.

The year I turned 7, it was finally my turn! I got to go to camp with Cindy, who by then was a camp veteran at age 11, all-knowing of saddles and bits. Bar-L was run by the Luckinbill family - patriarch Harold, in my young viewpoint was a large man with a large voice. He terrified me! The girls bunkhouse was located above the mess area, with the bathroom below. We all stayed in bunk beds. It was all very big stuff for a youngster. I'd never been away from home for a week.

We arrived at camp on Sunday afternoon and were assigned our ponies as our parents looked on. I imagine my mother on that Sunday - giving me a hug and leaving me that Sunday - with tears in her eyes. No - not from sadness. She was likely giddy, thinking "a week with 2 less children!"

That first year I was the smallest kid and got one of the smallest ponies - a black one whose name escapes me now. When we did trail rides, my little black pony and I were at the end of the line. The camp counselors saddled them up the horses and ponies every morning while we dined on pancakes and sausage. Then we were supposed to help get the bit into our horse's mouth. Some of them were pretty good at gritting their teeth! and away we'd go.

I remember being intimidated by the shower room. There were big girls with boobs in there! So I can't imagine I took many showers that week - but hey we did go swimming a couple times, perhaps that helped me avoid stiff hair and smelly body. No - Bar-L didn't have a pool. We'd take the bus into town and swim at the Guthrie City Pool. After breakfast each day, we'd go for a trail ride, and if I was lucky we'd get to canter in a circle at the top of one hill. That was like getting to ride the roller coaster for me - such a thrill!

Afternoons at camp were spent doing crafts like plastic lanyard weaving, leather key rings and making clay ashtrays out of various materials. Early in the week we did a stint of square dancing - I still know a few beats, heel toe, heel toe, slide slide. I was too young to have sweaty palms about the whole deal. Plus there were few boys - so we all just danced together. I was so concerned about sitting by Cindy at mealtime that I budged in line I got a swat on the butt by Harold for my efforts. Can you imagine that happening at a camp today?

One night we got to ride our horses bareback! Wow, that was way different than riding with a western saddle. One must really squeeze with one's thighs to stay on a horse when there isn't a saddle to help!

A couple years when I was at Bar-L I got to go to "swing land". In my memory, this was one of the biggest thrills of my life, the night at the bag swing camp. That was an area outside Guthrie where seed corn bags stuffed with something were strung on long ropes from trees. There were cliff and ladder launch swings. Some seemed treacherous to get to - so to get up the courage to "do that swing" earned you some kudos. It was a blast to conquer those bags. Better than Disneyland any day!

At the end of the week, we Catholics were forced to get up, don doilies on our heads and go to church in town. How I longed to be a Protestant on that day. Character building I'm sure. Then our parents would come to get us after lunch. I attended Bar-L for 4 years. The last year I went with several Atlantic girls, including Sally, Barbie Gee and Barb Hutchinson. We had fun on a snipe hunt, ate Smores and carved our names into the sandy rock above the camp. I'm sad to see the place looking so bedraggled - especially the sagging barn.

My little piece of Americana. Carry on campers. One day, some twenty something years later, I got to take my darlin' girl Amy and niece Leslie to Bar L to spend a week. The circle of life!

Locker room stories

The best sports story Sunday wasn't on the sports page. It wasn't even on TV. It was on the front page of the Des Moines Register. I complain sometimes that the paper lacks quality articles these days. Print media has changed, and many of my favorite writers have gone by the wayside at that publication.

But Sunday, one of the reporters, Bryce Miller, put forth a long article on the Des Moines North High School boys basketball team. In our paper it was on the front page and it was excellent. (click long article above to read) The printed version had great photos, including pics of each player. Plus an address for donations.

It's not likely North will end up winning the state championship. Or even their conference title. But these guys are winners. It starts with the coach, Chad Ryan, who has stuck with it seven years - chauffeur, mentor, therapist, coach and parent figure and friend. A former Iowa State player, Morgan Wheat serves as one of his assistants.

The players have challenges besides which girl to ask to prom. Their coach wants them to go to college. They're experiencing success both on the basketball floor and in the classroom. The article had me cheering for this team. Good luck to each of them in the future.

The article also made me remember my coaches from my high school years. The 70's were when girl's sports beyond tennis and golf in my hometown of Atlantic, Iowa were just starting to be allowed. Girls could run and jump without getting the vapors? Imagine that!

I played softball on teams coached by Joel Simms - he was quite a flirt, and a very good coach. We had a great time on the bus and drove around in Kristy Davis's classic car with root beer floats after games. The softball diamond was down by Sunnyside Pool back then. Toni Robinson, Chris Watson, Becky Nelson, Sandy Larsen (when her ankle wasn't busted), Joanie Troll, Sal..and Mona and me.

My sophomore year we finally were allowed to play basketball. All those years of playing on Reinertson's patio - the hoop nailed to a wood pole. I'm sure they looked out and thought - there she is again...I'd play with my ABA ball. American Basketball Association. It was red, white and blue. We also had a tile floor in our basement, so after I got the ball, I would dribble down there until Mom yelled at me.

My first coach was Dale Allen - for varsity. I was on Junior Varsity as a Sophomore. I believe our JV coach's name was Chuck McLaren. He was pretty quiet. We were all learning about this girl's basketball thing! That first year, something like 70 girls went out for the team. It was weeded out to 30 or so after a couple weeks. I was thrilled to be awarded that JV uniform. (all that dribbling paid off.) Though the school put their uniform order in so late, all they could get were silver. We called them the "silver bullets". It's ironic that teams like Kansas are wearing silver unis now. I think they're dorky.

Despite all my practice shooting at the neighbor's, I never became a good shooter. Recall this was in the days of 6 on 6 basketball - and I was a forward. But at only 5'6", and not all that quick, I was not great guard material. I did have a wicked hook shot. When Dale Allen explain how to do a pick and roll to us - it was so cool. I never knew basketball had actual plays before - it was like he'd invented it himself.

We chose the name Atlantic Trojanns over Lady Trojans or Trojanettes. Yes, it's dumb - but I still prefer it over the other two choices. I've never been an "ettes" fan. In the last couple years they started just using the name Trojans for boys and girls. We were terrible for the most part - playing catch up with other towns who had started their teams a few years before. But we had some exciting wins.

I'd like to say I was a big part of those - and perhaps I was. I cheered hard when we won in overtime my junior year at Red Oak. Cathy Hjortshoj made a shot for the victory. Sue Tyler and Sally Rodgers were other forwards on the team. The next year, Sally banked a shot in from long distance to beat our nemesis Clarinda on our home court. It was fun running onto the court and hugging everyone. Pammy played in the guard court - good thing Betty Heflin didn't see Chris Watson during hoops season, smoking those ciggies on her way out of the high school parking lot. She did during softball season...alas I believe Chris gave it later.

It was also really fun giving the youngsters crap on the bus - but not in a bullying kind of way. My little sis Betso acted as our manager one of the years. I still remember her - so skinny that she couldn't get pants long enough that would fit her.

My senior year, the school hired a real girl's basketball coach - Sharon Leslein. That was different after Dale Allen! I liked her a great deal, and she liked me - but that didn't increase my playing time at all. I would volunteer to ride with her to scout teams before playoff games. To this day I can't hear Aerosmith's Dream On without thinking of her - that song always came on while we drove to games for scouting. When she got married the summer after my freshman year of college, Sandy Larsen, Mona Jones and I were cake cutters at the wedding up in Edgewood, Iowa. I lost track of Sharon after she married Bruce and moved to Minnesota.

Kids don't have to be stars to be part of a team and to be "coached" up. The memories of those team years are worth all the sweat, shin splints and yes - even the dissatisfaction with lack of playing time.

Football memories

An aerial photo of the 1976 Iowa State vs. Nebraska football game was published on Twitter recently. I was at that game.
Video Link - 6 minutes



That's me in the student section - lower level, upper right (that's the NE side) this photo is from the ISU archives

 Check out what is now know as Jack Trice Stadium - it was just a baby then. It was born a year earlier in 1975. I was oblivious to all of this, of course. I was a college freshman - the world was my oyster. They built the place for me!

I attended one game at the old Clyde Williams Field, located on the west side of Iowa State University's beautiful campus. I was with the Rodgers family and was about 12 years old. My friend Sally's older sis Cindy attended ISU, so Wayne and Anna Day (2 of my very favorite people in the whole world) - Sally's folks, took me along to the school several times as a distraction for their youngest daughter. That's when I fell in love with the school - without even realizing it! The old stadium didn't seem much bigger than the Valley High School stadium!

I've said before how one of the first things I did when I started school was meet a new lifelong friend, Vicki Gernand (now Behr) and walk to the new football stadium while sharing life stories to buy a ticket. That year they were General Admission (like they are again now) for students. That meant for big games, some students camped out all night in order to be first in line for the best spots.

You may be able to see in the photo that the stadium was surrounded by a mere chain link fence. I must have gotten up darn early that day. I'm sure it was Vic that insisted we do so. The years we lived in the dorms in Shilling House, we variously attended games with our dorm group matched up with a guys' dorm house and just on our own. I remember that game was over the top! I got a "Huck the Fuskers" sticker to commemorate the occasion. Recall I'm from Atlantic, where Husker fans have tormented ISU fans from the beginning of time.

It was November 13th. We lined up on the east side of the stadium, not far back from the front of the line - perhaps 6 deep. There were no security guards back then - so we carried in anything we wanted to. Most of us had pints of some type of liquor. I think it was some type of vodka for me...this leopard don't change her spots. As the gatekeepers began to approach to unlock the gates, the crowd began to surge, pushing those in front against the fence.

I saw people begin to get crushed - it was scary! A girl got some of her long hair pulled out and began to scream and cry. Paul told me he heard someone lost a finger (the lore!). The gates opened and people ran willy nilly (you can't tell that from the video linked) up the stairs. I saw someone drop their fifth of vodka. Tragic! We ran up the steps and found decent seats with our group.

My Junior year, ISU decided general seating was too dangerous - after several incidents like those described above. Everyone purchasing tickets got their group together and went into a lottery for ticketing location - kind of like how the adults do it. We (my roomies Jane, Sal, Vic and I) bought our tickets with Moose and Steve. We were assigned Section R. That's bad - nosebleed. Steve even came up with a cheer.

We like our Cyclone Football
We like it near not far
So F#*$ the damn computer
That stuck us here in R

I'm surprised computers had been invented! haha. We did that cheer every game. After a few years, I think the administration gave up on assigned seats. I still look at section R to see who is sitting there.

Rocking the big glasses and ISU cowboy hats and button down shirts - Hauser is in front of us - with hair!

Do I remember much about the game? Sadly not really. I have a blended memory of many games. We had those big plastic cups with soda pop and ice - perfect as mixers with liquor. We usually drank many! Those cups stacked nicely and were reused in dorms rooms and homes for years. There were not enough restrooms at the stadium then. During team warmups, the cheerleaders had big speakers on the field - no Jumbotron, sound system or fancy scoreboard. We listened to Rubberband Man and Shake Your Booty.

The Cyclones forced several turnovers and Luther Blue ran a kickoff back. Dexter Green was great and Mike Stensrud was a stud on D.

Final Score - ISU 37 - Nebraska 28. We students rushed the field. It was crazy and a bit scary. I'll never forget seeing the goalposts heading down Lincoln Way after the game - traffic parted! My freshman year was a good football year, and I didn't even realize it! I was busy getting acclimated to college. Such a long time ago. Football and I have changed a lot. We're both a bit more jaded now! I miss playing Nebraska in football - such a natural rivalry. Ah well - things change.

I can't wait to watch next week's games.

Susi and the Baby! (Uncle Harv) and a walk

My sister Susan is now an Uncle Harv. One time she told me that she worked with a guy that didn't want to be called Grandpa. So he was going to have his grandchildren call him Uncle Harv, or Tom or something like that. Anything but Grandpa. I'm not sure what little James will call Susi. Nanna, Gramma or Momo. Whatever it is...I'm sure she'll love it!

Susi has arrived in Pasadena to help with baby care! She looks like a natural.  

I took a power walk after work tonight. I'm worried about Odie. She isn't jumping - because she's sore or weak - I'm not sure which. I had her anal glands attended to yesterday to see if that might help. I'm hoping she's just still sore from that. I figure it's a bit like hemorrhoids. But today she's still not jumping. The vet yesterday checked her back and legs and they seemed okay. Wiener dogs can have back problems. So I'm worried. If it's not your wandering kids, it's your dog. Walks help relax me.

On the corner of 68th and EP True- you can see Jordan Creek Mall in the distance

I walked along Elmer P. True Parkway and let dog problems fade away. I checked out progress on the new apartments. Who will live in all those units I pondered? Then I began to think about the apartments I lived in through the years.

Our Big 4 (Sal, Vic, Jane and me) first apartment in Ames - at 230 Campus Avenue. It was brand new in 1978 when we moved in, built by real estate guru Scott Randall. We paid $80 each per month that first year - for a two bedroom (2 girls per room).  The apartment was fully furnished - plaid couch/chairs and kitchen table with vinyl chairs, twin beds. I bet they've installed dishwashers at the place by now - but back then we were washing by hand. Vic, Jane, Sally and I sure had a lot of fun there. And that's where I met Paul - he lived in the 200's and we were in the 400's. When it came time to put together a co-ed softball team, he knocked on our door. He hasn't stopped knocking since!

After life pulled the college rug out from under me - graduation is a cruel thing after one has grown used to hanging with 3 best friends daily and partying several times a week. I was fortunate enough to land a job so I didn't have to move home to Atlantic. I found a furnished apartment in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The bed had seen better days. Ick. I lived there about ten months before I moved to Omaha.

Chris Deardorff helped me look for a place to live in Omaha. We checked out several and I ended up with a nice unfurnished apartment with cathedral ceilings on 144th and Pacific. I also went to Nebraska Furniture Mart and selected a couch, a queen sized bed and bedroom furniture and a butcher block table and four chairs. Exciting! Good thing I was a single girl and had actually saved money from working. Then I got engaged to that door knocking guy. He had gotten a job in Oakland, Iowa by then.

We decided to live partway in between our jobs - in Council Bluffs. We looked at a few options for living quarters - including a home on Lake Manawa. But we ended up living at an apartment on Little John Circle. Betso even lived there with us before we got married - keepin' things legit ya know. That was a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath place nestled up against a bluff and well-maintained. That was the end of apartment life for us though - when we moved to Osage we found a house to rent.

This place we thought about buying is right on 60th and had just been re-done

It took a while to think all through this. I walked to 60th and up to Ashworth. I took photos of a place we considered buying and that cool barn - the Aldrich Barnes place. It was a good workout in the steamy heat with a few light sprinkles.

I'd never noticed this sign before - we have Aldrich relatives on the Bullock side...

This barn is now sitting on some lucrative West Des Moines property

On the back side of the barn, development is taking place - looking south at Jordan Creek Mall

 

Last I walked by St. Francis, our church before turning south again on the home stretch. It was a nice 3.5 mile jaunt. Odie has a vet appointment on Thursday if she's not better by then. Tomorrow I'm off to Cedar Rapids.

St. Francis of Assisi

 



Odie - my bambino!