In this past week I’ve had three interesting Iowa encounters, all without leaving Oxford.
For the first one, our former housemate, Christi, of Ithaca, drove through Iowa in her mammoth road trip across the country. She goes on record as the first person to follow “Oh, I’ve driven through Iowa” by remarking that she loved it. Apparently she encountered the gentle rolling hills in the southeast part of the state and she liked the big sky. So, Iowa, you made a good impression on a New York State native. Nicely done!
In the second, I found myself in a pub after choir on Tuesday, chatting with a Swede who not only knew where “near Chicago” might be, but who had spent a few weeks in the northwest corner of Iowa, in tiny towns whose names I only remember from high-school government class. He is a chemical engineer who worked with ethanol, so that explains the bizarre choice of destinations. He, too, enjoyed his time there, and he found the people in the towns friendly.
And, in the third, I bought a mini trampoline from a family who is moving . . . back to Iowa. The husband of the couple was actually born in the same hospital in Waterloo that I was. It was great to encounter people from home, and, though I don’t envy them their current situation (he’s just turned in a thesis, they’re moving this week, and she’s due with #2 in January), I am envious that they know where they’re going next and will soon be settled.
Erin
Alan Schmierer