Tell Me Again

I had a principal once who would say "Remind me again, of who that was." He had the same problem with names that I do.

Today I change it a little and ask you to Tell me again of why

We Love Iowa!

Could it be:

• The wind as it whips across the state chilling us to the bone
  
• The snow that comes periodically so that it will blow around and make drifts to cause us difficulty traveling.
• The ice that we so much love to have on our driveway so that we fall on our asses while taking the garbage out.
• The cold rain of spring on our bald heads.
  
• The 100+ degrees of heat in mid-summer so folks can repeat over and over "It isn't the heat it's the humidity.
• The humidity.
• The lack of mountains and sea shores.
• The occasional tornado which scares the bejesus out of us and reminds us that at least we don't get hurricanes.
• The people who live here.
• The people who don't live here but visit us every four years for our caucus cacophony.
• The beautiful night skies which you can almost see if the farmers don't have too many lights burning down on us.
• Barns
  
• The delightful aromas that surround us as we drive past those farms. (Yeah, right!)
• The delightful aromas (disagreeable effluvium) which you smell as you drive past Ankeny or South of Ames or by Newton or Nevada who thoughtfully placed their waste treatment plants close to the road.
  
• The great road system and the DOT which maintain it so that we can travel easily from place to place.
• Our central location which make road trips to other states easier,
• Ethanol
• Our closeness to Minnesota with it's beautiful lakes.
• Iowa's beautiful lakes and park system.
• The deer we saw near Polk City on our way to a Lodge meeting that was canceled so all we got was a ride and a visit.
• The deer and other wild life that co-exist with us.
• The farm animals we see as we drive around the gravel roads.
• The beautiful wild flowers which will return in about 4 months.
• The flowering trees in my neighborhood and around the state.
  
• The Grand Lodge of Iowa and the support they give to Iowa Lodges.
• The people who live here.
• The people who don't live here
  
• The cultural opportunities we have in this state.
• The great Educational system we have. (which could still be improved)

Enough of that. When I walked into the Credit Union today I asked the teller, "Tell me why we love Iowa," Everybody seemed to think it was funny. Can't imagine why?.

I got the strangest phone call today. You know I am always getting strange phone calls My phone number is one digit off from Tom Randall Realty (did I have an apartment to rent?) and one number different from the Coach House. I used to come home and find messages for them on my machine. Sometimes I would call them up and play the message for them. Mostly I just thought that the person who called must have not been listening as my answering machine was not a business phone.

Some lady in New York called and said.I'm calling from Garmen Tex in New York. She left the same message on my cell phone and wanted to set up an appointment for Tiffany in Las Vegas. I just called her back and we had a delightful talk. I think she was trying to get Coach House so I gave her the correct number and she offered me a job to go out selling. I figured it would take time away from my blogging and Masonry so I turned her down. We did admire each other's accents however and both had a good laugh .

I have been getting weather advisories all day. The latest is a Wind Chill Advisory

A wind chill advisory means that very cold air and strong winds will combine to generate low wind chills. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. If you must venture outdoors, make sure you wear a hat and gloves. Exposed skin may freeze in 30 minutes or less.

The damn wind blew right through the car on our trip to Polk City and back and you can tell it is cold just by sitting in the house. Not fun.

I bought a crock pot today and have made a huge pot of soup. It doesn't smell real great so I may have to throw it out. I will have to freeze most of it anyway. I did not use a recipe - just threw things together and may have ruined it with some of the junk I threw in. Oh well, if it isn't any good I will toss it.

Margaret Truman Daniel died today. She was 83. I always like her. New York Times Article Here.

I have a feeling that I may be boring you so I will sign off. (I have a feeling that my blog has become rather boring - maybe it is just that I am boring?) Tomorrow night I am going to hear my elementary school classmate, Dennis Wendell give a talk on the Dinkey Railroad. Remember that you are loved. Stay warm. Big Hugs. j