Kudos To Iowa

Did ya' know, I'm an Iowan by birth. You can take the boy out of Iowa(30 years ago) but you can't take Iowa out of the boy.

It's good to brag about where one grew up. I do it whenever the opportunity presents itself. In the first place Iowa is not flat. It's anything but. The eastern side of the state sees the Mississippi River on its banks from north to south. If driving this direction you witness majestic bluffs dotted with small picturesque towns and large cities. On the inner part of the state you will find rolling hills of beautiful corn and soybean laden farm fields.

Three years ago my good buddy wanted to make a trip to our lake home in Minnesota. I wanted him to drive through Iowa on I-80 and I-35 and we did. He was an All-American football player at Ohio State in 1958. When we got back home he said, "MJ", I never once saw a can or piece of paper on the roadsides as we drove". What a tremendous compliment.

On the west its borders hold the Missouri River. Every year for the last forty or so years the Des Moines Register sponsors a bike ride called RAGBRAI(Registers Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa), The riders, thousands of them, dip their wheels in the Missouri and at the end do the same with the front wheels in the Mississippi. If you ride a bike and want an adventure of a lifetime do RAGBRAI. The residents of communities along the route come out in force to provide food, refreshments and overnight stays.

If I didn't know better I'd say I'm writing this to promote my state and, hopefully, entice residents from the east and west coasts to enjoy life on a far better scale than what you now know.

I was at our Giant Eagle Food Store in Dublin, Ohio tonight sporting an Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt. The waiter behind the counter said, "Go Hawks". I responded, "How 'bout them Hawks"?(This is the most common rejoinder).

Iowa has maybe 2.7 million citizens. I once read that Iowa has more communities of 2,000 people in the U.S. than any state but don't quote me on this. If, per chance, this is true do you know what it means. With that small a crowd in each town Iowa has to have the most friendly citizens in the U.S. Does one think knowing everyone next to you doesn't qualify for friendliness? It's not possible.

There are two major football universities in Iowa. The Univ. of Iowa from the Big Ten and Iowa State from the Big XII. Their fans sort of hate each other but the Iowa State fans more so. That's too bad but they've been the little sister for a long time. They are catching up.

Iowa State, the school of Her Majesty's matriculation along with that my son, played in the Alamo Bowl the other day. The confirmed estimate is 25,000 Iowa State Cyclone followers went to the game. Did I mention Iowa has 2.7 million people?

The Univ. of Iowa is playing in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida. I'm not certain how many fans are there but 20,000 wouldn't be out of the question. Did I mention Iowa has 2.7 million citizens?

If you happen to be reading this blog outside of the Midwest and have never been to Iowa my suggestions is, when planning your next vacation, you give Iowa a look see. It will be a great experience.

If you do go find a Maid-Rite. You can't eat just one.