Do you still live in Iowa?

[burk11]

You Can’t Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe once wrote.

Many contributors/readers on this forum/thread grew-up in the state of Iowa and/or attended the University of Iowa. Some of you have returned to Iowa during the progression of your working career, or possibly returned to Iowa at the end of your career’s calling.

During these years did Iowa change, and is no longer the home you once knew? Or did you change and Iowa is no longer the home you left in childhood. I grew-up on an Iowa farm, attended the University of Iowa. As a student I dearly loved Iowa City.

After a career of many years and many places, seeking both fame and fortune, I am giving some thought of returning home.

The journey comes full circle. Can you go home again?

 

[el dub]

You Can’t Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe once wrote.

Many contributors/readers on this forum/thread grew-up in the state of Iowa and/or attended the University of Iowa. Some of you have returned to Iowa during the progression of your working career, or possibly returned to Iowa at the end of your career’s calling.

During these years did Iowa change, and is no longer the home you once knew? Or did you change and Iowa is no longer the home you left in childhood. I grew-up on an Iowa farm, attended the University of Iowa. As a student I dearly loved Iowa City.

After a career of many years and many places, seeking both fame and fortune, I am giving some thought of returning home.

The journey comes full circle. Can you go home again?

Iowa has changed, imo. And I’m basing some of that on what I read here in this board. Or maybe some just feel more comfortable now sharing beliefs they previously kept to themselves.

Everyone should grow and evolve through life. I know I have. But my basic moral values haven’t changed.

I was proud to be an Iowan when gay marriage was made legal there. However, under the current political climate, I’m not sure a few basic human rights will survive what is to come.

I spent over 48 years living in Iowa, proud of the direction we were headed and with progress being made to bring equality to all residents, regardless of ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

 

[grapplefann]

You Can’t Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe once wrote.

Many contributors/readers on this forum/thread grew-up in the state of Iowa and/or attended the University of Iowa. Some of you have returned to Iowa during the progression of your working career, or possibly returned to Iowa at the end of your career’s calling.

During these years did Iowa change, and is no longer the home you once knew? Or did you change and Iowa is no longer the home you left in childhood. I grew-up on an Iowa farm, attended the University of Iowa. As a student I dearly loved Iowa City.

After a career of many years and many places, seeking both fame and fortune, I am giving some thought of returning home.

The journey comes full circle. Can you go home again?

Well, you can't go to the same home. Iowa has changed and I have changed. There's still a place for me in Iowa, but it's not the same one that I left, and that's okay. I have way more in common with some recent immigrant in Waterloo than I have with a fifth-generation hockey fan in Boston. Iowans, like Americans and wrestlers, aren't really born, they're made. I'm always proud to say that I come from Iowa.

These three things I know to be true from wrestling in Iowa:

1. You make the weight, you wrestle the weight. Doesn't matter if you have excuses: no legs, arms, hands, hearing, vision, money, religion, man or woman, gay or straight, ugly or beautiful. Doesn't matter. When you hit the mat, it's just you, personal mess and all. What you bring to the mat is you.

2. You have a personal responsibility to be better than you were yesterday. Better wrestler, better teammate, better husband, better parent, better sibling, better Christian, Muslim, or Jew. Better.
I never won a tournament in my life, but I'm better than I was before I wrestled them.

3. The last period goes to the person with the biggest heart, because in the end, that's all that's left.
Therefore, as I live out my later years, I would be wise to keep my heart open.

 

[lookleft goright]

Well, you can't go to the same home. Iowa has changed and I have changed. There's still a place for me in Iowa, but it's not the same one that I left, and that's okay. I have way more in common with some recent immigrant in Waterloo than I have with a fifth-generation hockey fan in Boston. Iowans, like Americans and wrestlers, aren't really born, they're made. I'm always proud to say that I come from Iowa.

These three things I know to be true from wrestling in Iowa:

1. You make the weight, you wrestle the weight. Doesn't matter if you have excuses: no legs, arms, hands, hearing, vision, money, religion, man or woman, gay or straight, ugly or beautiful. Doesn't matter. When you hit the mat, it's just you, personal mess and all. What you bring to the mat is you.

2. You have a personal responsibility to be better than you were yesterday. Better wrestler, better teammate, better husband, better parent, better sibling, better Christian, Muslim, or Jew. Better.
I never won a tournament in my life, but I'm better than I was before I wrestled them.

3. The last period goes to the person with the biggest heart, because in the end, that's all that's left.
Therefore, as I live out my later years, I would be wise to keep my heart open.

There are not many things sadder than a person whose heart hardens as they age. Keeping an open heart adds so much joy to your life and those around you. Great post grapplefan!

 

[Mendoza77]

The journey comes full circle. Can you go home again?

"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size."
--- Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

[mickv]

We go to Naples Florida each winter....my wife loves it there. I prefer Iowa in every way, and as the song says "It feels like home to me."

 

[burk11]

"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size."
--- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Well-spoken Mendoza77, thanks much for bringing this to my attention. Oliver Wendell Holmes was great jurist and a serious legal scholar. No contextualist he, always a pragmatist, and a man of common-law.

 

[Trapper85]

Well-spoken Mendoza77, thanks much for bringing this to my attention. Oliver Wendell Holmes was great jurist and a serious legal scholar. No contextualist he, always a pragmatist, and a man of common-law.

Cesspool getting deep. Only need to know if Oliver can make 157?

 

[Iron Doc]

Regarding Iowa, I am hearing BAD THINGS about Brown Recluse (poisonous) spiders advancing farther North into Iowa. Tell me this ain't true!!!!!

 

[IAChief32]

You Can’t Go Home Again, Thomas Wolfe once wrote.

Many contributors/readers on this forum/thread grew-up in the state of Iowa and/or attended the University of Iowa. Some of you have returned to Iowa during the progression of your working career, or possibly returned to Iowa at the end of your career’s calling.

During these years did Iowa change, and is no longer the home you once knew? Or did you change and Iowa is no longer the home you left in childhood. I grew-up on an Iowa farm, attended the University of Iowa. As a student I dearly loved Iowa City.

After a career of many years and many places, seeking both fame and fortune, I am giving some thought of returning home.

The journey comes full circle. Can you go home again?

Yes. Was born in Iowa and left after the sixth grade. I lived in a lot of different places but mostly called Arizona home. I went to high school, college, and spent a majority of my military time there. Most of my (not really close knit) family lived up here while my wife's are in Az. TBH, I never in a million years thought I would end up back in Iowa. I liked Arizona and living in a nice sized city.

We were looking to make a move to be closer to my Dad and were leaning heavily towards KC or Omaha. All I knew is that I spent much of my time in central Iowa and that I didn't really want to live there. On a vacation, the wife and I decided to check out the IC and Cedar Rapids area. I had never spent any time in the area except for passing it on I-80. Both of us really liked it and the slower pace. Big enough to have what you want but small enough that it doesn't take you a half hour to get everywhere. The people are still "Iowa Nice." Folks don't understand the difference until they've been away from the state for a long time. Having moved around a lot in my youth and in the military, I am easily adaptable and find the good in every place I have lived, though. Except California. San Diego is great but you can have the rest of it haha.

 

[el dub]

Yes. Was born in Iowa and left after the sixth grade. I lived in a lot of different places but mostly called Arizona home. I went to high school, college, and spent a majority of my military time there. Most of my (not really close knit) family lived up here while my wife's are in Az. TBH, I never in a million years thought I would end up back in Iowa. I liked Arizona and living in a nice sized city.

We were looking to make a move to be closer to my Dad and were leaning heavily towards KC or Omaha. All I knew is that I spent much of my time in central Iowa and that I didn't really want to live there. On a vacation, the wife and I decided to check out the IC and Cedar Rapids area. I had never spent any time in the area except for passing it on I-80. Both of us really liked it and the slower pace. Big enough to have what you want but small enough that it doesn't take you a half hour to get everywhere. The people are still "Iowa Nice." Folks don't understand the difference until they've been away from the state for a long time. Having moved around a lot in my youth and in the military, I am easily adaptable and find the good in every place I have lived, though. Except California. San Diego is great but you can have the rest of it haha.

I’m not big on SoCal, either. (Never visited San Diego.) Could be two states.

Just got back from a little trip to the Bay Area. I do miss my old stomping grounds.

 

[Pakman770]

I was raised in Waterloo and lived all over in the AF to include Europe, SWA, Central/S America and Asia. After military retirement been down in Savannah, GA for the last 7 years until last month, just moved to Wiesbaden, GE. Each trip to Iowa to see family still feels like home, not sure why. Watching the changes to Waterloo after the Bosnians settled has been really cool, since they brought all the awesome foods and their unique love of futball. I noticed they moved in and fixed up some blighted areas; my dad noticed a Bosnian man built on to his house to include the basement addition by hand, hard workers.
Hopefully I get to Serbia for Worlds.

 

[Bones Malone]

Grew up & graduated HS in NW Iowa. Family of big Hawk fans. Had older siblings graduate from U of I but chose a college in MN due to close proximity to a girl🙄. After graduating college, lived near Iowa City for 5 yrs, then Moline, IL for 10 yrs where we got season football & wrestling tix. Off to Wichita, KS for 13 yrs (kept football tix for 7 yrs). Began working back in SE IA Dec 2017 to get slightly closer to aging parents residing in NW IA. Moved to SE IA in May 2018.

Whenever driving back to NW IA from KS, the indescribable feeling of being home would hit the moment I crossed the bridge @ Nebraska City. This may have simply been because I was leaving NE😏. Bottom line, it always felt good/right to be back in “God’s country”.

SD may have better fishing & MN more lakes from which to choose but being on Spirit Lake is home to me.

IMO you’ll not find more genuine people than native Iowans. Unless you’ve been away, difficult to describe the feeling of coming “home”.

Borrowing words from a great song lyricist - “Hard to shake the black dirt from your Iowa roots…”

 

[squibs]

I’m not big on SoCal, either. (Never visited San Diego.) Could be two states.

Just got back from a little trip to the Bay Area. I do miss my old stomping grounds.

Different take here. Born in Omaha, lived in Council Bluffs, Underwood, Boone, Webster City, Estherville, Harlan, until my Dad finally lit in Marshalltown where we stayed thru high school and UI. My Dad bought run-down restaurants, built them up, then showed his versatility by running them down himself, dumping them and moving on. I went on to live in Georgia, California (Pacific Grove), taught a year in Zaragoza, Spain (great year), then to Oklahoma for two years and back to California. I now live in south Orange County CA and love it. The weather, the activities (ocean, mountains, parks, music) and some great friends hit my sweet spot. Too many people...sure. But you learn to live with that and enjoy the hell out of the action.

Iowa? I loved growing up there. I still have relatives in Harlan and M-town and visit every other year or so. October in Iowa is heaven on earth. I'm proud to be from Iowa...but wouldn't choose to go back.

And by the way...people where I live have a very strong positive feeling towards Iowa football...more so than many so-called fans on this site.

 

[Birdman007]

My guess is you travel about 20 miles to a real store. But if that’s how you want to do you.. well, you go….

Aka, you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[el dub]

Aka, you have no idea what you are talking about.

I grew up in OBrien county. Sheldon, to be exact. I’ve watched the wasting away of the county over the decades. So, Primghar has a grocery store? I didn’t know that, you lucky duck.

 

[Birdman007]

I grew up in OBrien county. Sheldon, to be exact. I’ve watched the wasting away of the county over the decades. So, Primghar has a grocery store? I didn’t know that, you lucky duck.

So again you have no idea what you are saying. Great post.

 

[mickv]

I wrote that I liked everything about Iowa which is basically true. Everything but Kim Reynolds. There I fixed it.