MIA

I voted in the Iowa Straw Poll and have the blue ink on my index finger to prove it. It was not easy to be part of this event. I had to endure a three mile shuttle bus ride from the east side of Ames to the parking lot by Hilton Coliseum. Fortunately the bus was air conditioned or the ride would have been unbearable in the 70 degree heat. The wide cushioned seats were a nice touch too. Upon exiting the bus I was handed a $30 admission ticket, some leaflets and a t-shirt – all for free.

After a short briefing I was free to visit the various venues set up by the candidates.  National media and international media were swarming the grounds so I played a game to get into the background of live camera shots.  (Hi Ma!)

Then it took a bad turn. There was food everywhere! There was BBQ from Famous Dave’s, pizza from Godfathers and ice cream from Dairy Queen just to name a few of the options. Did I mention it was all free? How could I stay on my diet with so much free food available for the taking? I made my food choices, listened to the candidates’ speeches and actually met a few of them.

Finally I found time to vote. Walking out of the voting area I was required to dip my finger in blue ink. I suppose it was to discourage people from voting more than once.  Then it hit me. The ink on my finger reminded of the iconic picture of an Iraqi woman that had voted and held up her purple stained finger with a look of pride that only comes with true achievement.

She likely risked her life to vote. There was no bus, no free food and no clowning around for the press. In fact, the picture made her more of a target for reprisals. So why did only 16,000 voters participate in the Iowa Straw Poll? If an apathetic people get the government they deserve then we are in trouble!

Turning into a Smurf - Photo by Luis Rivas

Ich bin ein Iowan!

I went to the Iowa State Fair today along with 104,621 other paid attendees plus fair workers and vendors. Between sightings of four presidential candidates I kept running into people I know. 

I got to thinking I could pass for a native Iowan as well as I have the layout of the fairgrounds memorized. 

When the National Weather Service reports Iowa counties under the threat of severe weather I no longer need a map to know where they are located. 

I am going to The Iowa Straw Poll tomorrow in Ames. I have become an Iowan.

I was born in Ravena, Ohio in 1953 and moved into 1980 Hanover St, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio before my first birthday. In 1963 we moved to Villa Park, Illinois followed by a move to Oak Park, Michigan in 1964. 1965 had a move to Mount Clemens MI, 1966 on to Royal Oak, MI and in 1967 to Beverly Hills, MI and then on to a second house in Beverly Hills in 1969. My last move during high school was to Hazel Park, MI in 1971. My first house on my own was also in Hazel Park, MI then in 1979 I moved to Carlisle, Iowa to work in the Preferred Risk Home Office. Preferred Risk transferred me to Clovis, California in 1989 and then back to Iowa in 1993. Iowa locations after the 1993 return included Waukee, Urbandale and now West Des Moines. 

So adding it up and listing it in ascending order: Illinois 1 year; California 4 years; Ohio 10 years; Michigan 16 years; and Iowa 28 years. So with apologies to JFK: Ich bin ein Iowan!

Who is Jack Martinez?

“Cloud computing” or “in the cloud” are phrases that I read almost every day now that many major technology companies have embraced this as their business model.  On the surface the concept is simple: all applications and data are hosted in secure data centers and user access is over a broadband Internet connection.

When I hear about clouds I think about something I have first noticed decades ago: that most people already live in a cloud.  They go through the motions of living but it appears as if outside forces are pulling their strings. Commons symptoms include: following the crowd, keeping up with Joneses, believing that reality TV is real, lacking any substantial interest in current news unless it involves a celebrity, and a general lack of curiosity about the world around us. 

Picture in your mind a football field with thousands of people standing, sitting, and moving about the field through a low fog bank that is spreading over the field.  Now notice a handful of them showing through the mist.  These are the “John Galts” that can come into our lives if we ourselves are aware.

Running into these people can greatly enhance our lives.  I am having lunch with one of them on Friday.  His name is Jack Martinez.  And today I traded e-mails with a great thinker – Charles Carroll.  Across the hall from my office is Debbie’s office, my spouse who challenges, inspires, and teaches me so much.  Now all I need is a call from Mikey!

In Spite of Ourselves

John Prine 2011 - photo by Bob Conroy

Debbie and I went to the John Prine with Iris Dement Concert at the Des Moines Civic Center last night. It was a very enjoyable event.  Dement did a 40-minute set and Prine did a non-stop two hours.  

Such talent!  Turns out that Dement is married to Iowa’s Greg Brown and he came on stage for the encore which, of course, was “Paradise”.

We planned to go out to dinner before the concert but did not preset the location so it turned into “Where do you want to go eat ?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to go eat?”  We exchanged this several times, trading roles each time but getting no closer to a final answer.  Finally, we talked ourselves into Jethro’s BBQ by Drake University on the theory that school is out so it would not be too crowded.  Epic fail!  As we pulled into the parking lot there were aging frat boys spilling out into the parking lot, beers in hand. (btw, just when did a punk with a beer get labeled a “Young Professional” or “YP”? )

Iris Dement and John Prine 2011 - photo by Bob Conroy

Jethro’s was too loud for us from the parking lot, never mind going inside, so we headed downtown and figured we would have an extemporaneous dining experience also known as winging it.  After an interesting drive down University Ave to 6th Ave we arrived at the Civic Center.  Where do you want to go eat?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to go eat?” morphed into “Where do you want to park?” followed by the required rejoinder “I don’t care, where do you want to park?”  We ended up parking a block north of the Civic Center after three scoops of the loop.

Ramblin’ Man

No theme to this post, just a bit of stream of consciousness that has been carefully edited to protect the guilty.

She did it… Our big news since my last post is that Debbie retired from her corporate job and is now working full-time at our agency!   Her last few months were hectic as she valiantly tried to transfer years of experience, judgment and wisdom unto half a dozen people, all of whom already had full plates.  Such is the state of the corporate world these days.  Being able to “retire” (defined here as getting retirement benefits) on her 55th birthday was a great reward for her years of planning, budgeting and faithful adherence to our long term goals.  She has jumped into our new agency and is already running quotes, learning our agency management system (AMS 360), and decompressing from the corporate “bends”.

Legos and Waffles… We had a great, albeit hectic, week with the grandkids.  It was the same week Debbie retired and started working in the agency.  There were a lot of “have to’s” and the kids were troopers when required.  Such a delight they are in our lives.

Two years = a lifetime… At least it does to Garmin.  I bought a lifetime subscription for traffic and news on a Garmin GPS a few years ago.   They have discontinued the service and told me that since I had over two years of service they owed me nothing.  I owe them nothing except to tell others the truth about how little they value their customers.