April 2007 - Posts
My husband cannot and will not go to a movie without getting a tub of buttery popcorn. I've yet to decide whether it's the ritual or the popcorn itself that's more important to him. I think for a lot of people it's a toss up.
Last summer's On The Streets are a perfect example. All summer, I left events with my stomach growling because there was so much delicious looking food every wafting all around. Let's face it, Americans love food and summer time fare is top on our list.
Take baseball for example. Just like baseball is America's pastime, the food at the ballpark plays an integral role in the entire experience.
The people I talked to at Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday night all had their favorites. Among them were the classics like peanuts, hot dogs and nachos. One guy said hamburgers, only to have his friend tell him that wasn't a ballpark food. But, I didn't think pizza was something to enjoy at a baseball game and another man said that was his favorite.
I read somewhere recently that major league ballparks in cities like New York and Chicago are going gourmet. Fans won't have to stick to the typical concession foods. Instead they'll have five-star dining to enjoy while they watch the game. I wonder if they'll still eat their creme brulee sitting in the plastic fold-down chairs?
I also wonder if it's a fad that will catch on? Isn't there something quintessential about sitting at a baseball game with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in another. I don't know that walking into a stadium to the scent of grilled mahi mahi would really be as alluring as the aroma of popcorn mingling other classic concession fare. But maybe that's just me.
Next week Jeff will be at the Catherine McAuley Adult Spelling Bee at Xavier High School. Catch up with him and test your spelling smarts.
Any day now, the Cubs should be calling. They could always use another middle infielder, and I know I'm the guy they're looking for. Sure, I may not have had the most glorious stats in high school (1 career home run), and maybe I didn't play college ball, but still. I might have given up hope on playing for the Yankees - not that I'd put on the pinstripes anyway - but not the Cubs.
For this week's On the Street, we asked young adults to name their ideal job, if they could do anything under the sun. (Actually, astronaut is an acceptable answer, and I couldn't tell you whether that's still "under the sun.") It was a stumper for quite a few people, even though I was at the Corridor Career Fair.
I think that a job shouldn't really seem like a job. It's been my opinion for a while now that I want to have fun with whatever I'm doing, and that's why I'm here, at The Gazette.
My first dream job was professional baseball. As much as I played as a kid, I was always a little bummed when the game was over.
Then, it was SportsCenter. I wanted to be right there next to Stuart Scott on ESPN. I knew I could "BOO-YAH" with the best of 'em. Early in college, though, I realized my place wasn't on camera (Find out what I mean on KRCG at about 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, when I talk about one of my stories.)
Still enthralled with sports, I started writing for the Iowa State Daily. My first beat was women's gymnastics.
I was actually decent at writing, to my surprise, so I stuck with it. I shifted gears a couple years ago to news, favoring the work schedule much more, but here I am, in my dream job.
That is, unless the Cubs call.
As I was driving to the Paramount Theatre Sunday afternoon to talk to people for this week's On The Street, I tried to think of my favorite Beatles song. I drew a blank. I quickly realized I should have done my homework. There would be no way I'd be able to jog people's memories if they too couldn't think of their favorite song at the drop of a hat.
As it turned out, though, I didn't have to do much prompting. Most of the people to turned out to the Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra's "Classical Mystery Tour: A Tribute to the Beatles" knew exactly which song was their favorite. They named a few I hadn't heard of and other's I hadn't thought of in years.
Not being able to recall my own favorite song says nothing about how I feel about the Beatles. I had several CDs growing up, particularly when I went through my 60s phase. I couldn't get enough of Simon and Garfunkel, Jim Croce, The Bee Gees, Cat Stevens, Carol King or my name sake, Carly Simon. I wouldn't say I was a die hard fan. But, I do like their music.
I'm sure if I had been a teenager in the 1960s instead of the 1990s I would have swooned with all the other teenage girls. Or maybe not. I did, after all, manage to escape the 1980s without a single New Kids on the Block tee shirt or tape. That being said, I could name the members of the Beatles in no time flat. Given all the time in the world, I'd be hard pressed to name more than one member of the New Kids.
But, that's a good thing in my book. The Beatles may have been a pop sensation in their own right, just like groups in the following decades. But, their music defined a generation. And, it says something about their music that it continues to have an impact and draw a crowd in 2007.
Next week we're off to see what you want to be when you grow up. Molly will be at the Corridor Career Fair asking "If you could do any job what would it be?"
Everyone loves finding new things, and I guess I'm no exception. Occasionally, in my organized chaos, the "new things" I discover are actually the re-discovery of something long-forgotten, and sometimes those are the best finds.
This happened a lot as I was growing up because we moved quite often. My father wasn't in the military, he just got bored. A lot. Which meant a new home -- and occasionally a new school -- for us about every three to four years. By the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in 13 houses in 5 states, and attended two elementary, middle and high schools. I carried that through my adult life, as well. In fact, I jokingly told a friend the other day that in August, when my kids and I hit our 5-year mark on the house we currently live in, I will have attained a new personal record -- the longest stay in any one house.
All that moving has meant ample opportunity for rediscovery. It seemed with each moved something was found -- and several "somethings" were lost. But because each move was separated by years (with the exception of two, both of which occurred less than a year after the previous), the findings were new again: once it was a small crystal jewelry box my grandmother had given me; another time it was a stationery set with my name embossed at the top -- a rare find, by the way, for a child named Molly in the 1970s.
Like many people told me during the geocaching Easter egg hunt on Saturday, one of my greatest discoveries, however, is my children. I have enjoyed discovering who my children are, watching them develop into their own person with their own dreams and characteristics. We have rules, and they are expected to live by them, but they are also allowed to grow into who they are, and that has been an incredible journey. My son has gone from a shy little boy to a young man with the courage to be himself; my daughter is growing into a social butterfly with heartfelt concerns about the environment and how it affects those around her.
Self-discovery is wonderful, but watching your kids discover who they are is even better.
Look for Carly here next week as she goes to the Beatles tribute and asks people what they think the best Beatles song is.