July 2007 - Posts
I’m a RAGBRAI-cyclist Wannabe. It’s taken me all of about 20 years to admit it, but there it is.
I’ve been to countless RAGBRAI parties, concerts and other events over the years. Each time I tell myself, “I need to do this next year.” I even told a co-worker, Linda Muller, last year that I’d join her on the LIVESTRONG team this year. Then, when she went around collecting teammates, I changed my mind. I don’t remember my excuse, but I know there was one. My bike is the wrong kind. I couldn’t take a week off work. I don't have time to condition. What would I do with the kids?
Linda’s on RAGBRAI this year, likely having the time of her life. Way to go, Linda! You can read her blog from the road on www.gazetteonline.com, too.
I attended my first RAGBRAI event – OK, party – when I was a college intern in Carroll sometime in the mid-1980s and Carroll was an overnight host city. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. People were camping in yards, on the courthouse greens, in the park. My parents allowed a few people to come in to shower at the house, so we felt, if only briefly, that we were "a part of it."
It was also one of my first brushes with celebrity – Ben Davidson, who played for the Oakland Raiders the first time they were the Oakland Raiders, was on the ride that year, and my dad – in a way only my dad could do – managed to befriend him and the two spent the evening trading jokes and stories. To see the two of them was a sight – my dad stands 6’5” and at the time probably weighed about 265, Ben Davidson is 6’8” and weighed about 270 in his playing years. These were not small men. Ben even gave me a piece of advice to use whenever someone would size me up (I’m 6’0”) and ask if I played basketball – something that always annoyed me once I stopped playing. His daughters, he said, would always reply, “Why? Do you play miniature golf?”
But that’s beside the point. In the years since my first RAGBRAI experience, I’ve covered various stops, celebrated with friends along the way and have even worked food stands or other booths at various stops. I’ve met countless people from across the country and, like the groups I met in Independence this week, they have all been full of stories about the great time they were having on RAGBRAI. I have yet to meet someone who went on the route and didn’t have a good time.
My next big step, I figure, is to actually get my bike ready and join the ride.
I could smell the Great Jones County Fair before I could see it Thursday night. You know that aroma - an enticing mixture of grilled meats and deep fried foods. At the fair, it's generally true that the better a food tastes, the worse it is for you.
The top of that list for me is the funnel cake. Sweet dough swirled into hot oil, deep fried for a crispy outside and a soft center. With powdered sugar it's fabulous. With chocolate or strawberries, it's even better. I'm practically drooling now just thinking about it.
But, I haven't had one in years. You know they're good when I can't remember the last time I ate one, but the taste is on the tip of my tongue just thinking about them. I don't eat funnel cakes because they're on my list. It's a list I have of foods that I know are so good that my willpower shouldn't be tested to try even one bite. For example, I've never had a cookie from the mall. You know, the sort that are always soft and warm. Never. I don't trust myself.
I might sound neurotic. But, I don't think I'm the only one out there. Though nearly everyone I asked Thursday said funnel cake was their favorite fair food, I only saw one person eating one. I wonder why?
Not that the other options are all that much better. As long as it's deep fat fried or on a stick, you'll find it at the fair. Apparently the new rage in Minnesota is mac and cheese on a stick. Not sure how that works, but it involves cheese and a crispy fried crust. I see the attraction.
I ended up with a vegetarian gyro. The veggies were raw, which surprised me. Overall it was fine and I know it was healthy. But, I have to admit, I was jealous of everyone noshing on french fries and funnel cakes.
“What I did on my summer vacation …”
Sounds like a recurring nightmare from high school, that age-old standard essay we used to have to write – you know, with pen and paper, the old-fashioned way – during that first week back in school. I remember struggling each time to come up with enough words to fill the sheet, regardless of the number of day trips, weekend excursions or other mini-adventures my family would take.
It eventually became much easier to remember and list the highlights of my summers. In college it was still having summers off, attending concerts, camping with friends, weekend get-togethers. Later, a lot of the highlights were the same, but some of the people had changed. Camping with friends became camping with the kids. Big-name concerts became outdoor offerings from local musicians (which, by the way, quite often turned out to be the better deal). Going to watch the Royals became watching Little League. Then there was the list that included picnics, town celebrations, family reunions and countless trips to the swimming pool.
It’s hard for me to pick one favorite part of summer. Summer is my favorite time of year simply because of all there is to do. My kids and I enjoy being outside, so we go to the celebrations, to the swimming pools, to the picnics. While we haven’t made it yet this year – our one planned outing was canceled by weather – we love to camp with relatives. I’ve also recently fallen in love with golf.
At Friday's Uptown Friday Nights I asked people what a highlight of summer would be for them, knowing that if asked the same question, I would be hard-pressed to find an answer. How do you find a summer highlight when, frankly, summer IS the highlight?
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to talk about my dog, Scooby. We've been best buds for a little more than two years now, ever since I adopted him from the Animal Rescue League in Des Moines. He's 100 pounds of pure fun.
For this week's On the Street, I asked people what breed of dog was their favorite at a dog show at the Linn County Fair. I tell people that Scooby is part Lab and part Great Dane, although I'm not 100 percent sure. The previous owner said he was a Lab/Collie mix, but I wasn't buying it. I haven't seen any Labs or Collies that come up to my dinner table.
If you've seen the TV show Scooby Doo, you know generally what my dog looks like. But instead of pointy ears, he has floppy ones that tend to be inside out when he runs.
Scoobs, as I call him when he's not in trouble, loves to be off his leash and running wild, which is why I'm glad Cedar Rapids has a dog park. Most of the time, he's cooped up with me in a one-bedroom apartment, and that's not the best scenario.
If you give Scooby the opportunity, he will cuddle up to you, as if he's about one-fifth his size. He wouldn't harm a soul, but he might just lick you to death if you let him. Nothing gets him too rattled - he handles fireworks and thunderstorms just fine.
At three years old, the only things he seems afraid of are cell phones and tape measures. Don't ask me why, but it's all part of what makes Scooby unique. And, in my opinion, the best dog in the world.