One hot Summer Night

The steady drone of the locusts in Iowa on a hot summer's evening is the perfect backdrop to snuggling under the moon or lifting your hair off of your neck to feel an errant cool breeze as it passes by. New medication I am taking for insomnia causes a ringing in my ears that they seem not to be able to stop. Its almost okay however since it's reminiscent of the locusts on any given hot summer's evening and takes me back home.

Diner Music

Austin, Texas: I lived in Austin for a time and loved it. It combines the old and new and "green" in wonderful and unexpected ways. Do you want to attend the symphony? Or Austin City Limits? Do you want a 5 course meal with all of the pomp and circumstance that it deserves or would you rather visit a 50's pub complete with oldies and decor?

Getting your license the easy way.

The first time I drove a vehicle is fairly boring since I was on Dad's lap and about three years old. The first time that I "legally" drove a vehicle was boring to others but "exciting" to our class of ten who took driver's Education as a part of our class load in school. It was exciting to us since we all had a crush on the cute male driving instructor, and could barely keep our eyes on the road.

However, the first time I "legally" or "semi-legally" drove is much more interesting. Well it was to me. The big day had finally arrived and at our small mid west school there were about ten of us doing the final drive with the Highway Patrolman to see if we would pass our driving test and could then get our real honest to interstate to Des Moines driving licenses. (That last part still had to be cleared with much begging and promises to Dad.)

I think I need to preface the story with the fact that we were a predominately German/Dutch group of towns with good girl's basketball teams populated by good tall basketball playing girls. Most with naturally blond hair and who preferred vinegar on their homemade noodles and dumplings.
The one caveat to that is a small 5'2" guard who learned her craft at the basket bolted to the side of their barn where her brothers drilled her daily on speed, stealing the ball and fouling with a "who? Me?" look on her face as the opposing forward crawled off the floor into her mother's arms and her fathers scowl.

But I digress, the big day arrived and we were giggling like schoolgirls. :-P He took us alphabetically which was boring in itself since we were all Van Elsen's, Vander's, Vander Wyck's, Vander Pluug's, You get the picture. Luckily for me, the one time in my life I get to go first was when he called Van Elsen (Van being by itself). I giggled and waved and turned around to be shocked when he opened the driver's side door for me. It seemed okay so far. As we left the school grounds he was smiling from ear to ear and I wanted to keep him that way until I got that freedom paper. I made some inane small talk about how it must be so exciting to be a Highway Patrol Officer in Iowa. He seemed to grin a lot and I wondered if I might be doing something wrong which would provide guffaws around the coffee machine along with how he turned me down and ordered another round of classes.

By this time, we were downtown (it didn't take long to get there only being a few blocks away) and I hear him bellow "Park 'er right here". I glanced up and my life flashed before my eyes as he stared at me with that huge grin and gestured wildly at the open area in front of the doors t o the fire station. Our ONLY fire station. Now it's true we had been lucky and there hadn't been a fire since since some grade school kids set Van Dusseldorp's outhouse on fire; and luckily it was just a holdover from bygone days.I think the last time the fire truck was out was for the County Fair parade. But laws are laws and I knew this was a big one. I frantically tried to decide if it was a test or if he really didn't see that firehouse in the background. About that time, he lowered his voice and said, "Van Elsen is that Dutch"? And I saw a tiny ball of spittle form at each corner of his mouth. I couldn't take my eyes off of them and just before he licked them off I jerked the wheel and slid into that driveway better than a stock car at the Knoxville Races on a Saturday night. The fire chief and the guy who ran the Maid Rite shop flattened themselves against the wall and I was breathing just about as hard as that cop but for a different reason. He seemed to come to himself then and cleared his throat and said, "Very good, now let's head back to the school".

I figured I had to have blown it. I could hear the taunting of my friends already. We pulled into the circular drive at the school and I sat there while he wrote in his book and then tore a form out and handed it to me with another big smile. I looked down at it and there in bold lettering was the most beautiful word I had ever seen, "PASSED". I heaved a huge sigh of relief and bounced down the sidewalk waving to my friends. Lesson number one learned by a tall Dutch girl, a big smile will get you through most difficult situations.