18 Comments

I'm an Iowa of course, "Opp, lemme sneak right past ya there." :) I love this so much! I live in Paris and miss Iowa every single day.

Expand full comment
author

Yes! I said that just yesterday. 😂 But Paris... What a dream!!!

Expand full comment
Mar 5Liked by Nicole Baart

Of course, I love your writing! Of course, Iowans sit in their open garages in woven, strappy lawn chairs and watch the neighborhood action ♥️

Expand full comment
author

Ha! We absolutely do this on the regular. The porch and driveway also work great for people watching.

Expand full comment
Mar 5Liked by Nicole Baart

I'm an Iowan... of course I'll change your tire or jump-start your car so you can get back on the road, and the only reward I'll request is that you pay it forward. (If you insist to pay, then only offer enough for at least one cinnamon roll for my chili)

Expand full comment
author

Yes!!! I am always so grateful for the gracious help of strangers in Iowa. 🩷

Expand full comment
Mar 5Liked by Nicole Baart

I'm an Iowan ... of course. I have biked the state of Iowa six times. There really is something special about seeing the landscape on 2-4 tires depending on your mode of transportation, experiencing Iowa's July weather, embracing nature, visiting with people, eating some amazing food with so much variety, rolling though many big and mostly small towns, feeling like the red carpet is rolled out to you each day, and accomplishing all of this within 7 days! Yep ... RAGBRAI is unique to Iowa and is a gathering of 10,000+ of my closest friends. I would recommend to everyone.

Expand full comment
author

RAGBRAI is on my bucket list! I’ve been to many a “launch party” on the west side of the state. 😉 It’s quite the experience!

Expand full comment
Mar 5Liked by Nicole Baart

(: A B S O L U T E L Y :)

Expand full comment

I am an Iowan, we measure the weather not in degrees, but in 'with wind,' 'without wind,' 'with humidity,' or 'without humidity.' You know, it wouldn't really be that bad outside if it wasn't for the wind… And it wouldn’t be so hot if it wasn’t for the humidity…

Expand full comment
author

Yes! So true!

Expand full comment

I’m an Iowan … of course, I greet every piece of bad luck with, “well, it could be worse.”

I’m stealing this from Mary Swander, whom I once heard read a poem on how Iowans are apt to say this! I catch myself thinking it all the time. I wonder where we get it?

Expand full comment
author

I say that too. I also apologize far more than I should and often for things that don’t require an apology...

Expand full comment
Mar 4Liked by Nicole Baart

Cinnamon rolls and chili? Is that a regional thing? I've never had it, and I'm in Des Moines.

Expand full comment
author

Maybe it is regional! We used to have it for hot lunch at school. I can’t imagine eating chili without a cinnamon roll side... There’s just something about the savory and sweet!

Expand full comment
Mar 4Liked by Nicole Baart

Thank you for your insight again, Nicole!

I’m an Iowan and I live in Toronto, Ontario. I have brought the values of neighbourliness and most of the other habits you mentioned that I grew up with to my street in Toronto, where they are appreciated and reciprocated. (I am also a dual citizen, because our family values include that we should take responsibility for where we live as well as where we are from.)

Expand full comment
author

Yes! "We should take responsibility for where we live as well as where we are from." I couldn't agree more.

Expand full comment

I'm an Iowan...of course. My husband and I play games in the car such as: name every Iowa county seat town...name every Iowa river...and, of course we know how to pronounce 'Nevada.'

Expand full comment