Posted November 27, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
“Joe, it’s not so cozy.” Really? “It’s not so cozy”? They have great fries. And I love their coffee. And look at their apple pie. “I’m sorry, but it’s not so cozy,” repeats my Dutch friend, Margreet. And that is the end of the discussion. We move on. And everybody
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Posted November 06, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
See the world from a different angle. “The Ferris wheel is going up right there,” Steve Smith says as he marks a line of white dashes that cover the entire concrete lot. And when you step back for a broader view of these fresh hopscotch marks, they actually designate the
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Posted October 02, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
I want an Italian mother. Don’t get me wrong, the wedding itself was heavenly. It flowed with a gracious ease that can be so elusive at many formal events. For starters, the handsome groom came down the aisle sober. A definite plus. Even his buddies stood by his side with
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Posted September 04, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
“Jason Statham saved a lot of guys.” Smacked broadside by a car at the top of a hill, I was 5 years old when I had my first bike accident. I was so embarrassed, I limped home and kept my bruised body and the ruined bike a secret. My first embarrassment.
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Posted July 31, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
Tell that to Sister Agnes. Fifty kids were fed lunch on Monday in a little park in Urbandale — for free. Chew on that. The small parking lot at Murphy Park fills with a half dozen cars. The green totes and the blue coolers are unloaded from the trunks and
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Posted July 03, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
An old man getting an earring wasn’t cool 25 years ago. Sonya Rumbly smiles. A wide friendly smile. One that puts me at ease even though I’m surrounded by narrow walls of pink and glitter. Pink-and-glitter purses, pink-and-glitter backpacks, pick-and-glitter necklaces. Claire’s in Merle Hay Mall must be a paradise
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Posted June 05, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
The stuff of good dreams. Traveling with my mom was, for most of my life, the stuff of one of those late-night dreams we all have at one time or another — and not those good dreams. Rather the dreams where you forget to go to an important test at
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Posted May 01, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
You heard it here first. Frankly, the joy of being a grandpa caught me by surprise. Listen, I’ve raised three kids, I know what children are all about. And, by the way, where is the gold watch for that job? After bleeding and suffering for each, giving them the best
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Posted April 03, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
Just walk to the edge. I’ve been lost as a child. It was in an Iowa cornfield. You know, you’re young, you’re playing around with your cousins, running and hiding and yelling, and then, suddenly, you are completely lost. Green stalks block your vision in every direction. Is that the
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Posted March 06, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
What is the difference between somebody we know for a long time and a person who is a new friend? They laugh. And not just with their mouths, like your teenage kids do when you tell a joke. Instead, their eyes sparkle, tear up, close tight and sparkle again. Even
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