On College Years Past

This is the year that our granddaughter is looking at colleges. She has a few favorites already. I put in a good word for Iowa State University because of its beautiful campus, good programs, and that is where I attended. Whatever she decides, this is her time for the college experience!

Oak Hall, Iowa State University Dormitory

A few years ago, on August 4, 2011, I wrote this about that topic:

Earlier today, at breakfast with Mom and Dad, Ed and Linda, and Dan, I found out that our nephew, Nathan, is going to ISU this fall, and living in Linden Hall.

Oak Hall is right by that. Oak Hall, (4th floor, King) is where I lived for the first 2 years of college.

So, it reminded me of a visit to Ames in 2002, 30 years after I lived there.

It was a rainy Saturday morning. Dan dropped me off so I could go have a peek at the inside of my old dormitory.

The first thing I noticed? The front concrete steps were worn down in the middle from years of footsteps.

Shirley and friends. King House, 4th Floor, Oak Hall, 1972

Then, inside, I smelled the mustiness, and dustiness of the old building. Or, maybe (just kidding here), it was the boys who were now living in this once all girls dorm.

I walked up to 4th floor and knocked on 3041, hoping to see the inside. No one answered. So, I left a message on the dry erase board hanging there. “Hi, I lived here 30 years ago, and had a wonderful time!” Then, I drew the ☮️ Peace sign, and signed my first name.

One of the letters I received in Oak Hall, from Dan.

When I went back outside, and saw Dan parked in front, along that familiar curb, it came to me that not only were our years of college over, but also all four of our children’s too.

I burst into tears at the thought of this swift passage of time, just as I opened the car’s passenger door, leaving Dan to wonder what he had done this time to make me cry.

Shirley

On Bikes Without Kickstands

My First Bicycle, 1961, on a farm near Breda, IA.

Why would anyone want a bicycle without a kickstand? I’m pretty sure I had one on this first bike, although it’s hard to tell from the way I’m proudly holding it up.

Young kids, in the 7 to 12 year old range, who are racing to their friend’s house, flying off the seat, and throwing the bike to the ground, in their haste to begin playtime, might. In fact, I’ve seen that happen!

When I turned 60, in 2012, I decided to get a bicycle. I had torn out a picture of one I liked from an ad and kept it in a desk drawer for years, like a wish list. We now had a cabin on Lake Okoboji, and I really wanted to be out there riding around the lake and on the trail in the country. It would be a cruiser with foot brakes only, no hand brakes, because that’s the kind I grew up with. It would also have a wicker basket attached to the front handlebars that I would fill with fun stuff.

My wished for bicycle, and some research on where to get it.

I shopped for the bike and a helmet in Omaha and practiced riding around the store parking lot, feeling a little silly, but building confidence before I actually purchsed it. This bike had a kickstand.

Here’s a short story about another 60 year old getting a bike. I wrote it on June 26, 2011:

I’m thinking back to that day when I stopped at my friends’ Liz and Tony’s house. It was Liz’s birthday, her 60th, and she was riding her new bike around the block.

When she came back, Tony and I were sitting under the front yard shade tree, sipping icy orange pop from bottles—delicious! Liz desperately needed some. She was so thirsty after her first bike ride. She hopped off and parked, using the kickstand.

The bike shop had specially installed it for her, saying that few customers want them. This got us to talking about how we (our generation) want, expect, and like kickstands, and discussing why on earth anyone would not want one.

Shirley

On Drying a Wet Shirt in the Fresh Air

My Favorite White Linen Shirt, hanging on our Omaha Balcony

The last two days in Omaha have been exquisitely perfect with sunshine and gentle breezes, making for a lot of outside time, which is so refreshing!

I’m thinking of Mom hanging her laundry outside while we were growing up, and my friend, Susie, who does it still, so that the clothes and sheets can capture that air.

Here’s something I wrote on March 26, 2011 about that:

Upon arriving here (Kiawah Island, S.C.) yesterday, after a historical tour of Magnolia Plantation, and the cabins and marshes with alligators and azalias, Dan went golfing, and I went to my spa appointment. It was for a 90 minute facial. Imagine! To spend that much time on a spa bed, and be steamed, masked, stroked, heated and treated was unheard of in my life. It was so wonderful!!

As I was preparing to leave the locker room, I put a glass of ice water next to my cotton shirt. When I reached for the shirt, the water fell over and soaked the shirt. So I left with a tee shirt on, and carried the long sleeved overshirt.

Back in the room, I hung it over a balcony chair, which is where I found it this morning, on a sunny breezy Saturday.

I put it on, and I immediately felt like I too had spent the night on that balcony by the sea. Unbottled freshness!

Shirley