Midwest Charm

I know I have said this before, but I love Iowa.  The other day, Casey and I were on our way to a rodeo and decided to stop in the town square for a bite to eat before we hit the road.  The first restaurant we pulled into was closed.  We happened to see that the restaurant’s owner was getting into his truck.  As we circled around the square looking for a different place to eat, he pulled up by us, rolled his window down and asked, “Are you guys hungry?”

“Yes, we are!” Casey replied.

“Give me about five minutes and I’ll be back.  I need to go get a drink…slow day!” 

“Okay, sounds good!” Casey said.  Not only did we have a wonderful mid-afternoon lunch, he sent us on the road with two cans of soda, on the house.  This is one of the many facets of Midwest Iowa Heartland charm.

Midwestern neighbors are wonderful, too.  Earlier this year Casey and my dad were working on the tractor and the baler.  Our neighbor, who is very familiar with these older machines, came up and helped them out.  He found out what the issue was right away.  Did I mention it was one of the hottest days of the year we had experienced so far for the season?  Without being asked, he just jumped right in and helped us bale, load, and stack the hay.  Furthermore, he wouldn’t take anything in return except a huge glass of water.      

While cities do have a lot to offer, are fun to visit, exciting, and always have something going on; I prefer to have my home in the quiet of the country where I can smell the sweet freshly cut hay, see friendly smiles everywhere I go, and have neighbors who are always there to lend a helping hand on the hottest days and always keep a watchful eye over your place whether you are home or not.  I love the Midwest, and I love Iowa! 



"If you can fly a plane, you can drive a tractor."
This is what Casey said to my dad when
he started to hem and haw about driving
Casey's Oliver 88 tractor.

 

My dad, baling the hay and Casey stacking the hay
onto the trailer.  Sam and I had
the toughest job, driving the air conditioned
truck and trailer around the field so
Casey and Dean could load it
onto the trailer...

 

        

We couldn't have gotten

this all done in one afternoon

if it hadn't been for my dad and Dean.



Dad, Casey (in the mirror), and our neighbor, Dean.