Sunday Night With John: Is This Heaven? No, it’s Iowa

We all know the classic scene from movie Field of Dreams when the baseball player from the past comes out of an Iowa corn field to play a game he misses from the afterlife and asks the farmer, “Is this Heaven?” The Farmer replies, “No, it’s Iowa.” The line holds a special place in my heart because ever since I moved to Iowa at age 18, I have been asked by numerous people, “Why do you choose to live in Iowa?”

It’s a tough thing to explain why one enjoys the pace and lifestyle Iowa affords. The best way to describe the reason I live here is the to talk about all the times I was somewhere else and ran into people who used to call Iowa home. Last year I was at the pool at the Flamingo Casino and Resort in Las Vegas celebrating my brother’s birthday. I was taking a lap around the pool to check out the sights and sounds and when I returned to my brothers Ohio friends, my brother points at me while talking to other pool goers. As I joined the conversation I get a, “You live in Iowa City? Man I miss that place.” The pool goer waxes poetically about how he loved going to college in Iowa City.  He stated he relocated to Denver and thought everywhere would be as friendly as they were in Iowa City. He quickly found out people in Denver weren’t as interested in meeting strangers as people in Iowa City were. He said every night he went out in Iowa City he could and would strike up a conversation with a stranger and find a friend. His eyes glazed over and his brain accessed memories of nights out with friends and strangers all making the social agreement to be friendly. When he was done retelling stories about his college days, I stated that not much has changed in Iowa City. I still meet new people all the time out and about. He looks at me seriously and states, “Don’t ever take that for granted.  The only town I have been in that’s that open is Iowa City.”

On another occasion I found myself on a road trip, taking in a bite at a local diner and another customer overhears I’m from Iowa. He interrupts and says, “Man I miss living in Des Moines.” I asked him why, and he leaned back and stated, “Taco John’s.” We spent the next twenty minutes talking about how the good folks of Iowa have a way of inventing fun, of turning a rainy day into a good reason to toss back a couple of good beers, or turn a sunny day into a good reason to toss back a couple of beers, or how a snowy day is a good reason to toss back a couple of beers. When I get ready to pay my bill, the customer thanks for me for allowing him to go down memory lane about one of the best times and best places of his life.

That’s the thing about living in Iowa, it has this ability to lull you into a peaceful state of mind. It has a certain pace to it that allows one to feel at home and safe. I don’t know how long I will be in Iowa, I don’t know what the future holds for my family and me, but what I do know is the last 15 years I have called his lovely state my home. If I do ever move away from Iowa, I know I will be like the lost Iowans I cross paths with on my journeys. I will glow about my time spent here and also make a new friend, because that’s what Iowans do. Most movie lines are just a creative line to move the story along to it’s end, but the Field of Dreams has a line that rings true for me and my fellow Iowans, “Is This Heaven? No It’s Iowa.”