Two Gents' Worth
July 30, 2026
Getting closer and closer to Christmas, and the chilly days and deep-freeze nights that come with it. We come to Christmas with a merry spirit, and we always have. Man and boy, boy and man, my family tried very hard to have Christmas trees. In Fresno, where I grew up, we had precious little money….
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Autumn has come to us in this great heart of the American heartland, and not just on the calendar. Daytimes here in Ames are now delightfully sunny and cool, with crystal-clear blue skies. Evenings have turned chilly, and there’s a rumor promulgated by the weather bureau (and by KCCI-TV’s ace weather guy, Kurtis Gertz) that…
Read More about So Long, Heartland
You might have heard about that little college football game they played right here in Ames today. It was the contest pitting our own Iowa State University against the University of Iowa. The Big 12 against the Big 10. Cy against Hawk. The biggest game of the year here. The most “in-demand” game ticket in…
Read More about ‘GameDay’ in Ames
This past Labor Day weekend, we took a brief time-out from our Summer of Love in the Heart of the Great American Heartland to visit Bradley and Nicole in their new home in our nation’s capital. They’re spending at least the next year there while Bradley works in the office of our favorite California congressman,…
Read More about Side Trip to D.C.
As just about everyone around this part of the Midwest will tell you, the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines is a one-of-its-kind event. It’s been held for nearly 145 years, and these days, about one million Iowans attend each year. If that figure isn’t impressive enough, consider this: The state of Iowa’s population is…
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Summertime, summertime, here in the Midwest. Hot. Humid. The weather bureau issued all kinds of excessive-heat warnings. Don’t stay in the sun long. Drink plenty of water. And don’t forget your pets — especially the poor critters some dumb folks like to lock inside cars that are parked in the sun. This heatwave has gone…
Read More about Those Lazy, Hazy…
Here we are again on another Fourth of July in Ames, Iowa — the heart of the Great American Heartland. You have to trust me on this — there’s nothing quite like celebrating a Fourth in a Midwestern small town. For starters, small-town Fourths around these parts somehow seem more authentic — more personal —…
Read More about The Fourth, Midwest-StyleDamn! I wanted a pair of those Betsy Ross sneakers. The ones with a replica of the Continental Flag as sewn by Betsy Ross, herself. $140.00 a pair! Nike had a sure winner in the pipeline this week when world opinion leader and Nike board Member, deep-thinker Colin Kaepernick, recalled that Betsy Ross was…
Read More about Betsy’s RevengeWe have returned, one more time, to this great Heart of the American Heartland — Ames, Iowa. This time, our trek took five days, during which we traveled 2032 miles in mostly good spirits through eight states, had lunch with a former boss who happens to be the best one I ever worked for, ate…
Read More about The Midwest, AgainChevrolet summers, Dairy Queen nights. I can’t think of a better way to describe those glorious days and nights when I was growing up in the Valley – days and nights I’d give anything to be able to re-live. My guess is that you’re like me – that we look back on those “salad days”…
Read More about Summertime Memories