March 28, 2024

Summertime and office hours

For this week’s Take, I really don’t have a single issue I wanted to focus on, so I decided to jump around a bit.

Summer in Iowa

“When are you coming home?”

This message is constantly popping up in my phone’s text message inbox. For the most part, I have spent my summer right here in Iowa. I haven’t been back to KC since June, and in all honesty, I haven’t needed too.

I have been doing everything under the sun right here this summer. I’ve enjoyed the thrills of “Zoo Brew” at the Blank Park Zoo, attended a pool party and dueling piano show in West Des Moines, gotten “Wikid” at Thunder Nites, and have attended plenty of bonfires all over Jasper County.

I watched the Barnstormers get destroyed while partying with pro golfer (and my newest BFF) Daniel Miernicki. Later on, we actually ran into the guys from the Arizona Rattlers in downtown Des Moines — and I might have exchanged a high five or two.

This summer has been pretty fantastic. I have a very solid crew of friends; we like to call ourselves “The Group.” We are all in our 20s and want to have a good time and we are all also professionals in the community. Between us, we probably know half of Newton and know of all the fun events happening in the region.

And don’t get me wrong, I miss all my family and friends back home, especially “The Crew” (yes, I name every group I am in). Things are just going so well for me here, I can’t help but be happy.

However, my little sister is coming in from New York City and we lined this upcoming weekend up to both visit home. So I get to party with The Crew, pick on my sisters, lecture my teenage cousins, see my grandparents and dad and get fat on some KC-style barbecue.

Summer with The Group has been awesome, except for the mosquito bites, and I can’t wait to see what the fall brings. I definitely want to tailgate some Cardinal football games and show off my new Newton hoodie.

Office Hours

We started the practice of office hours in February, "way back" when I was the new kid on the block, and for the most part, I can say mine have been successful. The sole reason I can credit that is because of my buddy, Bob Van Drimmelen.

Bob attends two to three of my office hours sessions a month and we eat frozen yogurt and talk about a subject we both enjoy: history. Bob is an interesting guy and I am really thankful he shows up every Wednesday just to hang out with me at Worth the Weight.

I didn’t see him for a few weeks. He keeps busy for a guy his age, and he had let me know that he was volunteering on an American Indian reservation in South Dakota. I mean how cool is that?

He was explaining to me that while up there he was labeled a “brother” by one member of the tribe and that he just likes to help them out. I love hearing about active older members in our community and Bob is a shining example of that.

My office hours are every Wednesday (the same day Ty’s Take runs) and I would love to see more people there. Last week, Derby Dan from the South Skunk Blues Society joined Bob and I for some “fro-yo.” Everyone is more than welcome to join me.

Office hours are a chance to pitch me a story, just ask me a question, or to simply talk. Don’t be afraid to approach us; we hold these to keep in touch with the public and we are all more than happy to hear from you.