is this heaven?

monday june 19th:

my only previous knowledge of iowa came from the movie field of dreams, which has a lot of meaning for me. like kevin costner's character in the movie the only connection i ever really had with my biological father was the game of baseball. what little relationship we had was going to a one or two dodger games a year. in fact the last time we did something together we flew to dodger/padre game in san diego. the game was fun but my father neglected to inform my mom so like most things he attempted it blew up in his face.

even though iowa was not on the agenda i was tempted to visit. add an invitation from amanda to see how the other side lived and how could i say no.

driving away from sioux city after the storm i knew i was not in california anymore. wide open space in every direction. dotted by a farm here a silo there and every once in a great while a small, small town.

after life in overcrowded los angeles this was heaven.

the air was crisp and clear.

the only noise was the tires on the highway.

no sirens, no screaming, no horns honking.

and a sky that went on forever and a day.

i could grow to like it here, i thought to myself.

after checking into our motel we were to meet up with amanda at the local park.

we arrived first and i knew immediately i was in heaven.

it was not the air, the blue sky, the wide open spaces, no it was a.............merry-go-round.

an honest to god merry-go-round. kid powered. all steel. and the most fun i ever had as a kid.

in california you see merry-go-rounds have been legislated right off the playgrounds. someone decided they were too dangerous. it had been years since i seen one.

this was never clearer than when cristian asked me what it was i was so excited about.

the state had so overprotected my son that he did not even know what he was missing.

i ran straight for the merry-go-round. got a good spin going and leapt on for the ride. the world was spinning out of control and i was in seventh heaven.

i am sure i made a hell of a first impression when amanda showed up with nathan only to find me spinning out of control and laughing like a kid at christmas.

the rest of the visit was made up of similar moments.

watching softball in the park: just being.

observing what appeared to be a million butterflies flutter through the pavillion at idaho state university: just being.
(i know we were in iowa as amanda just so politely pointed out. in my defense we have made so many iowa/idaho cracks that mr. freud snuck by my editor.)

wandering the gardens admiring the creativity of the designers: just being.

laying in the grass seeing more stars in one night than i had in the previous ten year in los angeles: just being.

losing myself in fields filled with fireflies. outshing any light show i ever saw in hollywood.: just being.

watching the kids bond, run, jump, swim and just enjoy themselves. something cristian rarely gets to do back at home.: just being.

in the end that was what was iowa was for me a place of just being, rediscovering the simple things in life.

is iowa heaven......who knows......but for four days it might have been.