And After It Rains, There's a Rainbow

Bags grow on trees here. it's true.

I'm sure you probably get tired of me always showing photos and yammering away about my town, but I'm going to do it again. It could be the weather, or the trees changing or the fun I've had recently, but I'm feeling particularly crushed-out on Iowa City lately.

Here is a picture of some guys taking their copy machine for an afternoon walk.

I've always had a thing for this town. It's weird, and quirky and it wears its politics on its sleeve, or The Pentacrest or downtown... It's always been really sweet to me too. When Coadster got in that horse and buggy accident when she was almost five months old, or after Stinky got meningitis or when we got hit by that tornado, it seemed half the people here asked what they could do to help. Iowa City has been extremely thoughtful that way.

Iowa City has really strict leash laws. So, don't go bringing your tables and chairs downtown without tying them up.

Sure, we've had our issues. It can be on the pretentious side. If I have to hear another sentence start with, "When I lived in New York... In New York, blah, blah blah..." I might have to punch someone's face in. It's also a little young for me. It's always so concerned with college classes and working on its movie or novel or band. How about a little less talking about it and a little more working on it, huh?

The walls of Iowa City closing in.

Iowa City can also feel like it's suffocating me. Sometimes I just need a little room to breathe, you know? Don't fence me in and all like that shit there. I do appreciate how much it notices things, though. I can't go anywhere without getting sighting information on my girls. I know it cares about my daughters safety and that means a lot to me.

A guy walking a tightrope on the Pentacrest, just because.

Mostly, I love how Iowa City is never boring. I can be ready to gouge my eyes out with my letter opener after inputting hundreds of high school transcripts at work, and think to myself as I leave for my lunch walk, "Okay, someone better fucking entertain me right now, or I can't be held accountable for my actions." And Iowa City always comes through. There's either guys walking tightropes or crazy people having in-depth conversations with inanimate objects, or I'll see some of the regulars who used to come into all of the restaurants where I worked and I'll crack-up thinking about the nicknames we gave them. I could easily be the mayor of this town of freaks...Okay, I'd have to get elected for that and I'm too lazy to run for office. How about the princess? Isn't that something you just fall into? I could be from some hidden royalty, don't you think?

Who knew tightrope walkers had groupies?

Whatever. I'm going through a HUGE honeymoon phase with this town right now. I'm old enough to know that the honeymoon can't last. In a month or so, when it's twenty below zero out, and icy and Iowa City is exerting its control issues by not letting me run outside, I'll totally bitch to my girlfriends and wonder what I ever saw in it, but right now, we're all rainbows, and unicorns and butterflies.

So, how about you? Are you crushed-out on your town or are you living together in quiet, or not so quiet resentment?