Iowa 2007
If I were given enough time and space, I would fully chronicle my annual trip to Iowa down to the last detail. There was a lot of activity during a seemingly short timeframe and, as with any trip to the Midwest, I could spend hours pointing out the fine idiosyncrasies between our not-too-distant cultures. Since I haven’t got a very large soapbox on which to stand upon, I will condense my tale to an abridged, but still lengthy versions.
Jessica dropped me off at LAX early Friday morning, where I met up with my dad who had just flown in from Bakersfield. We took the same plane to Denver where we met up with my brother and all flew out to Des Moines. My father got free first-class upgrades on both flights, leaving my brother and me crammed in the back of the plane. He boasted about getting breakfast, a luxury neither of us had received on any flight (not even so much as a bag of nuts) so once we picked up our rental car, we got a quick bite to eat before our four hour trip to Decorah. Part way through the trip I offered to drive and soon I was speeding through the empty countryside. It wasn’t long before the others were asleep as I was rapidly approaching our exit. Which road do I take? The path to Decorah is not an easy one, but soon my father became conscious enough to give me directions (… oh, turn here now; your next turn will be after the…thing….).
We made it safely and had dinner at La Rana(‘s) which probably has the fanciest menu I’ve ever seen in all of Iowa. We enjoyed our meal and afterwards felt tired from a full day’s worth of travel. Patrick and Paige dropped off Paul and I at a house where a faculty member and his wife would shack us up for the weekend for free. They gave us the tour of their place, then after thanking them profusely for their kindness, we went to sleep in a shared bed.
The weekend essentially took its own course and we did our best to keep up with everything. First we purchased a gift for our home-stay family (a pretty potted plant), then went to a graduation barbeque, where we talked with the President of the college for awhile, and eventually moved on into their auditorium for an end-of-the-year musical showcase. Being a rather prestigious music school, the music was fantastic including performances from the band and orchestra. But we were there to hear the choir sing and their music took me back to the last time I heard them perform, back in Prague last year. The real treat of the show was that the choir had elected to sing the song that Patrick had them perform for his senior project for another class. The students were so enthralled, that they wanted to perform it for this concert and have Patrick conduct the song.
I don’t need to tell you how much of a treat this was for our family and how neat it was to see Patrick up there conducting in a snappy new suit. Throughout the course of the showcase, there were four standing ovations - one for each group after finishing their set, and one for Patrick after performing his piece. In my opinion, it was a great way for him to end his college experience at Luther. To top that, the choir will also make the song a part of their repertoire on next year’s tour.
After the performance, we went to a reception at the choral director’s house for the graduating seniors. There were a couple of snacks there, some wine and pop, and of course, on the back porch there was a keg. What college party is complete without a keg? We were eventually shooed out of the house (we Burzlaff’s are notorious for being the last to leave any function) and got ready for Baccalaureate that evening. At the ceremony, we all had to stand while the students processed, and during the procession, Paul and I were kidding about the song played by the organ. Is that the Beastmaster theme? It sounded like a song that would be played after a stunt show at Universal Studios as the announcer is saying, “We thank you for coming to see the Beastmaster live-action show. Remember that the Beastmaster lives in all of us, so please spay and neuter your pets.” I don’t think the guy in front of us appreciated our comments, as he kept turning around and glaring at us.
Once we made it through the ceremony, the three Burzlaff boys headed back to La Rana(‘s) to wish Patrick the best while knocking back a few beers. I was reminded once again how much cheaper beer is in the Midwest (about half of what you’d pay in L.A.). As we were finishing our last beer, my dad walked through the door and sat down next to us, so I bought him a beer. We finished our drinks, made our way back to the hotel room (where Paul and I picked up our home-stay gift) and drove over to meet our hosts, who were still awake preparing food for a post-graduation party.
The graduation was reminiscent of our high school graduation, although because of troubled weather reports, the ceremony was moved into the gym. The seats there were more compact and more uncomfortable than those outside, so we were all dying by the end of the ceremony. After the ceremony, we congratulated Patrick, Paige, & Brian (aka Cheese), took many a picture, then celebrated by getting greasy burgers and helping Patrick move out of his dorm room. We didn’t have to worry too much about moving stuff (unlike my graduation), since he will be spending the summer in Decorah. When it was all done, we said our good-byes and left for Fort Dodge.
We spent the night with my grandparents, who were waiting for us with beer and pizza along with my aunts and uncle. So we enjoyed an evening sitting around drinking and telling stories, which eventually led to my grandfather playing his ukulele and breaking out some really fine Irish whiskey. It’s no surprise that when I laid down for bed my stomach was aching. The rest of the story writes itself – we said our goodbyes then went to the airport in the morning, where we separated going our different directions. It was an enjoyable trip, even if it only seemed to last a moment. In the blink of an eye, the time flew by and I wish that I could have enjoyed it more. But soon Patrick, Paige and Cheese will be back in California, and we can start having fun West Coast style (whatever that means).
Jessica dropped me off at LAX early Friday morning, where I met up with my dad who had just flown in from Bakersfield. We took the same plane to Denver where we met up with my brother and all flew out to Des Moines. My father got free first-class upgrades on both flights, leaving my brother and me crammed in the back of the plane. He boasted about getting breakfast, a luxury neither of us had received on any flight (not even so much as a bag of nuts) so once we picked up our rental car, we got a quick bite to eat before our four hour trip to Decorah. Part way through the trip I offered to drive and soon I was speeding through the empty countryside. It wasn’t long before the others were asleep as I was rapidly approaching our exit. Which road do I take? The path to Decorah is not an easy one, but soon my father became conscious enough to give me directions (… oh, turn here now; your next turn will be after the…thing….).
We made it safely and had dinner at La Rana(‘s) which probably has the fanciest menu I’ve ever seen in all of Iowa. We enjoyed our meal and afterwards felt tired from a full day’s worth of travel. Patrick and Paige dropped off Paul and I at a house where a faculty member and his wife would shack us up for the weekend for free. They gave us the tour of their place, then after thanking them profusely for their kindness, we went to sleep in a shared bed.
The weekend essentially took its own course and we did our best to keep up with everything. First we purchased a gift for our home-stay family (a pretty potted plant), then went to a graduation barbeque, where we talked with the President of the college for awhile, and eventually moved on into their auditorium for an end-of-the-year musical showcase. Being a rather prestigious music school, the music was fantastic including performances from the band and orchestra. But we were there to hear the choir sing and their music took me back to the last time I heard them perform, back in Prague last year. The real treat of the show was that the choir had elected to sing the song that Patrick had them perform for his senior project for another class. The students were so enthralled, that they wanted to perform it for this concert and have Patrick conduct the song.
I don’t need to tell you how much of a treat this was for our family and how neat it was to see Patrick up there conducting in a snappy new suit. Throughout the course of the showcase, there were four standing ovations - one for each group after finishing their set, and one for Patrick after performing his piece. In my opinion, it was a great way for him to end his college experience at Luther. To top that, the choir will also make the song a part of their repertoire on next year’s tour.
After the performance, we went to a reception at the choral director’s house for the graduating seniors. There were a couple of snacks there, some wine and pop, and of course, on the back porch there was a keg. What college party is complete without a keg? We were eventually shooed out of the house (we Burzlaff’s are notorious for being the last to leave any function) and got ready for Baccalaureate that evening. At the ceremony, we all had to stand while the students processed, and during the procession, Paul and I were kidding about the song played by the organ. Is that the Beastmaster theme? It sounded like a song that would be played after a stunt show at Universal Studios as the announcer is saying, “We thank you for coming to see the Beastmaster live-action show. Remember that the Beastmaster lives in all of us, so please spay and neuter your pets.” I don’t think the guy in front of us appreciated our comments, as he kept turning around and glaring at us.
Once we made it through the ceremony, the three Burzlaff boys headed back to La Rana(‘s) to wish Patrick the best while knocking back a few beers. I was reminded once again how much cheaper beer is in the Midwest (about half of what you’d pay in L.A.). As we were finishing our last beer, my dad walked through the door and sat down next to us, so I bought him a beer. We finished our drinks, made our way back to the hotel room (where Paul and I picked up our home-stay gift) and drove over to meet our hosts, who were still awake preparing food for a post-graduation party.
The graduation was reminiscent of our high school graduation, although because of troubled weather reports, the ceremony was moved into the gym. The seats there were more compact and more uncomfortable than those outside, so we were all dying by the end of the ceremony. After the ceremony, we congratulated Patrick, Paige, & Brian (aka Cheese), took many a picture, then celebrated by getting greasy burgers and helping Patrick move out of his dorm room. We didn’t have to worry too much about moving stuff (unlike my graduation), since he will be spending the summer in Decorah. When it was all done, we said our good-byes and left for Fort Dodge.
We spent the night with my grandparents, who were waiting for us with beer and pizza along with my aunts and uncle. So we enjoyed an evening sitting around drinking and telling stories, which eventually led to my grandfather playing his ukulele and breaking out some really fine Irish whiskey. It’s no surprise that when I laid down for bed my stomach was aching. The rest of the story writes itself – we said our goodbyes then went to the airport in the morning, where we separated going our different directions. It was an enjoyable trip, even if it only seemed to last a moment. In the blink of an eye, the time flew by and I wish that I could have enjoyed it more. But soon Patrick, Paige and Cheese will be back in California, and we can start having fun West Coast style (whatever that means).
posted by Chris Burzlaff @ 5/24/2007
<< Home