April A to Z Challenge: I is for ...

    "I"  is for the loveliest state of them all...Iowa. (Or fill in your own favorite state, as long as it starts with an "I" today.)  I lived for thirty seven years in Iowa, which is why it is dear to my heart. The bubble-gum colored peonies in spring, the smell of lilacs in May, the whine of locusts on a summer night, the sporadic blink of fireflies in July, the vivid green rows of corn, the steel gray of a thundercloud, the white-out blizzard conditions, the 98% humidity...I'd better stop while I'm ahead.
    Below are a few photos of the things that say "home" to me...the things that say "Iowa."

I'll start with the first house I remember living in. We moved from here when I was four. I remembered the huge wall in front and in my mind it was about five feet high. I was shocked when I came back as an adult and saw that it was only about two feet high! I used to play with hollyhock seeds in the back yard.

I lived in this house from ages 4 through twelve. It was light green when I lived there, and there was no fence. Those are my bedroom windows up on the second floor. Best memories: moss roses growing in the back yard, white and purple lilac trees, lily-of-the-valley growing against the back wall, watching thunderstorms from that enclosed front porch, and picking rhubarb from the side of the garage in back.

My school for first and second grade where I was lovingly taught by Sister Gabriel and Sister Eugenio. The girls played on a playground to the right and the boys played on a playground to the left. No co-ed hi-jinks there. It's called Holy Family now, but back then it was St. Boniface.

I attended elementary school here from grades 3-6. I loved walking to school on foggy days, because then I could pretend my school was a castle. It was considered major good luck to have your classroom in the rounded rooms. Many thanks to Mrs. Rusch, Miss Faber, Mrs. Reinking, Mr. Toso, and Mrs. McGill. This school was originally a hospital.

The church I attended for 28 years.

Computer Geek and me in a lovely rose garden.

 

I love this statue. So majestic.

A statue of Lt. Colonel Dennis Nielsen carrying young Spencer Bailey from the scene of a plane crash. When asked how he felt about saving the boy, he answered, "I didn't save him. God saved him. I only carried him." Several artists were commissioned to submit proposals for a memorial after the crash. All were abstract and the people of Sioux City spoke, saying that the best memorial would be of Nielsen carrying the boy. The people won out. See the actual photograph here. I was coming home from work and couldn't figure out what all the sirens were for. I later found out about the plane crash.

The Mighty Missouri.

 

One of my favorite views: You are looking at Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota all at once.

Daughter Kay at Grandview Park, where a huge blues festival is held every summer. The rollings hills hold over ten thousand fans as performers, famous and aspiring, rock the crowd.

The Iowa flag!  Booyah!