Becoming Acclimated To Iowa

I'm not sure when it happened...  but I think we are becoming "used" to Iowa.   How?  Several small observations have helped me realize this.

No need for a cast....anymore.

When we first arrived here,  I noted there were a disproportionate number of people wearing leg casts.   At first I joked that it was "people catching their leg in a combine."    But that would look much more gruesome.

Why would anyone do this?

Has this fallen out of Fashion in Iowa?

It was not until later that I heard from one of them that they had been "kicking pumpkins."  Whether this was true for every case was not clear, but it was an entertaining topic to blog about.

However,  in the last few years,  I "noticed" that I have not noticed any leg braces lately.   In fact,  we recently saw someone in our store and that triggered the memory.   So what happened?   Had Iowans learned that kicking pumpkins is a bad idea?  OR  had I simply become so used to it that I no longer see it as "unusual?"

Everyone has a Tattoo... Somewhere.

The same can be said for the number of Tattoos here.    Upon arrival,  I had never seen so many people with tattoos.  (And that is saying a LOT!   Coming out of the Army....)  I thought at one moment that there was a possibility the tattoos in Iowa were contagious!

They hand them out at the fair?

 But recently I simply accept that everyone has a tattoo...  somewhere.   Cheryl and I joked that everyone gets a tattoo coupon upon graduating from High School.   Perhaps that still is the case,  but the overwhelming presence of tattoos on everyone no longer seems unusual.    Have I become numb to this stimuli as well?

From Great Britain.

Nissan Figaro.  

One of the cool things about Iowa are the "Project Cars."   There are still moments where people choose a car and dump money into it to revive it to the former glory.   Then they drive around and show it off on weekends and Holidays during the summer and fall.  Recently a guy came to the Farmers Market with a Figaro.

Right side Driver.   Passenger can have some fun moments.

  A European car made in Japan by Nissan.    It still had the drivers side on the right side!   I snapped a few pictures to post on the blog... in the event Mike ( brother-in-law) ever reads this posting.   Mike is not a Subaru guy...but a Nissan fan.  Still,  Nissan is made in Japan and that can not be a bad thing.

If you like the look of Moss

So there it is.  Iowa is growing on us.   Like a moss or lichen... or mold.   Maybe that is not entirely bad.    Moss makes rocks look attractive and helps hide flaws.   Also it gives the entire forest a "Rainforest feel."  And sometimes that appeals to certain people.    We shall see how it effects us in the long run.