Winter won't leave!

My dad Brandy used to say, "Old Man Winter has the guts to come early, and doesn't have the decency to leave on time'............Truer words were never spoken. GO HOME Old Man Winter. We appreciate (?) your visit, now get the hell out of here......Back in the day we Coralville kids knew when it was Spring..., the Spring rains filled the ditches in front of our houses! Huh, well of course this was waaaaay before paved streets. All the streets were chip/seal, and each side of every street had ditch for the water from the streets to drain to......Under each driveway was a culvert to help the water 'flow' to the low spots and 'down the street'.. BUT, in a BIG rain, the ditches filled up, the culverts either filled up with too much water, or they were plugged with weeds grass, rabbit nests etc....This created a wonderful opportunity! Most fun was jumping from the yard TO the street or vice versa... Sometimes you had to get a run to jump and clear the water, and best of all, .........sometimes you made it, then lost your balance and leaned/fell backwards and got your tennis shoes, jeans, etc, wet and muddie in some cases.. This was a riot! On your way back to school at 'school', (now known as Central Elementary) it was a constant jump across ditches all the way.. IF you got wet or muddy,, too bad, AND,, NOBODY cared! We now have paved streets, underground storm sewer drainage, and all these fun things are gone. Speaking of fun, walking to and from school was a LOT of fun! I don't know if kids still do this, but I sure see a lot of cars in front of schools in the morning and in the afternoons.. Too many kids not experiencing the fun of walking to school with friends and the 'fun little experiences' that we had!!! Bring on Spring, we are ready!!

New 'look' coming!

Hi,

A 'new look' is on the way! Will it be my face, my car, my job,,,,NO, it will be the local landscape! SPRING is here! That means green grass, leaves, flowers, bushes, etc. About time! No, not me. I am in Coralville and don't want to leave, change anything, move, or anything. Just love my job, (it's NOT a job! ) my friends, (except those to whom I owe $ for lost bets on Iowa games), and good old Coralville..Can't wait for Bridge #4 to be completed on 1st avenue over Clear Creek. You DO realize that the creek got its name for the clarity of the water don't you ? Yep.. What would we call it now!!.. Ol' Muddy, or Black Creek, or Crappy Creek (it's down stream from the Coralville "Plant" you know)....Oh well..............We attend two birthdays for friends turning 70. In both cases, both guys (honorees) had to leave early. Neither could make it thru the entire evening. What the hell!! 70??!! ....I thought maybe 80 could be hard, but hardly able to make it at least until 10 or 11 at 70 is a shocker. WHAT do we 60s people have to look forward to??!! Damn. One day I sat down and made out a timeline of my Mom, Dad, Grandparents etc.. I was kind of shocked.. My Dad was 30 when I was born, so he was 48 when I graduated from high school. I thought he was old! He was 36 when I started Little League.. I remember asking my grandpa 'what was it like back in the good old days' and he was 62 or so at the time. THAT is my age!! Try that. Make a timeline for your folks. We thought they were old, decrepit, 'out of it' when we were in 8th or 9th grade, and THEY were really only in their late 30s or early 40s usually.. I have sold many houses here in Coralville for the parents of my friends from Coralville school.. I always thougtht THEY were old back in the 60s.. Guess not.
Here is a good one, and a TRUE one...........Sit back and THINK this thru..........This is ME saying this and it is true........" I was talking to a guy, who talked to a guy, who was in the Civil War.".........Is that possible? Is Rex full of .....uh..crap?? (yes, but let's move on)...I am saying that I talked to a guy who actually talked to a guy who was in the Civil War. IT's true, and the Civil War Veteran was with Sherman on his March to the Sea........Huh??....Well, here is the scoop,, When I was a kid, I knew my Great Grandpa real well. He was an old man back in the late 1950s and early 1960s.........HIS Dad, my Great Great Grandpa, was in the Civil War.. Company B out of Iowa City matter of fact......SO,, I talked to my Great Grandpa, (many times) and HE had talked to his Dad, ( my Great Great Grandpa).. so there is the link.. Just does not sound possible does it......but it's true..........

So, have a little fun, do a timeline on your gang and see what you come up with. Hope nobody does a time line on me. They will find that I grew up on 8th street, 11th avenue, and now work at my office next to the good old Coralville Post Office, about 2-3 blocks from where I grew up. Guess I never got out of Coralville..........................

BIG fire BIG scare

The BIG fire in Coralville on Monday, March 7, was a scary site. TONS of smoke billowing out of the the big commercial building on the south side of the Coralville Strip, next to UPS, or for you old timers, across from the old Purple Cow. NOW you know right?...Fire started when some brain surgeon car 'repairman" was supposedly using a drill to drill INTO a gas tank of a van or car. SEE, I said 'BRAINSURGEON'.. Fire damage will easily exceed $1.5 million. (MILLION) Several people out of work due to this cab company and their idiot staff.
I own a garage door (commercial condo) in this complex, and I got a call letting me know that the place was on fire! I sped to the scene and rounded up a couple guys to help me get my cars out of there. NO fire damage in my unit, but a little smoke, soot, maybe..TONS of damage to 3 brand new Toyotas in a business next door to the fire, and they are 'gone', a HUGE speed boat with all the toys and whistles and tons of stereos, wheels, etc are 'gone' in Auto Toyz.
Lucky nobody got hurt, not even the Brainsurgeon as far as that goes. It can be repaired, but it won't be forgotten by all those who own a unit or work in this building. .....As a 20 year retired veteran of the Coralville Volunteer Fire Dept myself, I can tell you that the Coralville F.D. along with firemen and equipment from Iowa City, North Liberty, Tiffin, and Solon did a great job! It was cold and windy, but they 'got er done'.....GOOD job guys!

Some day I will tell you about the time I reported a fire while sitting on the front porch of Koser's store! Stay tuned!!

HINT of Spring and MORE!

I do say, a 'hint' of Spring today. No wind, and it is about 40 deg. NICE for us....When the snow melts it sure leaves a mess. Coralville looks its WORST this time of year. Bad. BUT,, BUT, the next phase is good......Flowers, green, leaves, grass, and best of all, warm air.. Bring it on, HOWEVER we all know that March is a doozy, and as Yogi might have said, "it ain't over till it's over'........
I saw some construction guys working on the new sidewalk along 1st avenue again. This is their first time back since last November when the weather got too cold for cement guys to work. I also stopped and scoped out the bridge over Clear Creek... Slow, methodical, but sure is looking good. The job is to 'raise' this bridge, thus helping water in Clear Creek to NOT back up against the bridge like it did in Flood 08.. With the HIGHER bridge we will have a bike/walking trail under the bridge.. Lots of neat things coming in that area in the next couple years and sooner!

Coralville got I-JOBS money for a lot of the 1st Ave projects., JUST in time, as now those funds are NOT available.. Whew!! Next BIG project is a giant earthen berm from the Marriott to Rocky Shore Drive.. This should be fun to watch.......

Also, good rumors about some 'fun' kind of businesses to be locating in Iowa River Landing area near the Marriott.............??/ Have you visited the Johnson County Historical Museum and/or the Old Car Museum across the street from the Marriott.... Take time to do this. Those two museums are really interesting..VERY INTERESTING..

Hope to see you in Coralville!!