A short, stocky man of about 40 wearing a Hawaiian shirt was speaking English loudly to the hotel concierge. Another ugly American, I grumbled as I waited behind him and his companions — a young woman and girl.
Read MoreI once had a great friend named Alison who so loved her dog that when it died she commissioned a sculptor to honor its memory by creating a life size replica. Working from a photograph, and using memorabilia contributed by the family, the artist fashioned a collage from wood, metal and plastic replicating the dog’s dimensions with precision.
Read MoreHarold Bradley Jr. led a renaissance life: 1950 University of Iowa football MVP, two-time NFL champion with the Cleveland Browns, a promising painter who began winning art prizes in grade school, an actor who appeared in two dozen movies, numerous television shows and plays.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic, spiraling costs, a growing mental health crisis and a variety of other concerns have raised the debate about the value of the residential college experience.
Read MoreWhen Dave Gould asked Ashton Kutcher if he was interested in participating in a virtual commencement address, the Iowa native and Hollywood star didn’t hesitate.
Read MoreThe memory of hunting morel mushrooms with my dad in the Iowa woodlands sprouts each spring like daffodils — radiant and precious.
Read MoreWhen my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, I spent a lot of time at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). There was chemo to shrink her tumors, surgery, an unexpected visit to the intensive care unit, stints in a rehab facility, then a month to heal before more rounds of chemo. One of the bright spots — besides the nursing staff and oncology surgeon Dr. David Bender — was the hospital art collection.
Read MoreHow does one measure the impact of a life? I’ve been pondering this question ever since my former University of Iowa basketball teammate Kenny Arnold died in May after a long illness.
Read MoreMy first journaling experience came on advice from the Des Moines Register. After mustering the courage to propose writing an article about playing on the University of Iowa basketball team in 1981, the Register suggested – with no guarantee they’d publish it – that I keep a diary over the final month of the season detailing our pursuit of a Big Ten championship.
Read MoreI was just a teenager in 1974 when the defunct Parsons College in Fairfield became Maharishi International University. I remember feeling a tinge of sadness that Parsons' century of tradition had died, and yet also a peculiar sense of pride —Transcendental Meditation (or TM) was hip after all, made famous by celebrities like the Beach Boys and the Beatles.
Read MoreKenny Arnold will attend this year’s Fry Fest honoring Iowa’s only Final Four basketball team from the past 60 years. “It will be very good for him to get out of the nursing home and see Hawkeye fans,” says Mike “Tree” Henry, Kenny’s best friend since they becoming teammates at Iowa in 1978.
Read More“Hello again, Sister,” I shouted over the static, “I arrive in Calcutta (Kolkata) the day after tomorrow, and I wanted to check in with you to make sure you have received the monitoring equipment.”
Read More“Do you want to do something extraordinary while you’re in India?” the monk asked. “Go see Mother Teresa. You will feel the fundaments of humankind in her presence ...”
Read MoreEverywhere you turn, criticism of Brazil’s preparations for the Olympic Games abounds. From the handling of the Zika virus to faulty infrastructure, crime rates or political instability, these themes dominate the news.
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