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Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Good Tuesday Morning to You!

I learned to type as a student at Algona High School in the 1980s. Our class instructor, Mr. Chickering, said we better all learn how to type, as most all of us would need to know how to use computers in our daily tasks. He was right.

I had broken a finger from a wrestling match at that same time, which made typing a difficult task. Mr. Chickering, a basketball coach, didn’t want any excuses. He said I would figure it out. He was right again.

Aunt Dorothy gave me her old manual typewriter, and I took it to college in 1986 — along with typing paper, correction film and a few handy bottles of “Liquid Paper.” I typed my own papers, and I made a few bucks typing for others, too. It was a good gig to help pay for the gas in my car. In fact, I think I was the only guy on my dorm floor who had a typewriter. Even though that manual typewriter had seen better days, Henry Mill and William Burt would have been proud. Mill patented the “Machine for Transcribing Letters” in 1714. In 1830, Burt invented the first “typographer.” His machine, though slow and impractical, was the precursor to the typewriter.

During my sophomore year of college, I found a used electric typewriter for sale. It was one of those blue IBM versions that was about the size of my first car — and it made noises like it, too. Electric typewriters gained prominence about 50 years prior. The Electromagnetic Typewriter was one of the early models an dwas purchased by IBM in 1933. IBM quickly released its Model 01, which allowed for lighter keystrokes. IBM released the Selectric typewriter in 1961. It featured a selection of fonts, italics and languages. I don't recall if my version was that fancy or not. Regardless — and despite its size, weight and sound — that electric typewriter was a dream come true for typing papers.

By my junior year, computers and word processing software had become readily available, and my two typewriters were never seen again. I don’t know where they went. Mom likely sold them at a garage sale, which was fine by me.

In a matter of months, the typing paper I saved was likely used for other purposes, the correction fluid surely dried up, and Mr. Chickering was most certainly smiling somewhere, saying, “I told you so.” And, yes, he was right once again.

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com

 

 
 
CITYVIEW's  Best Of Des Moines
 

CITYVIEW announced its 2023 Best Of Des Moines readers' choices Jan. 31. You can find all the results from the poll in the February issue of CITYVIEW magazine!

Best Local Pizza

1. Taste of New York Pizza

2. Fong’s Pizza

3. Gusto Pizza Co.

SEE EVENT PHOTOS HERE...

 
Read More
 
 

High-price, low-price marks set. 2 Bros. Pizza, long associated with New York's $1 slices, has finally given up at their original store. East Village Grieve reported that the new price is $1.50, for plain slices. Beatbox is scheduled to open today in Manhattan's Chinatown. according to Eater. It's a 100-square-foot Japanese bar stocked with Japanese whiskeys that go for up to $1,300 a 2-ounce pour. In Los Angeles, Josh Altman of Million Dollar Listing reports that real estate sales are on fire as owners try to unload before a new municipal tax of up to 5% on all real estate that sells for more than $5 million goes into effect in April. It does not matter if the owner lost money on the property The tax will be applied to winners and losers at a time when homelessness, crime and flight have made many properties losers.

Tuesday tacos are no longer 2 for $1 in Des Moines, but there are still lots of values. At Kathy's East 14th Street Pub, the seven-inch, baked flour tacos are $2.75 or three for $6. At La Familia, the two tortilla tacos are all about half-priced, and that applies to the exotic meats, not just chicken or ground beef.

—Jim Duncan

Your Clear Mortgage forecast from Jason Parkin

Rain chances kick in this afternoon and will be intermittent through Wednesday afternoon. We could then see mixed precipitation, including snow, in Des Moines early Thursday. However, accumulations look to stay northwest. Slim rain chances this weekend. No big warmup coming yet.

For help with preapprovals or refinancing, get in touch with Jason at parkin.mortgage

 
 
Featured Home For Sale
 
Attention Realtors, post your listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.
 
$500,000
220 W. Washington St.
Winterset, IA 50273
 
The wrap-around front porch is the crown jewel of this home! The French doors from the porch to the family room makes it easy to entertain family and friends! The family room boasts a beautiful wood burning fireplace and mahogany beams from Columbia. The large formal dining room has amazing built-ins and plenty of room to gather everyone around one table.
 
 
See More Homes For Sale
 
On March 21 ...

1980: On March 21, 1980, J.R. Ewing, the character millions love to hate on television’s popular prime-time drama Dallas, is shot by an unknown assailant. The shooting made the season-ending episode one of TV’s most famous cliffhangers, inspired widespread media coverage and left America wondering “Who shot J.R.?” for the next eight months. On November 21, 1980, the premiere episode of Dallas’s third season solved the mystery, identifying Kristin Shepard, J.R.’s mistress (and his wife’s sister), as the culprit.

1965: In the name of African American voting rights, 3,200 civil rights demonstrators in Alabama, led by Martin Luther King Jr., begin a historic march from Selma to Montgomery, the state’s capital. Federalized Alabama National Guardsmen and FBI agents were on hand to provide safe passage for the march, which twice had been turned back by Alabama state police at Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge.

1963: Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco's Bay closes down and transfers its last prisoners. At its peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock," or "America’s Devil Island," housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable.

Read more at History.com.

 
Fishing at Saylorville!
 

Mel Rinner captured this photo Feb. 23 as eagles were fishing just below the dam.

Waiting for Spring!
 

Photo taken at Walnut Woods State Park by Paul Houston.

 
Headlines

FROM KCCI: Band to perform at Iowa State Fair Grandstand for first time in over 30 years

DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Fair has announced another Grandstand act. New Kids On The Block will take the Kum & Go stage on Aug. 12. The pop band last performed at the fair with Tiffany for a sold out show on the Grandstand in 1989. They are known for hits like “Hangin’ Tough,” “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” and “Step By Step.”  ...READ MORE FROM KCCI

FROM WHO-TV: Prison inmate, 3 staff members sent to hospital after ‘unknown substance’ exposure

ANAMOSA, Iowa — An inmate and three staff members at the Anamosa State Penitentiary had to be taken to the hospital after being exposed to an unknown substance over the weekend. The Iowa Department of Corrections said the incident happened Saturday night around 11:30 when security and medical staff responded to an inmate who was found unresponsive in his cell. ...READ MORE FROM WHO-TV

FROM WOI-DT Local 5: Iowa State Patrol: Man hit and killed while standing in center lane of I-80 in Altoona

ALTOONA, Iowa —  The Iowa State Patrol says a man is dead after a vehicle hit him on I-80 on Sunday night. An ISP crash report says it happened around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The report states a man was standing in the center lane wearing all dark clothes when he was hit by an SUV.. ...READ MORE FROM WOI-DT Local 5

 
Following in Their Footsteps
 

Now "the pastor's dad"

As a pastor of one of central Iowa’s largest churches, Lutheran Church of Hope, Jeremy Johnson wasn’t always sure he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who was also a pastor.

Jeremy’s dad, Dave, was a pastor at a Lutheran church in Fargo, North Dakota. He and his two siblings grew up in his dad’s church in a community where pastors were well known.

“We led a public life. When I played high school sports, everyone knew that I was Pastor Dave’s kid. I identified with that my whole life.”

Being a pastor’s kid can came with some pressure; however, he says his parents were “great.”

“That was a gift my dad gave us three kids. He told us to just be you. You don’t need to fit a certain bill. There was no pressure on us as a pastor’s kids.”

... Read more in the March issue of West Des Moines/Jordan Creek Living magazine.

 
Birthdays and Notables!
 

These celebrities were born on this date: Gary Oldman, Scott Eastwood, Jace Norman, Matthew Broderick, Rosie O'Donnell, Adrian Peterson, Melissa Gorga, Kevin Federline, Diggy Simmons, Jonathan Stewart

SUBMIT: Send your birthday greetings and congratulatory notes to: tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
Morning Chuckle

The answer to yesterday's riddle:
An old man came into the bank and asked the teller to check his balance. What did the teller do that got him fired?

TO CHECK HIS BALANCE (STEADINESS, NOT ACCOUNT), HE PUSHED HIM OVER! OR MADE HIM STAND ON ONE FOOT, OR SOMETHING SIMILAR! - Patty Miller, Brendan Comito, Rich Hoidahl, Gail Tomlinson, Irving Stone, George Cockayne, William Snyder, Lori Bluml, Charles Golliher, Judy Anderson

Today's Riddle

What is worse than robbing a bank or a jewelry store?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

 
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If you would like to advertise in this daily newsletter, please contact Jolene Goodman at jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com, or call 515-953-4822 ext. 319.

P.S. As a free newsletter, we rely on readers like you to grow our subscriber list. If you have a friend or coworker who you think would enjoy waking up to The Daily Umbrella each weekday morning, please share our newsletter sign-up page with them! Visit www.thedailyumbrella.com and click on the SUBSCRIBE link on the upper right-hand side!

 

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