The top drawer of my dresser is easy to access. I don’t even have to bend down. That’s where I keep my socks, my underwear and my undershirts. Admittedly, they are typically all shuffled together in that drawer, but they are there. Every last one of them. At least I think so.

Every year or two, I decide to organize my socks/underwear/ undershirts drawer, and my solution is to dump everything out of it and then put it all back together, usually with the socks on the left, the underwear in the middle and the undershirts on the right. At least that’s my good intention. After a week or two, the drawer looks much like the results of that 52-card-pickup game my uncle taught me as a kid.

My decision to organize the drawer is usually a result of me not being able to find a certain color of socks or a T-shirt without bacon collar. This process usually has two results. First, I throw out a bunch of worn-out underwear and undershirts. And, second, I now have dozens of newly matched socks (and I throw away some unmatched ones).

I eventually learned that I inherited this obsessive-compulsive trait from my mother, but I only learned how to appropriately pay her back for this in recent years. When Mom was still alive and would visit our home, I would ask her if she would match up all my loose socks. And, of course, she would. In fact, she seemed to really enjoy it, so much so that she would ask if she could do it each time she showed up. This matching game was just what my 83-year-old mother needed — and me, too.

With Mom gone now, and my wife and daughters not falling for this trick, I am left to sort my socks and organize the drawer on my own. In doing so, though, I have discovered an additional benefit. It starts with the fact that, the older I get, the more I avoid bending down to access things. As a result, my bottom drawer is empty, and my overflowing top drawer with the socks, underwear and undershirts has also become an easy drop-off point for lots of other stuff I forgot I put there.

A deck of cards. A whistle. Fourteen pens. A phone charger. A handful of paperclips. Some old birthday cards. And a spark plug.

Of course, in the reorganization process, I now have to find a place to put all those things. But, to my enjoyment, I figured it out — my wife’s top dresser drawer.

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

See Shane Goodman's previous columns here.

CIVIC SKINNY
Coaching contracts. A casino conflict. A hungry horse. Newspapers nosedive.

By CITYVIEW staff

The salaries of state employees are public information, and, to the surprise of some and the unsurprise of others, coaches from Iowa’s three state universities continue to be some of the highest-paid state employees.

The UNI men’s basketball Head Coach Ben Jacobsen has won more than 300 games with the Panthers since 2006, making him the all-time leader in wins for the team.

Tuesday touts. Over 100,000 of us will attend the Iowa State Fair this month, and a recent survey suggests that food is our number one incentive, even more so than concerts. One place to eat is in a class of its own. JR's Southpork Ranch has a kitchen filled with full-time professional chefs. Their menu is meticulously researched. This year, their wildly popular Maine lobster roll sandwiches introduces a two footer.

The entire state of Maine has only one of those, and it costs $200. The one at JR's costs $100. In the Hamptons, lobster salad sells for $129/pound. JR's also has new AE Party Dip Balls with crunchy potato crusts stuffed with more potato, AE dip, bacon and cheese — and drizzled with more dip. Their Loose L’Roy is a Maid Rite on steroids with a pork/beef combo of loose meat and the most interesting mustard I ever tasted, made with garden fresh banana peppers.

Young entrepreneur brings joy to community
Jacob’s Chill Shop offers ice cream and more

By Lindsey Giardino

The origin story of Jacob’s Chill Shop goes like this.

A few years ago, Jacob Gomke was at Billy’s Ice Cream Store with his parents, Jessica and Steve. They had Superman Ice Cream available, but Jacob wanted to know why they didn’t have a Captain America flavor as well.
“My dad said, ‘Why don't you come up with one?’ ” Jacob shares.

So he did.

“I decided to use blueberries and raspberries,” Jacob says. “And it turned out really good.”
So good, in fact, that Jacob decided to start selling at the Adel Farmers Market every Tuesday.

It was a big success.

[...]

These celebrities were born on this date:  Geri Halliwell, Vera Farmiga, Ever Carradine, Leslie Odom Jr., M. Night Shyamalan, Soleil Moon Frye, Jason O'Mara, David Robinson, Dane DiLiegro, Robin van Persie

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

The answer to yesterday's riddle:

What do you call a fashion designer that rejects everything? CALVIN DE-KLEIN! Or, CLOTHES (Close) MINDED! - Carolyn Rogers .Or, A SLACKER!- Gail Tomlinson. Or FashionNOstra! -Rex Post

Today's riddle

What do you call a peach that works at a shoe-mending company?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or CITYVIEW, contact:

Mary Fowler
Account Executive
515-953-4822 x311
c: 641-485-0555
mary@dmcityview.com

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