May 13 Daily Umbrella: Italian dressing on another level; new theatre company; plow forward!

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Good morning to you!

Just put your head down and plow forward. That was the advice I got from my eighth-grade football coach, Keith Christie. I didn't get the opportunity to run with the football very often, and when I did, I apparently tried to get too fancy with half-hearted jukes and uninspiring spin moves that didn’t result in much positive yardage. Barry Sanders, I was not.

So, Coach Christie made it simple for me. He said I needed to quit trying to sidestep the defensive players and instead just run them over. That’s what my teammates Todd and Tommy did, and that’s why Coach Christie opted for plays with them running the ball and me blocking for them.

Coach Christie’s advice made sense on the gridiron, but it applies to a lot more than football. We too often try to avoid our challenges in life by sidestepping, spinning and juking. And then those challenges catch up to us and tackle us to the ground. We get up, shake them off and get ready for the next play. Then we do the same things again and wonder why the same results keep happening. It’s maddening.

Instead, what if we took my eighth-grade coach’s advice, put our heads down and plowed forward? What if we took our challenges on with complete confidence and ran right over them? What if we realized that moving side to side or backwards to avoid those challenges doesn't get us ahead?

Of course, if we do this too often, we may end up with the proverbial brain concussion. That’s why we need those around us — our teammates — to also run the ball by putting their heads down and plowing forward. Sharing the load, you might say.

I didn't take Coach Christie’s advice as a teenager. I wanted the ball, but I wasn’t delivering the expected results — and I was not willing to change. Instead of staying out for football and working to improve, I ran cross country. I still had to learn to move forward, though. Juking, spinning and side-stepping made even less sense on the cross country course.

Today, though, more than four decades later, I take Coach Christie’s advice to heart, and I try to lower my head and plow forward in most everything I do. It doesn’t always result in touchdowns — and it creates a few headaches — but it does ensure that I am moving forward and making progress. I would guess that Coach Christie, who just passed away a few weeks ago at age 94, would have approved.

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 more of Shane Goodman's columns here.

News headlines

FROM KCCI: Iowa Senate passes eminent domain bill for pipeline projects, heads to governor's desk for signature. Iowa Senate lawmakers passed a bill late Monday night that would limit the use of eminent domain for pipeline construction, drawing significant attention from both supporters and opponents in a packed chamber. The vote was 27 to 22. The bill now heads to the governor's desk for a signature. ... READ MORE

FROM WHO-TV: Altoona man sentenced to prison for committing sex acts on children. An Altoona man was sentenced to prison on Friday for committing sexual acts on children. According to the Polk County Attorney’s Office, 71-year-old Michael Charles Ertz pleaded guilty to committing sexual acts on three separate minors that occurred between 2013 to 2019 in Polk County and pleaded guilty to committing similar acts in Dallas County during the same time frame at a hearing on Friday. ... READ MORE

FROM WOI: 22-year-old woman dead after car rollover north of Creston. A 22-year-old Iowa woman is dead after her car rolled over just north of Creston Sunday evening, according to an Iowa State Patrol crash report. Amber Lacina of Creston was heading south on Highway 25 near 140th Street at about 5 p.m. when her vehicle drove onto the west shoulder, she lost control, crossed both lanes of traffic and went into the east ditch. ... READ MORE

Clear Mortgage meteorology

Warm and dry conditions continue through Wednesday. Rain chance Thursday. Cooler after that.

For help with pre-approvals or refinancing, get in touch with Originating Branch Manager Carrie Hansen at carrie.mortgage.

Pollen tracker

Tree pollen: Very high

Grass pollen: Very high

Ragweed pollen: None

The 2025 results: CITYVIEW's Best of Des Moines®

Best Local Jewelry Store

1. Josephs Jewelers

2. Prysm Jewelry & Piercing

3. Mint Piercing Studio

See all of the results

Des Moines is fortunate to have many Italian dressing choices from local sources with good reputations before getting into the retail sector. We are convinced that Graziano’s Italian dressing is on another level. For starters, it uses extra virgin olive oil exclusively, not just mixed with seed oils like most others, including those like Newman’s that are advertised as “olive oil dressing” before they had to change that name because they also used seed oils.

Plus, Graziano’s uses fewer ingredients overall. Its distribution has recently expanded. I found it at my local Fareway last week for the first time. Graziano’s excellent bottled sauces (five) are also on more shelves beyond the southside. You still need to go to Graziano's mother store on a Wednesday for the best Chicago Italian beef sandwich, particularly the jus; pesto; and frozen pasta, particularly cavatelli, in town.

Eva Longoria's new CNN show about traveling Spain looking for great food is the best food TV since Tony Bourdain's show at CNN. CNN does both food and travel much better than the Food or Travel networks.

Deals today
• GoodSons on Beaver hosts "Is It an Egg" tonight at 6:30.

• Jethro's Tuesday special is 2 pounds of bone-in smoked wings for the price of 1.

• Paula's (524 Elm St., Valley Junction) runs a Tuesday special hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes, gravy and drink for $13.50 till Memorial Day.

• Irina's Steak and Seafood (650 S. Prairie View Drive, West Des Moines) offers live lobsters at half price on Tuesdays.

• Opa! (2800 University Ave., West Des Moines) has a buffet featuring fried shrimp, manicotti, chicken piccata, chicken meatballs, garlic knots, pasta alfredo, lamb and chicken, pizza and all-you-can-eat dessert for $22.99 tonight till 8 p.m.

• Kids meals are half price till 2 p.m. today at Machine Shed (11151 Hickman Road, Urbandale).

• Taco Tuesday brings serious discounts to Mariscos El Pirata (6050 S.E. 14th St., Des Moines), La Familia (1610 Sixth Ave., Des Moines), all Taco John's, The Dam Pub (2710 Beaver Ave., Des Moines), all Abelardo's, all Fernando’s, Malo (900 Mulberry St., Des Moines), Beaver Tap (4050 Urbandale Ave., Des Moines), Los Laureles (1518 E. Grand Ave.), Club 2000 (422 Indianola Road, Des Moines), The Continental, (407 East Fifth St.) and Faustino’s (4944 Franklin Ave., Des Moines).

• Today is beef and noodles day at Supper Club (1311 Grand Ave., West Des Moines).

• Django (1420 Locust St., Des Moines) has happy hour all night Tuesdays. That means super deals on oysters, shrimp, duck frites, poutine, charcuterie, cheese boards, beers, wine and classic martinis.

• Sully's (806 First St., West Des Moines) has a burger basket special for $12 today.

• Destination Grille (2491 E. First St., Grimes) hosts a Tuesday Burger and Beer special - half-pound burger, chips and dip, with a tap beer of choice $15.

• The Station on Ingersoll (3124 Ingersoll Ave., Des Moines) has a tenderloin Tuesday special with BPT and fries for $10.

• Curbin Cuisine (1325 S.W. Oralabor Dr., Ankeny) offers cheeseburgers and fries for $7.99 on Tuesdays.

— Jim Duncan, jd91446@aol.com

Featured in the current issue of CITYVIEW

CENTER STAGE
New theatre company debuts

By John Busbee

Periodically, new stage tribes form, answering the calls of their muses. They want to offer new perspectives in central Iowa’s performing scene. Some previous names that float through the memory ether include Two Rivers Acting Company, Shakespeare on the Loose, Central Iowa Repertory Theatre, Open Door Rep and Kata Klysmic. Some companies are dormant; others are etched in the sands of time.

There are several factors that pulse strongly in the new company, About Time Theatre Company, that should catch audiences’ attention while raising more than just a few eyebrows. ...

Featured home for sale

Post listings here for $50. Contact jolene@iowalivingmagazines.com for details.

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SOLD: Featured commercial real estate transaction

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Featured in the current
issue of Johnston Living magazine

Meet Sheri Pender
Following a lifelong calling

By Lindsey Giardino

Sheri Pender, a second-grade teacher at Lawson Elementary, knew she wanted to be a teacher as early as kindergarten. When her teacher faced health issues, young Pender stepped in as a classroom “assistant.”

“I would run errands to the office and help other students in the classroom,” she recalls. “After that year, it seemed to be a good fit for me to be a teacher.”

After earning her degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, Pender began her teaching career in Nebraska. She taught all-day kindergarten three days a week and worked as a middle school Title I teacher on the other two. She also taught both kindergarten and first grade before moving to Iowa nearly three decades ago. ...

Sports headlines

FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Mavericks win NBA draft lottery, expected to select Cooper Flagg. The Dallas Mavericks officially won the NBA draft lottery on Monday night, setting them up to select projected No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg next month. The Mavericks won over 13 other teams who didn't make the playoffs this year. They had 1.8% odds entering the lottery, and came out with the No. 1 pick. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets were all tied with the best odds at 14% coming into the lottery. ... READ MORE

FROM ESPN.COM: Chiefs to host rival Broncos on Christmas night. The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Denver Broncos on Christmas night, it was announced Monday. The game will be televised by Prime Video as part of Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" package. ... READ MORE

FROM YAHOO SPORTS: Jayson Tatum carried off floor, placed in wheelchair late in Celtics' Game 4 loss to Knicks. Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was carried off the floor late in Monday's 121-113 playoff loss to the New York Knicks. Tatum fell and clutched his right ankle in clear pain in the game's final minutes and immediately asked for a timeout. ... READ MORE

1568: Mary Queen of Scots defeated. At the Battle of Langside, the forces of Mary Queen of Scots are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, the regent of her son, King James VI of Scotland. During the battle, which was fought out in the southern suburbs of Glasgow, a cavalry charge routed Mary’s 6,000 Catholic troops, and they fled the field. Three days later, Mary escaped to Cumberland, England, where she sought protection from Queen Elizabeth I. ... READ MORE

1846: U.S. Congress declares war on Mexico. On May 13, 1846, the U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in favor of President James K. Polk’s request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas. ... READ MORE

1940: Churchill announces: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” On May 13, 1940, as Winston Churchill takes the helm as Great Britain’s new prime minister, he assures Parliament that his new policy will consist of nothing less than “to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.” ... READ MORE

www.history.com

Birthdays and notables

Happy birthday, Gina Chandler, Josh Eike, Kerry Jacobsen!

These celebrities were born on this date: John Kasich, Alan Ball, Dennis Rodman, Stephen Colbert, Tom Verica, Darius Rucker, Brian Geraghty, Tom Cotton, Mike Bibby, Morgan Wallen, Robert Pattinson, Debby Ryan, Stevie Wonder

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

Morning chuckle

The answer to the last riddle: What do you call a fight between squirrels? A SQUARREL! - Gail Tomlinson. Other answers from William Snyder and Irving Stone.

Today's riddle: What do clowns fill their cars with?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

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