If you read yesterday’s column, you know my opinion on the usage of “over,” “under,” “more than” and “less than.” If you were confused by the column, well, get over it. Or under it. More or less. Regardless, I shared five things in that column that I want more of in my life, and I promised to share five things today that I want less of. Here they are:

Less screen time. Do you remember when the only “screens” in our lives were associated with the movie theater and the TV? I am not sure if all the new screens are bad for our eyes, but I am convinced they are bad for our brains — except for The Daily Umbrella, of course.

Less politics. I don’t remember seeing political signs when I was a kid. Maybe a few bumper stickers and buttons, but that was about it. Today, political messages are everywhere. T-shirts. Hats. Websites. Emails. Social media. Traditional media. It is challenging to go through a day without some form of political messaging clobbering us, and we simply accept it as the way it is. I am a defender of free speech, but I am also a defender of personal privacy. We have a choice, and it is to engage or disengage from political messaging. I am choosing more of the latter.

Less debate. For years, I loved a good debate on most anything. I still do, but for different reasons. Today, I don’t care as much about winning a debate; I simply want to ask questions and hear others’ opinions. The older I get, I realize that someone feeling “right” simply means their opinions align with their life experiences. If they walked in someone else’s shoes, those experiences and opinions would certainly be different. Not wrong, just different.

Less anger. I am convinced that if we work on the first three, this one will dissipate, too. Some people confuse anger with passion, and that’s not healthy. We can show our passion without wrinkling our foreheads and screaming at each other.

Less (fewer) distractions. I am trying to watch more sunrises and sunsets without a cell phone nearby. No reminders. No dings. No text messages. No breaking news alerts. Just the peace and serenity that come with watching a new day start and end. It is truly relaxing, even if only for a few minutes.

Less sunburn. Science is incredible. We live in a world where we can not only have our knees and hips replaced but also our eyes, lungs, livers and even our hearts. But there is one organ that cannot be fully replaced, and that is our skin. As we age, our skin wrinkles, sags and discolors. As a whole, we are not kind to our skin. We could treat it better by exposing it less to its greatest enemy — the sun. My wife says I need to use more sunscreen, and she is right, except the goop washes off when I am in the water, which is the only time I am in the sun for a lengthy period. The real solution for me is less direct sun, and I am finally figuring this out.

Well, much like the five things I want more of, these five “lessers” are another good start. More or less. How about you? What ones did I miss? Send me a note and let me know.

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

See more of Shane Goodman's columns here.

Best Drake Area Bar

1. University Library Cafe

2. Lucky Horse Beer & Burgers

3. Peggy’s Tavern

Tuesday Touts

Mezes at Istanbul Cafe and Bakery 
"Turkish cuisine was sophisticated back when the French were still subsisting on acorn gruel." That's what my tour guide at Topkapi Palace kitchen told me. Des Moines now has an exemplary Turkish restaurant and bakery — Istanbul Cafe and Bakery — in the space best remembered as Stella's Blue Sky Diner.

"Waitress" premieres at Des Moines Community Playhouse this weekend. The musical will make you hungry.

BUSINESS FEATURE
The business of malls

By Cyote Williams

Popularity and ease of access have made online retailers increasingly attractive for shoppers. According to Shopify, an e-commerce site where businesses can sell their products, global e-commerce sales are forecast to grow from $5.13 trillion in 2022 to $8.09 trillion by 2028. That’s a lot of money, and a good portion of it was originally spent in traditional retail outlets, like shopping malls.

That, among other factors, has caused a major upheaval in what the shopping mall scene looks like in the Des Moines metro and everywhere. Here locally, stalwarts like Merle Hay Mall and Southridge Mall are taking major steps to revitalize their plots to bring people back in. What was once the new kid on the block, Jordan Creek Mall, is now more than 20 years old but still finding success. The Outlets of Des Moines offers shoppers a different experience than a traditional shopping mall. Each faces its own challenges when it comes to operations, bringing people in and improvements.  ...

DREAM YARDS
Residents share how they make the best of their outdoor spaces.

By Rachel Harrington

Give 10 people the blank slate of a spacious yard, and you are likely to see those yards evolve into 10 different visions. Some will be a fenced-in oasis for dogs and kids to run, roll and play. Others will have pools and fire pits for summer fun. Others will feature makeshift ballfields, sledding hills, playgrounds, ponds. And some will provide a scenic setting for enjoying sunrises and sunsets. Whatever the vision, area residents share how their outdoor spaces have become their dream yards.

Best of both worlds
Sometimes beautiful yards come with buying a home, and sometimes they are built over time. Dennis Leininger knows this firsthand.

“I’ve been at my property for about 18 years,” he shares. “Originally, there weren’t many other houses around me. A change occurred with surrounding property development about 10 years ago. My home backed up to woods that my neighbor on the other side of the woods owned. He developed an area into housing lots, but I still had woods immediately behind me. At first, I didn’t like it other than the nice families that moved in. The lot adjacent to me had yet to be developed and was on a slope. So, nine years ago, I bought that property and the wooded lot behind me. The property developer was great to work with me on pricing. Later, I also expanded my property to the road.”

With roughly three and a quarter lots’ worth of property, Leininger has quite a large natural space surrounding his home.  ...

These celebrities were born on this date:  Maya Hawke, Jaden Smith, Penelope Disick, Riele Downs, Jeffrey Tambor, Anjelica Huston, Kevin Bacon, Robert Knepper, Michael Weatherly, Lance Gross, Sebastian Maniscalco

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

The answer to the last riddle: How do you inoculate a hippo? WITH A HIPPO-DERMIC NEEDLE! - Rex Post, Carolyn Rogers, Gail Tomlinson

Today's riddle: How do I cut down a dead tree just by looking at it?

Have a guess? Email tammy@iowalivingmagazines.com

To advertise in the Daily Umbrella or the Johnston Living magazine, contact:

Andrea Hodapp
Account Executive
Office: 515-953-4822 ext. 322
Mobile: 515-883-0523
andrea@iowalivingmagazines.com

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