LETTERS 7. PUT SOLAR PANELS ON CITY HALL; SPONSOR CLIMATE MURALS Five years
ago, the City of Iowa City received a zero-down bid to put solar panels on City Hall from a local provider, who has since gone on to win awards of the top business in the Corridor. Solar panels on City Hall would send a message to the rest of the town—and gown—that the city council is committed to 100 percent renewable energy. We need the city to take public acts like this, as part of an education campaign. Just do it. And sponsor a couple of climate action murals, in the process, to raise awareness. 8. IOWA CITY’S GREEN NEW DEAL STARTS NOW: INCUBATE GREEN JOBS AND GREEN BUSINESS How do we launch
the Green New Deal? We support local green innovators. As the home of the University
BROCK ABOUT TOWN
INTERACTIONS of Iowa, Iowa City should establish green enterprise zones; provide support and assistance for green job clusters and start-ups; and set benchmarks to significantly expand the number of green jobs in the areas of energy efficiency, green building design and construction, local food and farming, technology and design. First stop: Why not establish an energy efficiency training workshop to retrofit homes, buildings and farms? 9. GET IT DONE: HIRE A CLIMATE ACTIVIST For whatever reasons, the Iowa
City staff can’t pull this off on their own, people. Iowa City needs to follow the example of Dubuque and hire a climate action coordinator—preferably someone who gets things done—to make the climate action plan a showcase for our city. —Sheila Zeithamel
READER POLL: Favorite part of fall: 15% Pumpkin mo-fuckin’ spice! 8% Flicking stink bugs 15% Election season, baby!! 62% Descent to dreary madness
AUDREY BROCK
A few weeks ago, I boldly went where this humor columnist has never gone before: a football game. I feel like it was against Middle Tennessee? Never let it be said that I haven’t stepped outside my comfort zone in the interest of journalism. You might well ask, “Audrey, how is it that you lived here your entire life and graduated from the University of Iowa and you still hadn’t been to a football game?” Well, readers, I was, um, busy. Studying. No, nobody’s going to believe that. The truth is, I thought I was too cool for it. I went to a few tailgate parties my freshman year, had a few awkward day-drunk conversations with girls in blackand-gold-striped overalls, drank a tallboy of Natural Light (which, in these circles, is referred to as a Natty Daddy) and decided that this was not my scene. But my friend had an extra ticket and I didn’t have anything going on that weekend, so I borrowed a vaguely Hawkeye-themed T-shirt and got ready to party. The day started when I met my sister and a bunch of her friends at a disturbingly early hour. We huddled around the tailgate of her roommate’s dad’s pickup truck, warming our hands over a Crock-Pot full of buffalo chicken dip. The first thing I noticed was the sheer number of moms, their SUVs festooned with black and gold streamers, furtively pouring Fireball into their coffee cups. That was encouraging; anything moms like, I probably will too. As I was grooving to some ’80s pop hits, a 12-year-old girl tapped me on the shoulder, saying, “Mom, can I—oh, sorry.” Then, I had to go to the bathroom and cry a little. Once the gratuitous-day-drinking-and-weenie-roasting portion of the day had concluded, we proceeded to the stadium. It was easily the most crowded place I have ever been. I didn’t know there were that many people living in the state of Iowa, let alone attending football games. No wonder the traffic’s so bad. In the end, it was a lot of fun. Truthfully, I didn’t understand most of what was going on—there was a ball, some guys were throwing it, sometimes they would throw it very far and there would be a lot of screaming—but I didn’t really need to get it to get why it’s so popular. When we won, by what is apparently considered a wide margin, I screamed my head off along with everyone else. As much as anything, it’s about a sense of community. And Jell-O shots for breakfast. 12 Oct. 16–Nov. 5, 2019 LITTLEVILLAGEMAG.COM/LV273
/LittleVillage
Dear Kiki: What is the right amount of sex in a marriage? In my experience, tolerating each other’s most baser and desperate “kinks” is critical for the survival of a sex life. That and getting plenty of exercise combined with adequate sleep. —Jason
Love Letters: An uninvited journey This beautiful story is mirrored in mine, especially the road trip account. My husband of 50 years passed on last year after his struggle with dementia. The author has a unique talent. I wish I could write like her. —Zmurrad I thought this was such a lovely and beautiful piece of writing by Ms. Carthill. “But Mom, in her wisdom, still held the map.” Xo —Devin R. Love formulated into words depicted gracefully on paper!!! I absolutely loved every word of this writing!!!! Salute and keep blessing the masses with your gift!! —Terrene C.