My Life, 5 Year Snapshots (1990 thru 1994) - Part 2/3

 

PARADIGM SHIFTS

In 1975, at age 16, when I relocated from small town Iowa to Southern California, I felt that I was in Utopia. Not only was I freed from a miserable home life and the vices I had used to cope with it, but for the first time, I felt like an eager artist with a blank canvas before me. I was going to paint my life's picture with the colors and detail of my choice.

My new life was a smorgasbord of opportunity with all the cool trimmings... the weather, the beaches, the mountains, the entertainment options, my favorite sports teams. Everything was new and exciting!

So, for 15 years, 1975 to 1990... I partook of all that Southern California had to offer a young man in his teens and twenties. And it was FANTASTIC! During that time span, I graduated high school, went to college, got married to the love of my life, had 3 (and soon to be 4) little girls, and played softball year around. I was George Bailey and mine too was about to be a "Wonderful Life!"

But in the early 1990's, things began to shift a bit. My perception of the Southern California life began to lose some of its luster. The daily traffic congestion, all of the crowded spaces, the gang proliferation that had gained a foothold in the suburbs, the gang graffiti on fences, houses, buildings... even on the overhead freeway signs had become commonplace. My "utopia" seemed to have been downgraded.

What had happened to the place that I loved so much just a few years earlier? Had it really changed that much over the past 15 years or was I just taking notice? Or was it that my priorities and expectations changed as a married, 30-something man with a wife and four children?

In April of 1992, the police beating of Rodney King lit a powder keg in Southern California. The riots, the looting, the fires and the destruction had started in downtown Los Angeles but quickly and geographically spread beyond the LA city limits.

News outlets were covering the chaos wall to wall for days. Footage from a helicopter captured truck driver Reginald Denny being pulled from his truck and brutally beaten. One of the vendors I dealt with at work was shot and killed trying to secure his building. This outbreak of violence was no joke!

A couple days into the rioting, a group of us at work were huddled around a television, watching the latest riot updates when they showed videos of fires being set at a gas station in Long Beach, a block away from the Christian school where my daughters attended. I grabbed my keys and drove like a maniac to pick them up. 

When I got home, Jeana shared with me that a neighbor had just informed her of rioting at the Cerritos Mall. That was OUR mall! The mayhem had spread to the suburbs, a couple miles from our subdivision. We quickly packed some bags and drove south to the San Diego area where things seemed a bit more peaceful. We tried to relax and treat it like a mini-vacation but our minds were occupied with what was happening at home and exactly what would we return to. 

Eventually, things calmed down but the memories, the anxiety, the fear remained fresh for quite some time.

IOWA VACATION

The summer of 1993 was vacation time. We packed up the 4 kids into the minivan and drove the 1,693 miles to Woodward, Iowa to visit my sister, Barbara and my brother-in-law, Steve. It doesn't sound like a thrilling vacation but we actually thoroughly enjoyed our time with family.

Over the years, Barb had casually floated the idea of us moving to Iowa but I always laughed it off. Moving wasn't on my radar. 

The day before we were to hit the road back to California, Barb and Steve asked if we wanted to take a drive with them. "Sure! Let's do it!"

What a dirty trick this "drive" turned out to be! We drove about 15 minutes south to a rapidly growing suburb of Des Moines. Grimes, Iowa had numerous new housing tracts with some houses already built and others in various stages of completion. There were "Open House" signs all over the place and we stopped and toured several of them.

Living in California, one of the most expensive states in the country and observing the affordability of these brand new houses in Iowa was amazing. It became clear what my sneaky sister was doing and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of thinking that her plan worked. I feigned total disinterest but my curiosity was piqued. 

The next day... as we started our long trek home, I began to really think about our future in California and the disillusionment that had been creeping into my mind about the golden state. I thought about the Rodney King riots and how that made us feel. Was California a safe place to raise my kids? Would the Midwest, the place of my birth, the home of my sister and mom be a more wholesome environment to raise a family? This was honestly the very first time that I seriously considered the move.

As I drove, I casually asked Jeana, "What do you think about moving to Iowa?" And her response was immediate, "I was just thinking about that same thing! You must have been reading my mind!"

Those brief comments led to a discussion that seemed to continue for our entire 3 day journey. By the time we pulled into our driveway, the decision was pretty much made. We were going to move to Iowa.

CAREER

By 1993, I was five years into my tenure at Bowers Manufacturing Company. I loved my job there and I was climbing the ladder. I was hired in as a Materials Supervisor and had just received a promotion to Purchasing Manager. I went from working in a cubicle to a newly remodeled, private office. So, with the new paint barely dry, I was hunting for a new job in Iowa.

I don't think I can adequately describe the drive that I felt about making this move. I can only tell you that I was convinced it was a "God thing." The desire to move absolutely consumed my every thought.

Without the power and information the internet options affords us today, my sister started mailing me the Sunday want ads from the Des Moines Register and that's where I saw an opening for a Materials Supervisor/Purchasing Agent at the Donaldson Company in Grinnell, Iowa. I didn't really care "where" in Iowa we'd end up, so I mailed my resume' right away.

I waited a few days and then called the human resources manager at Donaldson to make sure they received my resume'. Her name was Nancy and coincidently, she had just reviewed it. She said that my qualifications were excellent, however, they were looking for someone local because they weren't going to pay for someone's flight in for an interview and their moving expenses, should they be chosen. She apologized and I hung up... totally dejected. I thought this would have been a good opportunity.

As I sat in my office, full of disappointment, I picked up the phone and called Nancy right back. I said, "Forget paying my interview flight and moving expenses. I can cover that myself! Does that change anything?" (Although I actually didn't know how I could scrape together the several thousands of dollars it would take to accomplish this.)

She responded with, "Possibly. Let me run it up the flagpole and I will get back with you."

Two weeks later, I was on a flight to Iowa for my interview, where I was offered the position. They paid for my flight and my moving expenses. Like I said... it was all a "God thing."

We were moving to Iowa. Grinnell, Iowa... to be exact. I couldn't be more excited. Now... I had to tell
my superiors at work and we had to share the news with family and friends.

To be continued...