Ames Area

[DSMWXMAN]

I lived in Ames for 3 years and I hated it. Absolutely nothing to do except drinking and fighting. Town has one bowling alley, and it is a pit. Not much for outdoor activities, but there is a decent frisbee golf course. Nightlife is busy, if you are an alcoholic. Town is fairly run down, especially near campus. Cost of living is very high and wages are low. People are nice, but guys in Ames can't go one night without fighting someone to prove how tough they are.

Somerset is the only nice area of the city and not sure how long that will last.

Live in Ankeny and drive to Ames, the difference between Ankeny and Ames is night and day. STAY AWAY FROM AMES!!!!!

[in_the_gloaming]

Ames has always been kind of special in my memory because Mom was born at home on the family farm near Ames and spent the first part of her childhood there. That was before my grandfather heard about cheap land near Ascove Minnesota. The Ascove property was a disaster which almost bankrupted my grandparents besause the soil was so bad! Very rocky! A goiter plague with huge goiters..., not enough iodine in their diets..., and so they left Ascove nearly broke..., two years after they moved away from Iowa!

I remember driving across Iowa one day when the sky looked like it had braided twisted rope in the clouds. These are called "rotor clouds" and are an indication of extreme upper air turbulence. The sky was overcast, a dull, rainy steel grey, with lots of humidity in the air.

At that time, I was required to have a weather license for which I had to take a federal test at the Weather Bureau for SAWR Stations (Supplimentary Aviation Weather Reporting Stations) because at that time I worked with the airlines and we were required to have this license as part of the requirements for the location where I worked. Its a tough test very few people pass the first time around. It took me twice to pass that test. Minimum passing score is 80% and to get that test you have to memorize almost the entire manual, cover to cover, word for word. If you fail the test, you have to wait another thirty days before you can reschedule your appointment to take that test over again.

Another time along I-35 near Ames, I almost fell asleep in the truck stop! I felt the price of a piece of pie and coffee was high, but; I didn't complain because I had just driven 700 miles, my legs wouldn't co-operate as I stretched beside my car, I felt like I had just peeled myself off of the driver's seat in my car as I attempted to stand up when my legs felt like they were asleep, when I still had another 250 miles to go. The waitress was nice! Left her a tip and thanked her for letting me doze off in the booth beside my table, without trying to disturb me because I was so tired.

My pastor is from another part of Iowa, Keokuk (not sure of the spelling) in the extreme S. E. corner of Iowa next to the Mississippi River on the Missouri State Line.

re: flpelle's inquiry about finding a small parcel of land 2 to 5 acres..., that may not be an easy find.