 What’s the deal with the black & white saddle shoes?  Click here for the story of our farm in Greene County, Iowa. Here's looking at life at Simple Serenity Farm  Carla’s sister & brother-in-law Chris and Tony Woods, of Des Moines, were at the farm on Sunday, August 22, helping Carla do the lawn mowing and other yard work that we’ve struggled to keep up with lately, with all our medical appointments. The Woodses brought along their 18-month-old granddaughter Ari, who was a delight watching all the action from the porch with Chuck, catching up on her reading and then getting a moment on the lawn tractor seat! Click here for larger format Earlier photos in this series Iowa Hall of Pride netINS, Inc. Butler House on Grand B&B Sam's Barber Shop Douglas T. Bates III, Attorney KMA Radio's ''Chuck & Don Show'' Barack Obama story & coloring book The Monks of New Melleray Abbey RELATED LINKS About Offenburger.com Biographies Want to Reprint? Want Updates? ARCHIVES Chuck Offenburger's columns Christie Vilsack's columns Carla Offenburger's columns Carla's book reviews Jared Strong's columns Guest Columns The Simple Serenity Farm columns Farm Photos, 2006 - 2008 Our Iowa News Digest Along Our Way 
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What's Carla Reading?
“The Best of Frank Deford: I’m Just Getting Started,” by Frank Deford (2000) Five years ago, I’m not sure I knew who Frank Deford was. That’s because I wasn’t driving to work every Wednesday morning back then. And Deford is on National Public Radio every Wednesday just enough before 8 a.m., when I’m always in my car on my way to work. I rarely miss him. And who would have thought? I bet I have a dozen friends who won’t believe I listen to this self-proclaimed sports curmudgeon, let alone have read his book. (I have a second one yet to read, too.) But, really, Deford looks at sports a lot like I do – there are a lot of senseless things going on. He knows all about most of them, and I always find humor in his ability to be so funny, yet straightforward and honest about all things sports. He leaves no stone unturned, no sport is off limits. I think he’s brilliant. So, this spring when I heard he was to be the keynote speaker at the wonderful “Iowa Book Festival” in Adel, I bought tickets to the private reception immediately. I made sure nothing would get in the way of me being in Adel on Saturday morning, April 26.  Deford was even better than I expected. On NPR I hear him in three-minute snippets. In Adel, he had my undivided attention at the private reception for a good 45 minutes, as I sat right next to where he was standing and listened to him have conversations with all kinds of sports nuts, young and old. Of course, I had my own conversation with him, too. And then, after we’d all moved to the Adel United Methodist Church, I took a second row seat to hear him speak for another good 30 minutes or so. Then I followed him to his book signing, where I bought “The Best of Frank Deford” and “The Entitled.” “The Best of Frank Deford” is a terrific pick-it-up anytime read. It’s a compilation of columns and commentaries. Some are a mere page in length, while others are a couple of pages long. All of them are enlightening, fun and entertaining. Deford writes about those who listen to him on NPR as, “…a great many people are listening to me who don’t otherwise know much about sports. That’s a bit frightening. I know, too, that many of these listeners are women…” He goes on to say, “But I suspect that most of the faithful hold fast to NPR, staying there to suffer me and sports for three minutes – perhaps even to learn a little something about a subject they’re not altogether familiar with. That’s not bad.” And that’s me. Oh, I think I know quite a bit about sports in general. After all, I often refer to my husband Chuck as my personal “sports information director.” He’s always telling me scores and sports facts that I don’t give a hoot about, really. But some of it sticks and comes in handy in social conversations. So, in reading “The Best of Frank Deford: I’m Just Getting Started,” I learned a lot more about specific sports and/or sports situations that I would never have imagined could interest me. But Deford provides such fascinating new insights into them, they’re bound to interest us all. For instance, boxing. Deford writes, “If boxing were anything but a sport, so-called, it would be outlawed by the Supreme Court as cruel and unusual punishment.” On golf Deford observes, “Golf has become an utter phenomenon, ubiquitous upon the earth (especially the United States division), a dominant cultural force that has replaced most sensible, traditional American activities such as reading, the cocktail hour, sunbathing, worship of the Almighty, bridge and matinees.” And he goes on to really take on the obsession of golf in our country. As a non-golfer, as is Deford, I loved it. He does a good job of taking on our obsession with “playoffs,” as well. He calls America “the land of the eternal playoff.” Commenting that “with just a couple extra rounds, every Division One team in America could make the playoffs” in college basketball. He makes it all sound so absurd, that you come to realize, a lot of it really is absurd. I read about sportsmanship, soccer moms, tennis, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin – and the list goes on. “The Best of Frank Deford: I’m Just Getting Started” clearly shows why Deford is so popular with those of us who hear him on NPR, or those who read him in Sports Illustrated. He is brilliant, fun and self-deprecating in wonderful ways when it comes to sports.  Meeting him and hearing him speak in Adel on so many sports subjects – Olympics, horse racing, Title IX and more – made reading his work that much more meaningful and entertaining. I could hear his expressions, see his smile and know that he sees sports in a dramatically different way than so many of the sports commentators I have to listen to, when I’m listening to a baseball, basketball or football game on the radio. Title IX? He was brilliant. I asked the question during his Q&A session about his thoughts on the gender-equity mandates – knowing that many in sports think it was the downfall of so many male opportunities. Deford very quickly said Title IX was “the single most important sports element in my life time.” He continued, “It’s made a huge change in the way we look at sports and women. And, to be honest, it’s just healthier.” He continued with the most thoughtful and meaningful response on the impact that Title IX has had on young women I have ever heard from any male, especially one so engrossed in the sports world. The entire time I spent reading his book, I recalled his final thoughts on sports in his appearance in Adel, where he said, “Sports reaches us all. Even with all its abuses and excesses, it is a truly unifying element. I’m honored to be a troubadour out there singing about it.” And Deford is the best we could have “out there singing about it.” - Carla Offenburger Now reading“The Age of Innocence,” by Edith Wharton (1920). And I’m still working on my goal to read all of John Grisham’s books. This project is going to take me longer than just the summer – not because they aren’t quick reads, but becauses there are just a whole lot of them. Plus, the similar pattern they all have, make it so I can’t just read one right after another. I need some substance in between. Most recently reviewed “A Cure for Dreams,” by Kaye Gibbons (1991). I have yet to find a Gibbons book that I haven’t liked. Rarely do I read one that I don’t think I’ll read again. This book will call me back, and I’ll pick it up again. It’s that wonderful. “Skies Over Sweetwater,” by Julia Moberg (2008). Sometimes it’s just plain fun to pick up a book randomly off the bookstore shelf and take it home to read. And that’s exactly what I experienced with this book. “Making a Difference: 182 ½ Ways to Change the World,” by Deborah Naybor (2003). This is a perfect book to give as a gift, or to get for yourself and keep as a checklist of things anyone can do to make the world a better place. And it’s a perfect size, too. At just 4-by-3 inches, it’s a thin easy book to put in your purse and/or briefcase and pull out when you just happen to be sitting around thinking, “How can I change the world?” You can do some of the things just as quickly, too. “Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl,” by Carol Bodensteiner (2008). What a nice, quiet read this book is. It was what you’d expect from an Iowa farm girl. “Boomsday,” by Christopher Buckley (2007). It’s indeed a crooked political world that Buckley creates – and one that would be even funnier, if occasionally, I didn’t find myself saying, “Wait a minute, this sounds a bit too close to reality, or at least plausible.” Comments from you readers Let me hear what you've read this summer, what you'd recommend to the rest of us and what you wouldn't. And now that we're headed into the stretch drive for the political campaigns, who among you has read the biographies of the most candidates? You can write me with comments on my reviews or your own thoughts on books at carla@Offenburger.com.
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