Announcing: Monday Lunch Zoom Starts May 16
….with Rekha Basu, Des Moines Register Opinion columnist
Beginning May 16, Julie Gammack launches a new feature of her Potluck column for paid subscribers. Proceeds fund scholarships for the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat on September 19, 20, and 21. Learn more: www.OkobojiWritersretreat.com TO BECOME A PAID SUBSCRIBER:
So far, no one has turned down my request to appear for a one-hour Zoom call with paid subscribers to this Potluck column. Even Jerry Crawford, the owner of the Kentucky Derby aspirant, Mo Donegal, said he’d do it but to ‘get back to him next week’ for a firm date. After the Derby race on Saturday, of course. What was I thinking trying to nail him down this week??
The guests reflect the Potluck culture of this-and-that. They are a part of my ‘people collection’ with something in common: they are fascinating, accomplished folks who have much to say.
We begin this series with Rekha Basu, whom I took under my wing when the latte-looking woman swept into the otherwise white, primarily male, Des Moines Register newsroom. I would drive her around the city in those early days to show her the places she might not otherwise discover. I Introduced her to many folks who would become her life-long friends, and we helped entice her husband, Rob Borsellino, to move to Des Moines with their eldest son, Raj. The couple had viewed Rekha’s job as a Des Moines Register editorial writer as a temporary assignment; thus, Rob and Raj planned to remain in their New York home until she came to her senses.
I’m persistent, you might have noticed, so Rob became deluged with pictures and videos of idyllic life in Des Moines. I compared housing and grocery prices and demonstrated that (at the time) Iowa’s public schools were so good that they wouldn’t have to pay private school tuition.
While I led the charge on one end, Rekha was settling into a job she loved and a welcoming community. Ironically, she stayed, but I left the state in 2000, not returning until 2020. Now, she’s showing ME parts of Des Moines I didn’t know about and helping to rekindle old friendships and begin anew.
We’ve held each other up through divorce, sickness, moves, heartaches, parents' death, milestone birthdays, and Rob’s horrible illness and death from ALS. We traveled through India with a dear friend who I absorbed from Rob and Rekha’s past. We stayed in her mother’s home in New Delhi, and I realized why she loved her ancestral land so much. We’ve celebrated our children’s successes and walked through their challenges.
When I dreamed up the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat idea last year, she was the first writer I asked to speak. We even planned the date around the arrival of her first grandchild, Kavi.
For the above reasons and more, she is our first Monday Lunch Zoom guest. Participants will join in the fun and discussion.
The proceeds from paid subscriptions will help those who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend. It’s a nod to Rob Borsellino, a talented writer whose father died early. Rob lived with his mother in low-income housing in the Bronx before starting his journalism career.
Sometimes talent needs a helping hand to flourish.
So far, 6% of our Potluck Subscribers have signed up for the paid version to support the Okoboji Writers’ Retreat Scholarship fund. This number is a big start (it’s considered successful if 3% sign up for the paid version). Please do not feel obligated or shamed into doing so. The Potluck column will always be free as long as it’s still fun and you like being a part of the tribe. The premium version allows those paid to participate in the Monday Zoom ‘lunch’, from noon to 1 p.m. central time some Mondays. If you have a guest you’d like to be featured, let me know: julieokobojiwriters@gmail.com
Future Monday Zoomers include Charity Nebbe, Iowa Public Radio; State Senator Jackie Smith; political analyst Laura Belin; Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, past president of the World Food Prize; Jerry Crawford, owner of a Kentucky Derby racehorse, Mo Donegal; Iowa Supreme Court Justice Susan Christensen; Mayor Frank Cownie; romance novelist Leigh Michaels; Tom and Ruth Harkin; memoir coach and author, Debra Engle; Rachelle Chase, Des Moines Register columnist; Iowa Starting Line editor, Ty Rushing. And that’s just for starters.
Will you help spread the word? If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, post this column.
Can’t wait!!!