It's a wrap...
....our first Monday Lunch Zoom was a hit!
Rekha Basu was kind enough to be our first Monday Lunch via Zoom guest, and it was a big hit.
About 20 participants joined the call during the one-hour session, and it was as if we were all having a social conversation about the issues of the day.
I had no idea how this would work or if anyone would show up, and if they did, would they ask questions?
They did! They did! They did!
In a note after the call, participant Brice Oakley summed it up:
"What a hoot! Great group of folks!. I'd go on a long cruise ship trip with that bunch. Thanks for sharing your friends with friends."
Thank you, Brice, and the 52 other readers who joined the paid participant category of this Potluck column. As a result, six more emerging writers will be given a scholarship to attend the Okoboji Writers' Retreat.
Rekha opened the conversation by answering the question: what would she tell her younger self, who arrived in Des Moines in 1991 for what she suspected would be a six-month assignment, about how life would unfold over the next 30 years.
And the answer:
"Believe it or not," said the established Des Moines Register columnist, "You will make more long-lasting friendships in your first seven months in Des Moines than in the seven years you worked in New York. And that Des Moines, Iowa, would become your home. Your real home."
That statement was all the more poignant since she just returned from a wonderful extended stay with her new grandchild, Kavi, along with his parents, Raj Borsellino and Aadhithi Padmanabhan. The young family will soon be moving from the Basu family apartment in Manhattan, Rekha’s childhood home, and it will then be sold.
Another end of an era. And another new beginning.
Our one-hour conversation touched on hot-button issues such as immigration, disinformation, abortion rights, and how hard it is for many to understand why low-wage jobs go begging.
“Around here,” said Christine Louscher, who lives on a farm near Algona, “Folks think people ought to get off their duff and get a job. They don’t understand how much childcare costs. A minimum wage job doesn’t begin to cover raising a family.”
Oakley, is a former legislator and retired lobbyist, asked Rekha about how she trusts sources and comes up with column topics.
The question behind the question swirls around the nagging issue of disinformation being repeated as accurate and how frustrating it is not to be able to know the source of something spread around.
Rekha said about 40% of her topic ideas come from readers who point out something going on in their lives that tell a broader story.
"From there, I go by instinct," said Rekha.
For example, someone reached out to her recently regarding a column she wrote about a local issue. The caller wanted to meet with her and 'go over some things.' She kept asking the source what their particular interest was in the case but never got an answer. It was then that she dropped the pursuit.
Our participants were equally interesting.
Renowned pollster, J. Ann Selzer, was on the call. She agreed to lead a future Monday Lunch Zoom session, although she was guarded about whether or not there is an Iowa Poll in the field.
I'd bet yes, but Selzer won't say. She is another Iowa treasure. Ann pops up on network television every presidential campaign as her Iowa Poll is called the Gold Standard of polling.
Register editor Carol Hunter asked Rekha what she was planning to write about the abortion issue.
Rekha mentioned how moved she was by a recent letter-to-the editor about a personal experience, then asked the group to send her examples of what it was like for women before the Supreme Court decided Roe V Wade. Heads around the call nodded, including retired doctor Bob Shreck, who said as an oncologist, he advised several women to have the procedure. For a cancer patient, chemotherapy was life-saving for the mother, but would harm a fetus.
Former nurse Connie Isaacson said before the Roe V Wade decision there would routinely be D&Cs on the daily hospital surgical list, which she surmised was a euphemism for an abortion procedure. Shreck agreed, that was likely the case.
Rekha is working on gathering these stories as well as tying in what she observed in her reporting from Ethiopia about how U.S evangelical pastors had come to the country to pressure officials there to rescind efforts to make abortions more accessible, even threatening potential loss of U.S. aid.
“On the one hand, the United States is supposed to be this beacon of progress around the world,” said Rekha. “Until it becomes a double-edge sword.”
Susan Judkins commented on the avalanche of downright mean bills being introduced and some even passed by the legislature.
“Mean is the right word,” said Rekha. “When did Iowa become so mean? It hasn’t been so in my time here until now.”
Which prompted Christine Louscher to thank Rekha for personalizing the stories of real people impacted by these issues, and she invited her to come to Algona.
I see a road trip in Rekha’s future.
The newest Des Moines Register columnist and Okoboji Writers' Retreat colleague, Rachelle Chase, asked Rekha what she thinks about becoming emotionally involved with a story. Is it alright? Professional? (Chase is scheduled to be a future Monday Zoom guest speaker. You’ll find her fascinating, too.)
It can be inevitable, Rekha said. How do you not shed a tear with a woman who just lost her husband? Or whatever the emotional angle to a story might be.
Chuck Offenburger, another former Register columnist, opined about the lack of younger people running for statewide office, to which Rekha countered how heartened she is to see so many running for local council and legislative races. They are compelled to run because of social justice issues, she said.
As I looked around the call, I noticed the geographic, if not ideological, diversity on the call— a man from Okoboji, another from near Jefferson, a woman from Ottumwa, and others from farms near Algona and southern Iowa. All Register and Potluck readers, scattered about the state. Some observed the conversation, while others participated.
This Zoom technology is transformational! It felt like hosting a party without the expense or clean-up. Bring it on!
Still, participant Trudy Holman Hurd had so much fun she thinks we ought to consider holding one in real-time. I'm game. Let's get a few more under our belt, though.
Our Monday Lunch Zoom experiment worked. We had an engaged and engaging group discussion, and look forward to more. Would you like to join us?
Next up: Charity Nebbe of Iowa Public Radio. If you haven't already, I highly recommend you tune into her show. She's a terrific interviewer, gets great guests, and as a result, I've 'met' some fascinating folks. Mark your calendar: May 23.
I am sorry I missed this conversation. It sounds like it was great fun! I am looking forward to joining the group when we get back on the ground in Iowa.
Thanks Julie, very enjoyable. I'm a little out of place but sure enjoy the conversation!