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Nice shots, Jeffrey.
Seven siblings eh? It's almost like an Irish family! 
JG,
I grew up in a small town called Dyersville, Iowa, where the immigrants were from Luxembourg (as my ancestors were), Ireland, and Germany. All Roman Catholic. When I was growing up, I thought everyone was Roman Catholic.
I'll try to find a photo of the Catholic church from my hometown. Most of the families were very large; ours was about average, I guess.
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Interesting.
I've done a lot of travelling but one of my ambitions is to do a major road or rail trip across the US, to see the 'real America' so to speak. I think it would be facinating.
I've been to America numerous times: NY, Boston, Chicago, San Fran, Vegas etc.... but have rarely gotten out of the big cities.
I know from my time in Australia that you've got to get out into the country to get a true feel for the place.
It's on the list!
Jeffrey,
Nice pictures. You really deserve a break and I hope you'll enjoy your time off from work at home.
I visited Leon, Iowa once and those pics look exactly like I remember it!
Durka durka Öbama Resistance
JG,
Here's a Wikipedia entry on the church where I was an altar boy (when the introibo was still in Latin):
Basilica of St. Francis Xavier.
People also travel to my hometown to visit the farm where they filmed "Field of Dreams."
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Hey, thanks everyone for the nice comments. I may add a few more photos this morning as I look through my files.
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RhusLancia,
Iowa is a state of small towns, each with its sleepy Main Street, especially in the summer. Yep, I'm sure Leon is not that different from Dyersville.
JG,
Those are great cities you've visited, to be sure. I've lived in SF, Chicago, and right now, of course, I'm living in New York. Three very different cities, in fact.
Ah yes, the cross-country trip! My first one was in a van with a friend of mine, driving pretty much non-stop from Iowa to San Francisco, just having purchased some black hash (this was the 70s, dude!).
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That church looks beautiful. I spent a lot of time in churches as a child too, although now I must say I would not be caught dead in one!
I liked all those cities. Vegas grates after a few days though. I was there on Sept. 11, 2001 which was a sureal experience. I couldn't get a flight, of course, so I was stuck there for ten days. My wallet was significantly lighter by the end of it.
I like the sound of that trip. I did a coast to coast trip in Australia which also involved a lot of weed-smoking. Some would say it's clouded my judgement; a charge I would angrily refute, of course. 
JG,
I liked all those cities. Vegas grates after a few days though. I was there on Sept. 11, 2001 which was a sureal experience. I couldn't get a flight, of course, so I was stuck there for ten days. My wallet was significantly lighter by the end of it.
That is amazing. Yeah, I can certainly imagine that Las Vegas could get on one's nerves pretty fast.
I like the sound of that trip. I did a coast to coast trip in Australia which also involved a lot of weed-smoking. Some would say it's clouded my judgement; a charge I would angrily refute, of course.
Heh heh. Nah, the colors of SF had an extra sparkle to them with the hash. I wasn't complaining.
Next year it looks like I'm due for all-summer Asia vagabonding and will surely make it to Australia, hitting Bali on the way, where an old friend has been living for fifteen years already (time be flying, sir).
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I'll answer the tribe question here, because I like the photos. The tree bark was my favourite.
The village where my father lived was basically all the same tribe, and my grandmother lived a bedouin life up until marriage and so brought my father up with very cultural ties. She and my grandfather happened to be from the same tribe, although my grandfather was not bedouin.
On my mother's side, both grandparents came from large families, and in Baghdad, families and people were known rather than tribes.But my grandparents knew their tribes because that was how their society was before saddam, but most of the generation who are my parents age paid no attention to tribes.
After marriage, a woman keeps her family name and tribe, but the children fall into their fathers tribe.
When we lived in Diyala, my father knew virtually every member of his tribe/extended family. After the war, people who had come from opposite ends of the country had added tribe names to their identification to 'get along'. Saddam forced the removal of all tribal suffixes to ID, so after many easily faked papers and were related to favoured tribes.
The problem with this, is tribes show your religion, your ethnicity and most times they can tell the province you came from. Which is why it has led to fabulously ridiculous discrimination. If you visit any of the government buildings these days, you will notice that a lot of the high government officials share the same tribe.
Touta,
The tree bark was my favourite.
Ah ha! You have the eye of an artist for sure, Touta.
Very interesting information on your family's tribal history and connections. One question. Yesterday you said that tribes were not blood-related and that people sometimes moved their family (or clan, I imagine) to the stronger tribe. Is this common? Has this ever happened in your extended family/tribe?
Listen, from what you've written over the last few months, it sounds like you're ambivalent at best about tribal power in Iraq. Some government offices, you write above, are dominated by particular tribes because they look out for themselves. And tribal affiliations, you say, give away too much information on religious identification. But this may just be the way that Iraq will always be, right? Can anything be done? Should anything be done? I don't know. I'll listen to your ideas.
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Wow, Iowa is nicer than I expected!
Mojo,
Thanks. The winters are harsh, but the summers are very nice, if a little short. As a kid, we used to camp for days at a time along the stream that runs through my hometown. No adults, just friends with sleeping bags and a piece of tarp for a tent. I have lots of great memories of those days.
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Jeffrey,
Those are some great photos!! I wish I could go to Iowa now, hehe...I haven't seen much of "middle America" but now I'm thinking that I should
I grew up in a small town in New Hampshire, just so you know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Man...,_New_Hampshire
Check this out, Jeffrey. I lived right near Manchester, New Hampshire. Its a really nice city.
Like JG I've also only visited the coastal cities, NY, Philly, Washington, LA, SF, San Diego and Vegas. And like JG I too hope to one day do a trip across the US. I picture starting off in Miami and going first to New Orleans then Dallas and then across the country all the way to Seattle. South east to north west, kind of. Now that would take some serious time of course, and it might remain only a dream. Nice photos, nice post.
C.H.,
Thanks. Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, the closest states to my hometown, also have beautiful areas to visit.
Hey, I didn't know you were a small-town boy like myself. Cool.
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Yep...I'm actually going to be visiting Manchester, as well as my home town of Litchfield, next week.
Marcus,
If you're going to do that trip in the summer, be prepared for really hot and humid weather. In New Orleans in the summer the humidity builds through the morning and then, at almost the same time every afternoon, it pours. I lived there years ago and the rent was ridiculously cheap. It was something like $300 dollars for a large one-bedroom apartment in the Uptown district of the city.
One of the really great car rides in the States is taking Highway 1 from Miami to Key West. The highway jumps from island to island all the way to Key West, the ocean stretching out on both sides. Really something to experience.
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C.H.,
Three of the photos above (e.g., the one of the bandshell) were snapped in Manchester, Iowa, a small town just a few miles west of my hometown.
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C.H.,
Also, from what I've seen, autumn in the Northeast is hard to beat anywhere in the country, right? I imagine you have some really good memories of crisp fall days in your hometown.
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haha, i might have the eye of an artist but none of their skills. Never mind, tribal connections might get me somewhere
More seriously- in answer to your question. if the person had no tribe or clan written on their identification, which most didn't, they can register under any. This however doesn't commonly happen apart from around the poorer areas.
The best way i can explain this is by using my fathers tribe, has 3 clans, each with separate characteristics:
S-t
S-j
S-z
each is from a different geographical area, and each clan has a different majority of whether they are shia/sunni. Since the tribe and clan are not written on identification papers because of Saddam, it would have been easy to change to a completey different tribe, as well as subclan, but because of his upbringing, he would rather sell his soul etc.
However, as you can see from above, they all belong to the tribe 'S', so many regularly may jump from sub clans (t,j,z), in order to further their power. At one point sub clan z was very powerful, then it was t, now its j etc.
Although I do have much respect to the whole tribal affliation, and the amount of loyalty and respect involved is humbling, it still causes too much corruption, and earlier kidnappings where done according to your first name (eg ali-shia name, ahmed-sunni,ayman-christian,etc), but the recent kidnappings are done according to what tribe you are in, as certain tribes have more money and power than others, so if kidnappers want more money, they target certain people. Some elders have even been kidnapped recently.Sometimes they personally, or their direct family are even poor, but since their tribe has money, then they expect extended extended family to pay.
If Iraq is to be rebuilt successfully, it shouldn't be built on shaky foundations.
i.e Corruption from the start. Everytime I hear of someone not getting a job, because of their tribe or lack of connection, it brings back a certain nervousness, that things could return to Saddam style iraq. Which is why i guess i'm hesistant about it. Tribal names should be left on names if people want, but it would be better to have candidate numbers for employment, test marks (huge scandal occured where students of same family got in the 90%, and the top students of the class got in 60%)instead.
The other day at a law firm, every employee was the same religion, and had the same surname.(tribe). The annoying thing was that it was a government law firm. had it been private, I would not have cared or been as worried.
I suppose I'm just annoyed that a lot of people can do absolutley no work and get into the sector that their tribe is successful in. I don't want an Iraq rebuilt by people who haven't worked hard to get where they are, otherwise, it will easily collapse again.
eg. someone from tribe J can do no work, and be employed in education sector easily,someone from tribe m can fail all exams and end up in law, someone from tribe x can end up in parliament.
Most of this is perhaps a result of the brain drain.
:D my thoughts on it anyway.My brother on the hand, is extremely pro tribe, so i suppose it doesn't really matter, as there's a long road ahead.
(:
Ooooh no time to read all the comments, but I wanted to say a couple of things before I run...
Jeffrey,
Beautiful pictures! They remind me of Minnesota, right down to the small towns, corn fields and rivers.
Have you ever been up to Minnesota?
JG,
Yes, if you can, take a road trip. All of those cities you mentioned are certainly interesting and beautiful in their own way, but America is so much more than that. And you really don't understand the breadth of the country by just flying over it. You really gotta drive it.
A friend of mine and I drove from Minnesota through South Dakota, into Wyoming, then Colorado, and circled back into Montana and through North Dakota. We took two weeks and that was rushing it. We really could have used more time.
Yeah Jeffrey, I certainly do...you might be surprised, but winter is by far my favorite season. I only get to see it in Lake Tahoe now
Jeffrey, that strech of road from Miami to Key West looks really nice, maybe I'll try to include that in my trip some day. I've already done parts of the famous route 66, in Rhus's neck of the woods, when a friend of me and I went from Vegas to the Grand Canyon. The scenery was so-so, mostly desert/prarie with lots of tumbleweeds. The most impressive thing was how huge the land is in reality when compared to how small a trip it looked on the map. But the Grand Canyon was simply amazing and even though I took a lot of pictures myself and have seen a lot of other footage it really has to be experienced first hand.
Lynnette, there's a famous, is Sweden at least, Swedish author, Willhelm Moberg, who wrote a serious of books about Swedes who emigrated mid 19'th century and eventually settled in Stillwater - Minnesota. It's known to most Swedes from the books, TV-series and theatre plays. A retiree I know went to the states and "followed the footsteps" of the characters in that book. He was very impressed with what he experienced and had great tales to tell.
BTW Jeffrey, I hope you don't mind but I mentioned you guys at IBC over on my blog yesterday
Touta,
Since the tribe and clan are not written on identification papers because of Saddam, it would have been easy to change to a completey different tribe, as well as subclan, but because of his upbringing, he would rather sell his soul etc.
However, as you can see from above, they all belong to the tribe 'S', so many regularly may jump from sub clans (t,j,z), in order to further their power. At one point sub clan z was very powerful, then it was t, now its j etc.
Got it. Now I understand. Generally the movement is from one clan to the other, depending upon which is more dominant at the moment.
Although I do have much respect to the whole tribal affliation, and the amount of loyalty and respect involved is humbling, it still causes too much corruption, and earlier kidnappings where done according to your first name (eg ali-shia name, ahmed-sunni,ayman-christian,etc)...
This was why I felt your ambivalence. I can understand. I have a brother and a sister who work in human resources for large American companies. My sister's company is larger than the one my brother works for, but she would never be able to offer him a job (although she absolutely has the power to) at her company. It's called nepotism and it's just not done. For small, family-owned businesses, of course, it's completely different. In the corporate world, my sister cannot use her position to give my brother a job, even if he is out of work and really needs the job. So the idea of a government office all being staffed by people related by tribal connections is just strange to Americans.
Now, of course, Americans do work connections to try to get good jobs, but many of those connections go back to college or previous jobs, not one's family.
I suppose I'm just annoyed that a lot of people can do absolutley no work and get into the sector that their tribe is successful in. I don't want an Iraq rebuilt by people who haven't worked hard to get where they are, otherwise, it will easily collapse again.
Yes, the downside to tribal affiliations no doubt is the increase in corruption and the prevalence fo subpar work because no one fears getting fired.
Tribal names should be left on names if people want, but it would be better to have candidate numbers for employment, test marks (huge scandal occured where students of same family got in the 90%, and the top students of the class got in 60%)instead.
Sounds like you've put some good thought into this. I think in the next few days, for fun, RhusLancia is going to run a mock election with Iraqi bloggers running for government posts. You might have just made your first speech for prime minister.
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Lynnette,
Now you KNOW I was thinking of you when I posted those photographs.
Small-town Midwest REPRESENT!
And yes, of course, I've been to Minnesota, a beautiful state, to be sure. My oldest sister became an RN in Rochester.
And thanks for the kind words.
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Lynnette,
And you really don't understand the breadth of the country by just flying over it. You really gotta drive it
For sure. I spent a year in Australia and I quickly came to the conclusion that, due to the sheer size of the place, I'd have to spend less time in the cities and more on the road. It was a good strategy. We drove from Queensland (Northeast) into the centre, then up to Darwin (Northwest), then down the West Coast to Broome. I don't know how many thousands of miles that is but a bloody lot!
Marcus,
I've already done parts of the famous route 66, in Rhus's neck of the woods, when a friend of me and I went from Vegas to the Grand Canyon.
Yeah we did that too. The Grand Canyon is one of those places - like Uluru in Australia - that completely lives up to its prior billing. As amazing as it was to look at, next time I want to trek down to the floor of the Canyon.
Marcus,
Scandinavian culture, of course is huge in the Upper Midwest. Willa Cather, a Midwesterner from Nebraska, wrote the novel "O Pioneers!" about a Swedish family in the New World.
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Marcus,
A retiree I know went to the states and "followed the footsteps" of the characters in that book. He was very impressed with what he experienced and had great tales to tell.
That's a great story. Good books are often rich in the small, concrete details that the author had absorbed from living in those places where the stories are set.
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JG,
I spent a year in Australia.
Now THAT's a fantastic road-trip. I'm wondering how many changes of underwear you brought along. Heh heh.
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LOL!
The road trip didn't last the whole year. I got a one year working visa for Australia so the year was a working holiday of sorts.
I was travelling most of the time; working on farms, as a kitchen porter in restaurants, in a carnival, in factories, a gardener, even as a door-to-door saleman at one point!
I tried to stay on the move as much as I could. Then, after working in Queensland for two months, I met some Maltese and Italians and we took off across the country together.
Great times!
JG, I've travelled some of Australia also. Me and a friend went from Melbourne along the Great Ocean road south. A spectacular trip! Then we headed inland and drove up to the wine districts northy of Melbourne. I only had two weeks to spend "down under" but it was great and I'm looking forward to reeturning one day.
Jeffrey, indeed many Swedes emigrated for the promised land in America. It's estimated that between 1850 and 1930 a quarter of the population, some 1.2 million, emigrated to America. The vast majority going by boat to New York and then heading for farming communities (most emigrants were farmers) inland. I think Minnesota was the most popular destination, but there were other locations as well, as far away as California.
JG,
I have a feeling you were not a very successful door-to-door salesman. Well, I wouldn't be either, if it's any consolation.
Sounds like a great experience in Australia. I've worked with Aussies before and found them similar in many ways to Americans (I don't know if that's a compliment or not). You've traveled in both countries, so what do you think?
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Sounds like a nice trip, Marcus. I did the Great Ocean Road too. It's a spectatular drive.
Man, the travel stories are great today!
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Exactly. :D
I met an old pepsi seller who had a pHD from Baghdad University (i.e the best one in Iraq, with his sayings and experience he deserved to have one of the best jobs, instead, i find twenty year olds just out of college sitting in goverment offices surfing google images for 'cameroon diyaz'.
and while we are talking about travel...
My experience with americans is:
-they say 'ignoramus' a lot
-they reference american pie so much that i went out and brought the whole dvd pack
-they said jesus was white
i met two australians, and they seem:
-unbelievably laid back
-lick their lips/gulp everytime they mention beer or any drink
-refer to most countries 'never being hot enough'
Jeffrey,
Sounds like a great experience in Australia
Yeah it really was. I have some stories that I'll still be telling when I'm old and withered.
You've traveled in both countries, so what do you think?
That's an interesting question. Americans are often viewed in a negative light in Europe. Snobbery and sterotyping aboud, unfortunately.
My own experiences in America have always been positive. I worked in Boston for four months back in 1999 and met loads of great people.
There are also negative stereotypes when it comes to Aussies which I think are way off too. Australian people are generally warm and friendly, I find. Some are a little suspicious of outsiders but I think that's just a symptom of being so isolated.
I think Aussies are more like the Irish than Americans. Both Aussies and Irish tend to be quite nationalistic but underneath lies a certain feeling of inferiority. There's a false kind of confidence there.
Man, the travel stories are great today!
Yeah!
Should I talk about my recent trips? Anyone seen my Tijuana posts?
JG, I spent 3 weeks in Dublin
JG...I don't think that you Irish have a negative view of Americans.
Touta,
i find twenty year olds just out of college sitting in goverment offices surfing google images for 'cameroon diyaz'.
That's a sad state of affairs you've described but I couldn't help laughing at the 'comeroon diyaz' bit.
-they said jesus was white
In all the holy pictures you see in churches and homes in Ireland, Jesus is white!
i met two australians, and they seem:
-unbelievably laid back
-lick their lips/gulp everytime they mention beer or any drink
-refer to most countries 'never being hot enough'
It's true they are very laid back. I like that, I'm laid back too.
On the not being hot enough thing:
I couldn't believe how Australians wouldn't swim in the sea unless it was a roasting hot day. Here, we're used to swimming in freezing water so it seems like a strange complaint. I swim off the west coast of Ireland each summer and even on the warmest day the water is ice-cold!
Marcus,
Stillwater is a lovely touristy kind of town. Unfortunately, the one time I was there we kind of hit it late in the day on a Sunday (I believe) and a lot of the stores were closed. We did have a nice dinner though. My hometown is located on a river and sometimes I think they are bound and determined to remake themselves into another Stillwater. That will take some doing though!
If you visit Florida, stop by the Everglades. It's been a while since I've been there, but I remember them as being interesting. Or maybe it was the airboat ride...
Jeffrey,
"Small-town Midwest REPRESENT!"
Boy, I'll say!
You drive through one and you've driven through them all. Well, except maybe for those with landmarks like Babe the Blue Ox. You can find all sorts of things to do in the larger cities, but the smaller towns have their charms too.
My oldest sister became an RN in Rochester.
My mother's cousin's daughter-in-law worked at Mayo as a nurse. Although now I believe she is furthering her studies and will be working as a trauma nurse in one of the south American countries for a bit. Forget which one.
I live slightly north of the Twin Cities.
Oh, did you mention tenting out? Aaaahhh one of my favorite passtimes when I was a kid. And of course the campfires with the ghost stories and S'Mores.
JG,
I've always wanted to visit Australia. Beautiful country.
Well, if you do a road trip through the Midwest you may want to visit Split Rock Lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior here in Minnesota.
If you get to Montana you may want to drive the "Going to the Sun" highway in Glacier National Park. Just don't take a motorhome. It's one of those twisty roads with a mountain on one side and a sheer drop on the other. Every bit as spectacular as the road to Key West that Jeffrey mentioned.
When I was in Dublin, many Irish had grievances against the US government but they seemed very eager to talk to an American like myself.
The funny thing is, so many of them want to move here! JG, if you want to move to the US I would be more than happy to trade passports with you
CH,
JG...I don't think that you Irish have a negative view of Americans.
Irish peole are cool to your face, but they always have a smug comment to make when you're at the bar!
Nah, I'm joking. In general Irish people are not at all hostile towards Americans, but the negative stereotype of Americans is quite prevalent, even among those who would claim not to indulge in sterotyping.
The French (who I love) can be quite anti-American. I worked there for a while too.
There were always lots of tourists in the town where I lived. While eating lunch with work colleagues in a local café they would make disparaging comments about Americans right in front of American tourists (in French of course). I didn't like it and I didn't join in.
It was snobbery and it was totally misplaced.
Well, JG, I sometimes go swimming here in Sweden even in the middle of winter, how 'bout that! Of course there's always a sauna close by...
Australians ARE laid back and among the nicest of people. I've theorised and put some of their fame for being nice down to their accent: "Cheers mate, fancy a beeeer", you just cannot not be affected in a positive way, right?
Marcus...I went swimming off the coast of Sligo, in Ireland, when I was on my trip! It was Summer time but the water was freezing!!
Its almost as cold as the water in New Hampshire, which comes from melting icebergs in Canada
CH,
When I was in Dublin, many Irish had grievances against the US government but they seemed very eager to talk to an American like myself.
You will be hard pressed to find anyone in Ireland who supported the actions and policies of the Bush admin. Pete$ (over at Zeyad's) is a very rare creature.
I went swimming off the coast of Sligo
I can't believe you've been to Sligo. It's one of my favourite places on earth! My Dad was from there and we used to go there every year for our summer holidays. It's stunning, and the water is freezing cold, but you feel great after a swim in the Atlantic!
Lynnette,
Thanks. You should go to Australia some day. I'm taking note of these road trip tips you and Jeffrey have been offering as I will definitely doing this trip at some point!
Marcus,
Swimming in cold water makes you feel alive. It's really tough when you first get in, but you feel 100% afterwards.
"Cheers mate, fancy a beeeer", you just cannot not be affected in a positive way, right?
Haha... yep! The Aussies also have a talent for using bad language but in a way that it somehow doesn't sound offensive. One day my friends and I went into a bottle shop to get some beers. The guy behind the counter greeted us with:
"How are ya goin', ya fuckin' cunts?"
I kid you not!
By the way, I hope everyone realizes that by clicking on the photos you get the enlarged version that offers great detail and a much better feel of the scenes.
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JG,
"How are ya goin', ya fuckin' cunts?"
HA HA! That's killer funny.
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Yeah! The guy was as rough as old boots but he was being genuinely friendly.
That's what was funny about it!
And the last photo is of the Mississippi River taken near Effigy Mounds National Park just north of McGregor, Iowa.
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JG, Haha! That reminds me of an episode in Melbourne when my friend and I were to go to dinner in a restaurant. We'd heard of this strange BYO (bring your own) thing they've got going down under where you can bring your own booze into a restaurant and they just charge you a "corkage fee". This was of course completely alien to us Swedes who are used to strict government control on all things alcohol related. Well, we bought a bottle of Jack Daniels, being hard drinking Swedes and all, and thought we'd share that after our meal. But no such luck! Apparently only wine qualified as BYO. I went back across the street to the liquor store and the guy there was symphatetic to our dilemma and readily agreed to switch our bourbon for two bottles of red wine. A great evening was had!
Cool. We have BYO places here too. You can bring beer or spirits, whatever you want.
The laid back attitude of Aussies is cool. I found it more outside the cities though. I worked in an office job for a while in Melbourne and they were a lot less layed back than any employers I've had in Dublin. They would be really annoyed if I was five minutes late in the morning!
Khalid Ibrahim is now running a new blog, Iraqi Blog Updates.
Stop by. Take a look around. Show him some love, people.
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I'm really ANGRY that President Obama isn't shown THIS kind of respect.
*smirk*
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Careful Jeffrey, it might get to that point, hehe.
Come to san fran and see what I mean!
Corey,
We have to start pressuring Congress NOW to repeal the 22nd Amendment. How can we LIVE if Obama is our Dear Leader for just two terms?!
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