Ramblin’ Began 30 Years Ago with “Springtime in Paris (Iowa)”

The first sentence read "Paris in springtime."

And so, 30 years ago this week, I was off and Ramblin' in Paris.

Such a place may seem far-fetched for the debut of an Eastern Iowa columnist until you realize this Paris IS in Iowa, northern Linn County, to be exact.

On that spring day in 1982, far from the glitz and glamour of France, I found exactly what I was searching for - a wide spot along a gravel road with an iron truss bridge nearby and the tallest Eiffel Tower-like structure a distant windmill. I talked to genuine good-hearted, Iowans, including Esther Bremer, 77 at the time and the last lifetime resident still in Paris. (She died in 1999.) And I discovered, if I can quote an Allman Brothers Band song title, that I was born a "Ramblin' Man."

Since that day I've had something like 3,500 Ramblin' columns published in The Gazette. My Ramblin' ways have taken me to nearly every community in Eastern Iowa from the Minnesota border to the Missouri state line and then some. I've soared more than a mile high in a hot-air balloon, spent a week riding with a truck driver to California and visited Iowa snowbirds in Texas. Mostly, though, I've been behind the wheel of my car driving no more than three hours from my home in Cedar Rapids.

I've convinced my bosses through the years that this is all work. But you and I know better. I mean, I go where I want to go, visit with people I want to meet, marvel at how everyone has a story.

"Ramblin' " was born one afternoon in early 1982. I'd joined The Gazette three years earlier as a general assignment reporter. In the fall of 1981, when I became Eastern Iowa Reporter. my job included writing feature stories. After a few months, Mark Bowden, state editor, and I discussed giving these stories a feature column heading. When I couldn't come up with a title, Mark slapped the "Ramblin' with Rasdal" tag on my "Springtime in Paris (Iowa)" column.

Who knew that three decades later I'd still be Ramblin'? But that nearly didn't happen. I left The Gazette in 1986 on a personal adventure that took me to San Jose, Calif., a year later. By 1990 I was ready to come "home" and Mark's acceptance of my desire to become a full-time columnist sealed the deal. Whereas I'd only been writing one column a week in the ‘80s, I worked up to three per week after my return.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary, The Gazette issued "Ramblin': Reflections of Hidden Iowa," last fall. The hardcover coffee-table-style book features 103 columns and accompanying photographs. With a list price of $34.95, it's on sale this month at The Gazette for $30 plus tax to coincide with 30 years. You can pick one up any time during regular business hours, although I'll be signing copies in The Gazette lobby from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. (I'll also be at Barnes & Noble in Cedar Rapids from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 20.)

Some readers wondered if the book signifies my retirement, but that's not so. As we move past this milestone into summer, I'll announce from time to time here and on my blog (http://thegazette.com/ramblin) that I'll set up "shop" for a few hours somewhere in Eastern Iowa so you can stop to visit, buy a book if you'd like and give me a story idea or two.

It began with springtime in Paris. I have no idea where it'll end.