‘Ramblin’: Recollections of 30 Years on the Road’: celebrates what we have in common

If your faith in mankind feels a bit tattered these days, you can spruce it up by reading Dave Rasdal's latest collection of stories about Eastern Iowa people, places and things.

Like many of you, I read Rasdal's Ramblin' columns in The Gazette, where I was an editor for X years. The columns were always well-written slices of life. Pulled together, though, the sum is greater than the parts, producing a quiet, powerful synergy in 'Ramblin': Recollections of 30 Years on the Road” (CreateSpace, 398 pages, $19.95).

This is the second book of columns to come out of Rasdal's three decades of roaming Iowa's 'blue-line” highways. Like the first book, this one reminds you, again and again, of how many kind and funny souls live among us, if only we ask them about their lives.

In this book, Rasdal provides conversational introductions and follow-ups to most of the columns. You can tell from the interludes that he likes people and enjoys drawing them out and telling their stories. He's not afraid to be positive, even romantic.

One of my favorite columns is about Joe McNabb of Cedar Rapids, who began collecting angels after his wife, 'Willie,” died of Alzheimer's in 2006. When the 'mayor of Noelridge” died six years later, his kids and grandkids gave away as many of the angels as they could before finally spreading out late at night, leaving angels on neighborhood doorsteps and hanging them from trees and downspouts.

In another story, Diane Jacobs of Cedar Rapids tells us about playing her cello with the symphony for 61 years. Gladys Nekola of Toledo explains why she cooked on a wood stove for 50 years before finally getting a gas range in 1989. Dave Engle of Marion has an amazing story about what happened when his SUV was stolen.

Ed Saldana, a school crossing guard the kids call 'Grampa,” talks from a hospital bed, saying he's no hero, even though he saved a 7-year-old's life in Cedar Rapids.

Rasdal also tells the stories of the little spots in Eastern Iowa - Muckersville, Spillville, Belle Plaine - and visits the cities and hamlets along the Mississippi River during the great flood of 1993.

Particularly memorable are two columns about a couple who move their house up a hill to escape repeated floods in Chelsea, and the surprising reaction from some of those left behind.

In another series of columns, Rasdal goes farther afield, taking readers across country in a semi-trailer truck, complete with truck stops, casinos, and interesting conversations with the driver and characters along the route.

Taken together, the collected columns produce a tidal wave of good will - just in time for the season, or for any time you need a reminder about our shared humanity.

BOOK SIGNINGS: Meet Dave Rasdal at the following book signings:

' Dec. 15: 3 to 6 p.m., The Gazette/KCRG, 501 Second Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids

' Dec. 16: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., New Bo Books, 1105 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids. A reading followed by book signing

' Dec. 20: Noon to 2 p.m., Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City

' Dec. 21: 1 to 3 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 333 Collins Rd. NE, Cedar Rapids