So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye

Rural Iowa and the long, slow valediction

No, I’m not saying goodbye. Just remembering the song from The Sound of Music and how our lunch at La Frontera reminded me of that song. By the way, we had a fabulous lunch in Hampton, Iowa on Saturday. I was joined by four Hampton residents, which exceeded my initial expectations. My brother Larry, sister-in-law Elaine, niece (and their daughter) Melanie and her partner Kenny made up the crew — plus me of course.

When I first wrote about the idea of having a little solidarity lunch at La Frontera — Meet Me at La Frontera — I expected that I might have lunch there on my own, and I was OK with that. I just wanted to support this business, and the other Latino-owned businesses in Hampton, that have stood up to more racism and hate than anyone should have to in these last 7 months. Today I was able to do exactly that. And I was also able to express to the folks at La Frontera my (our) respect and admiration, not only for the fact that they have stood up but also for how they have done it.

Moreover, I was not alone in the end. Shortly after I wrote in that Substack post that I would be having my lunch at La Frontera, Larry & Elaine said they would meet me, and then Melanie & Kenny said the same. And then a bunch of you all said the same. Unfortunately, we had this little winter storm start on Friday and continue into Saturday morning, which meant the course of wisdom was to ask you all to wait until next time.

Luckily, we already set a date for next time. On March 1st we’re going to meet at another courageous business in Hampton for another solidarity lunch — I’ll call that Meet me at La Chozita, and we’ll meet for lunch again at noon on that day. I will hope for good weather, and I will hope that all of you that wanted to come to La Frontera can meet us just down the street at La Chozita.

Despite the snowstorm, I managed to get some pictures of my trip and of La Frontera and downtown Hampton (see embedded photos below). I will probably write more about our lunch and the day’s conversations another time, but for now, just a brief report and a couple of additional observations.

Rural Iowa and the beauty of the long, slow valediction.

The staff and owners at La Frontera are truly salt-of-the-earth people. I had real moments of joy sharing my (our) messages of support, solidarity, admiration and encouragement. It was even joyful to put $125 or so of support in La Frontera’s cash register. And the food was damn good, priced fairly and plentiful. The California burrito with chicken, steak and shrimp was excellent. If you order it plan to share it or take some home. The salsa was also extraordinary.

However, the observation from the day that has stuck with me the most was about bringing our lunch to a close and saying farewell. We began our lunch promptly at noon and our food came quickly but as we conversed with each other and talking with the staff we somehow consumed nearly two and a half hours. I was sensitive to not holding a table if it was needed, but the restaurant never quite filled up.

I remember that my father was one of those rural Iowans that always had a difficult time bringing a visit to a close. He would spend 30 or 45 minutes, or more, saying goodbye, first in the house or restaurant, then at the door, then in the parking lot. He loved visiting people and was a classic example of the long, slow valediction of rural Iowa.

People tell me I do the same. Maybe so, I will leave that for others to decide. But we definitely did that on Saturday at La Frontera. We lingered, because we’re family, yes, but because none of us, family or otherwise, none of us do this enough. We don’t take many moments, let alone afternoons, to spend time with others. We don’t spend enough time, off the clock and off schedule, just to sit and eat and converse. We don’t take the time to do the things that arise out of love and joy and grace.

We lingered over our valediction because, well, one, that’s what I do, apparently. But also, because we all recognized that we do not do this often enough. And lastly, I think we all saw and greatly appreciated the value to our souls of doing something, albeit something small, that was actually bigger than it seems, even if just a little.

Love and Joy to you all, from Hampton and Oelwein. In lieu of a long goodbye, I will just say so long and remember, meet me at La Chozita on March 1st… john

[all photo credits, John Crabtree]

[just a landscape picture from my Saturday morning drive from Oelwein to Hampton, check out the snow along Highway #3 east of Waverly :) ]

[a nice mural across the street from La Frontera, looks like Iowa, and America]

[La Chozita on the courthouse square in Hampton]