Remember the blizzard that walloped us right before the caucuses?
That weekend, my husband and I bundled up and waddled over to the downtown Hy-Vee to buy some soup and potatoes. On a whim, I also picked up a bottle of fresh orange juice and drank it on the way home. I trudged over the snow banks and imagined the sunny citrus grove that produced the oranges and the small chain of miracles that brought them to Des Moines, ripe for juicing in the dark depths of winter.
The writer Lawrence Block once pointed out that “our happiest moments as tourists always seem to come when we stumble upon one thing while in pursuit of something else.” That’s true whether you’re traveling abroad or just down the street.
It’s also true of reading this magazine. While I was editing this issue, just reviewing the stories as they plopped into my inbox, I stumbled across all sorts of little surprises from our perceptive contributors. I learned about an off-the-wall ball game called Sutu, which you can play at Cohen Park. I discovered a few exotic spice blends — za’atar, baharat and ras el hanout — to try at a new restaurant in the Drake neighborhood. And I read about chicha, a mashup of rock and traditional music from the Andes that inspired the decor at another hot spot near Drake.
In high school, I remember learning about the Italian Renaissance, when city-states like Florence and Venice prospered from new trade routes that brought in silk and spices from China and India. Centuries from now, maybe students will study the golden age of Des Moines, when its cosmopolitan citizens played Sutu, danced to chicha and guzzled OJ year-round. Eat your heart out, Marco Polo.
If you’re heading away for spring break, have a great time. And if you’re not, well, see what you can discover here in town. You’ll find some good leads in this issue.
