a nomad's life

When I was in high school a friend of mine had a Chevy Nomad. I always thought it was a cool car and would love to have had one...maybe that was because I had lived a nomadic life.

I have lived all over the United States and have traveled extensively. I have often wondered how people could live in the same place their entire lives and what caused me even more wonderment is how some people could be so rooted to their home state that they never left, even on vacation.

I knew a girl that worked with me when I lived in St. Paul, Minnesota that had lived in St. Paul her entire life and had never left the state, not even to Wisconsin which was only 15 miles away.

A native of South Dakota, I was born in the small town of Lemmon in Perkins County, which had the closest hospital to Bison, the county seat, where my grandparents lived.

From birth I was destined to be on the move. My parents were students at Huron College in Huron, S.D. we lived until they graduated. My Dad then went to seminary at the University of Dubuque in Iowa.

While he was in seminary he had student preaching positions in Troy Grove, Illinois and Wabasso, Minnesota. We also lived in Indianola, Iowa while my Dad took classes at Iowa State.

After my Dad graduated from seminary we moved to Atkinson, Nebraska and lived there for approximately four years. He then joined the Army as a chaplain and we moved to Bison while he was in chaplain's school in New York.

We then moved to DeRidder, Louisiana for about seven months and then my Dad was sent to Vietnam. We moved to San Jose, California to live close to my Dad's younger brother.

When my Dad returned from overseas he was stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco where we lived for two plus years. When my Dad received orders for a second tour to Vietnam we moved to Bellevue, Washington and lived near my Mom's brother.

When my Dad returned, he was stationed at Fort Ord in Monterey, California. We were supposed to be there for three years but with the draw down in Vietnam my Dad was caught up in the reduction-in-forces and left active duty.

Being from the Midwest my parents decided to return there and my Dad accepted a church in Winona, Minnesota.

I graduated from high school in 1975 and went to Iowa State in Ames. College wasn't for me and I moved back to Winona in 1976. I later moved to Superior, Nebraska and Hastings, Nebraska for a short time. Then in 1978 I moved back to Winona after deciding to return to college, attending Winona State University.

After graduating I moved to Devils Lake, North Dakota and freelanced as a photographer with the local newspaper. I later moved to Grafton, North Dakota to a twice weekly newspaper and then to Jamestown, North Dakota to a daily newspaper.

Being the nomad I moved to Oakdale, Minnesota and then to St. Paul proper and in 1986 moved to Dexter, Iowa to work at the newspaper in Adel. While still working in Adel I moved again this time to Earlham.

In 1988 I moved to Carroll, Iowa and my life as a nomad ended. I have lived here or 21 years. It is the longest that I have lived anywhere.

If you have been keeping track I have lived in 25 towns some of them multiple different times in my life. I won't even go into the number of different addresses I've had. From kindergarten to high school I went to nine schools in eight states.

If you are really into math that is 25 towns in 31 years or a different town every 1.24 years. I turn 52 this year and if I had not put down roots in Carroll 21 years ago I would now be at 64.48 towns based on moving to a different town every 1.24 years.

Glad I decided to settle in Carroll.