Baker's heartbeat

On the left is me, Deirdre Cox, and it's the 1976 senior high school photo.  At right is a young Dixie Cox, with my Auntie Lucille and mother, Barbara Cox.      There is a place of higher learning in St. George, Utah called "Dixie State University." It was given the name in 1911 because former Confederate slave owners and slave drivers from the Deep South settled in this part of Utah in the late 1800's and grew cotton.          It seems Dixie State graduates in the 21st century are having trouble finding jobs after graduating from the university, partly on account of its name. The university's trustees have recently voted to study a name change but no timetable for change has been set.      I saw that news item in the New York Times  and sighed.     My nickname is "Dixie" and I am 63 years old. My father, Emery Cox, gave me the nickname in 1957 after I was born. My given name is "Deirdre" and he was afraid I'd grow up and people would call

       Kirstin, Baby Myla and Gage Rodewald, at Thanksgiving. Me, Myla and Kirstin in an "all-girls' photo."      The month of November was darn quiet among the Baker family, especially as two grandchildren tested positive for COVID-19.     The tests were made known shortly before Thanksgiving. Rather than the 16-18 folks we normally host on the holiday we had 2.5 guests. These were daughter Kirstin, son-in-law Gage  and Myla, almost two years old.     This reality was in step with most Americans, it seems. Those we know, and others we read about, all had an unusually small holiday gathering.     November started as it always does, with a birthday. Steve turned 70 years old and we safely celebrated at a Bettendorf establishment called Sports Fans Pizza. Jill and Kevin Hansen joined us; Steve's daughter Teiah and husband Mike were in quarantine that day.     That same week we elder Bakers got new driver's licenses. This was a complicated affair, made more so by the

       That's me on Twitter, as seen from this MacBook Air.      After 2007 -- when Twitter became a popular form of cyber communication -- we journalists in the newspaper world were heartily encouraged to sign up.           Sign up, we did, en masse, as it was a great way to promote your stories to a wide online audience.     I did this in 2009, as did many others in the newsroom. So it was kind of shocking a few weeks ago when Twitter suddenly disappeared from my six-month-old  iPhone (although it still exists on my new Mac).        I had to restart it on the cell phone and Twitter now thinks I never existed.     This is a pain. I had some 670 followers which had been built up over the years when I was a journalist.       How is one supposed to re-build? Should it even be tried?     I have given myself a couple of weeks to think about this. It is still an app on the phone, but there is no profile picture and no followers.       Trying to think of adding anything approaching the h

    Steve, me and Kirstin at a 2018 Iowa State football game.      Iowa State football fans are in uncharted, heady territory as accomplishments pile up for the 2020 team:            *  It is currently Number 6 in College Football Playoff rankings, the highest football ranking in Iowa State Cyclones history.     * The Cyclones beat Texas in a come-from-behind win, and beat  Oklahoma at home. This is the first time Iowa State has defeated both the Longhorns and the Sooners the same season. It is also the first time in 40 years that the Cyclones beat Oklahoma at home in Ames, Iowa.     * It is on a five-game winning streak, including, most recently, a 42-6 pasting of West Virginia.     * Are led by quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Breece Hall, both of whom are experiencing career-best years.     * Have an exciting offense and stalwart defense, with a team that so far has taken on challenges with a  serious attitude. The Cyclones have managed to avoid being affected badly by the o

     Pork Tenders with Corn Salsa, from "Cooking for Two" by JoAnna Lund.      My husband and I will be married 33 years at the end of this month and for 99 percent of this time, he's been the Chief Cook and I have been the Bottle Washer.     I happily clean up, most anytime and anything. Steve loves to cook, watches several shows on the Food Network, and slowly browses the aisles when in grocery stores. His interest in food is several times higher than mine. In fact, his grandmother had a restaurant at one time in Wilton, Iowa.     Several weeks ago he announced he's a bit tired of cooking. Well! It is 2020, a year where we have been home for a record number of days. After hem-hawing for some time, and listening to comments from my spouse on needing a break, I finally looked up my cookbooks (yes, I own several!).     I settled on "Cooking for Two" by JoAnna Lund, a Healthy Exchanges cookbook out of DeWitt, Iowa.           So far this is the best thing I'