“Is this heaven?” Shoeless Joe Jackson asks in “Field of Dreams.”
“No,” Ray Kinsella replies. “It’s Iowa.”
I know the line – and the movie – are hokey. But I love them anyway because they touch on many things I love and value including the power of love and hope; having the faith and strength to follow your dreams, and, of course, the timeless redeeming power of baseball itself.
Iowa, of course, is a real place. It’s a state that was admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846, a fact honored by today’s #stampoftheday, a 3-cent stamp, issued in 1946 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Iowa becoming the nation’s 29th state.
The stamp has a simple design. The core is a map of showing the state’s borders. The state flag is in the center of the map and there are corn stalks on either side of the map. This strikes me as in keeping with the popular image of the state and its residents as direct and plainspoken people.
Meredith Wilson embraced that image in “Iowa Stubborn,” the first song in “The Music Man,” his great 1957 musical. Professor Harold Hill, who has just arrived is trying to engage with the residents of River City, who ultimately come together to tell him:
“Oh, there’s nothing halfway
About the Iowa way to treat you,
When we treat you,
Which we may not do at all!”
Of course, they also welcome him, in a manner of speaking, singing, at one point:
“But what the heck!
You’re welcome,
Join us at the picnic.
You can have your fill of all the food you bring yourself.
You really ought to give Iowa a try,
Provided you are contrary.”
I’ve never been to Iowa so I can’t separate its realities from its images. However, I have worked with several wonderful people who either grew up in, or spent some significant time in, the state. Between those people, “The Music Man,” and “Field of Dreams,” I have positive feelings for the state.
I’m fond of my “imaginary Iowa,” which is more the “Field of Dreams” than “The Music Man” (or any of the many other cultural, historical, political and literary references that could have shaped my views.). The Iowa I love is a place where people hear voices in the night that tell them to build baseball fields in cornfields and those field not only become populated by old baseball players, but also convey important life lessons.
It’s the Iowa where Moonlight Graham can say: “You know we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they are happening. Back then, I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that this was the only day.”
It’s also the Iowa that reminds us not to get too serious, albeit in a scene that takes place outside of Iowa, when, at a baseball game, Ray Kinsella asks Terence Mann: “So what do you want?”
Mann responds, “I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.”
“No,” Ray responds. “I mean what do you want?”
“Oh,” Mann says. “A hot dog and a beer.”
And, of course, it’s the Iowa where magic occurs when belief is strong.
“Is this heaven?” John Kinsella asks his son at the end of the movie.
“No,” Ray replies. “It’s Iowa.”
“Iowa?” John asks as he starts to walk away. “I could have sworn this was heaven.”
“Is there a heaven?” Ray asks.
“Oh yeah,” John replies. “It’s the place where dreams come true.”
Ray looks around, sees the field and his wife and daughter playing on the porch. Then he says, “Maybe this is heaven.”
Be well, stay strong, recognize the significant moments in your life, ask for what you want, fight for justice and work for peace.