In the spring and fall, Cedar Rapids in Iowa is a beautiful city.

A big river runs through the heart of downtown.

And in the middle of this river there is a small island.

On the island there is a courthouse and a little park.

It looks like this:

Back in 2004 I was walking laps round this island.  I was stressed out.

I had to decide if I was going to move to Iowa.

And I only had a few hours to think it over.

(If you missed the previous story that lead me to this moment, here it is.)

Earlier that day I had a meeting with the CEO of a big baseball company.

He asked me to move to Iowa to start a video focused website.

This was before YouTube existed.  Video on the internet wasn't common.

And I wasn't sure what to do.

Iowa was different than any place I had been.

And I didn't know a single person for a thousand miles.

The whole idea was scary.

So as I walked around the island in the middle of the river in Cedar Rapids, I decided I would say no.

Then I went back to the hotel got ready for dinner with the CEO Jerry.

I met him and his wife at a restaurant.

And as soon as I sat down he started talking about how awesome the website was going to be. 

He was excited and it was infectious.

Within five minutes I changed my mind.  I agreed to move to Iowa.

But I didn't have the slightest clue about what an adventure I was about to go on.

I'll explain in the next post.

Rick @ PosterBurner