Jonathan Meyer.

Only a few times in the history of this column have I mentioned the impact COVID had on a young impressionable Jonathan Meyer. For all the terrible things the pandemic brought, I did my best to see the positives. While not a lot was going well on a large scale, I spent my newfound time off school, life, and really any societal responsibilities at all, to learn new life skills.

Did I learn these “new life skills” alone? Of course not. My good friend Mitch Knock, taught me new things and shaped who I am now.

My relationship with Mitch started when a few football guys decided to go out for the cross country team in the fall of my freshman year of high school. An exciting win for our then growing cross country team, however I couldn’t help feeling threatened. I suppose jealousy and being territorial riddles the mind of a fourteen year old boy.

After getting over myself pretty quickly, I discovered I really enjoyed hanging out with Mitch. He had an affection for doing the extreme. We both ran our first ever 10-miler together eventually. While not something I consider to be extreme now, at the time that was a huge accomplishment. Our pre-pandemic friendship was based around running, trips to Menards, and pursuing the extreme.

When that unfortunate day in March, 2020 came, I took a few weeks to be isolated and reset socially from what were the waning months of my Sophomore year of high school. When I realized I needed social interaction I entered a new kind of quarantine, being in the country and traveling in a truck alongside Mitch.

I remember the phone call I made, “Hey Mitch, would you help me build a pull-up bar for my backyard?” Without hesitation, we made it happen, taking full advantage of cheap lumber at the time. Soon we were doing physical challenges based around different running and calisthenics exercises. When we got bored of that, we decided it was time to isolate in a different way… camping.

Loading the back of Mitch’s truck with shelving and different mats, we had a full living arrangement on wheels. Packing food, water, and a few backpacks with essentials, we set off. Our adventures were mainly out in North-Eastern Iowa. Exploring Dubuque’s beautiful scenery and eventually taking a few days at Backbone State Park.

Lucky for us, my aunt and uncle live out that way on a beautiful country acreage. We would park our mobile living quarters by the pond or down next to a shed and have an easy night of camping in Clayton County.

A favorite story from this series of truck camping was when my aunt wandered out to our “campsite” and mentioned that there had been a few recent bear sightings in the area. While she valued our safety, I like to think she trusted us to protect the homestead and defend her against any form of bear harassment. We unfortunately/fortunately didn’t encounter any bears that night. Our improvised bear calls must’ve asserted enough dominance to keep our furry friends away.

Another great adventure was an attempt at rock climbing inside a state park. At this point in my life, understanding the faucets of legit rock climbing was a bit beyond my 15 year old capacity. After bickering like two brothers or maybe an old couple, Mitch undid our ropes and we packed up before a quiet ride home. We made up in the isles of Scheels, a place of great reverence in our summer of extreme sports and adventure.

What leads me to bring these stories up, is a phone call Mitch shot my way last week. With life getting busy and Mitch attending college out West, we naturally went our own ways. It was great taking a few hours to catch up and reflect on our “extreme” musings from those teenage years. My dear friend has taken up many more dangerous/adventurous hobbies out in the mountains, some of which I’m eager to try out for myself.

I credit much of my curiosity and adventurousness to Mitch’s “older brother” type of guidance all those years ago. I appreciate him taking those “off months” to shape me into a more well rounded human and showing me that the world is much bigger than Tama-Toledo.

Until my next adventure with Mitch, I’m Just Jonathan.

Jonathan Meyer is a 2022 STC graduate who currently attends Wartburg College. With passion for his community, Jonathan continues to serve as a correspondent and columnist with the News-Chronicle. Just Jonathan was recognized in the 2024 Iowa Newspaper Association’s Master Columnist competition.