Is Nerbraska Purdy?

This morning I was in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was at a truck stop getting fuel, and a ole' boy fueling his local delivery truck in the next bay walks up to me, and asks, "Hey, is Nerbraska purdy?"

I answered, "sure, Nerbraska is purdy alright!"

When I am out on the road, my truck and trailer have several "markers" that indicate that we're based in Nebraska, and I really do try and represent Nebraska in a good way. I try not and flip anyone off, although Lord knows, lots of folks deserve it! I try and be extremely polite, although some of you who read my blogs, may find that hard to believe. Good driving is not only a good idea, it is the best way to get home alive.

When folks ask about Nebraska, I tell them about our wonderful towns, about the super highways, and the fantastic people. One guy in North Carolina tried to give me a hard time about the Cornhuskers. "That sure is a goofy name." Oh yeah? What about the Tar Heels?

A while back, we were in New Hampshire, loading some really remarkable slabs of black marble, and the couple that ran the quarry asked where we lived, and after I told them, the woman says, "We like it out west. Last summer we went out west for vacation."

I says, "great, where did you go?"

She says, "We went to Ohio."

Hummm. I guess to them, Ohio is "out west".

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One time we had unloaded in Washington DC, and we had to reload in West Virginia, a mere 170 miles from DC. We stopped at a small mom and pop cafe just inside the West Virginia border. The very nice couple fixed us the equivalent of a home cooked meal, and during our visit, I brought up our trip to Washington DC. This couple had lived in this West Virginia town all of their lives...and had never been to Washington DC, three or so hours away.

It is not that unusual I guess, I met a guy in Yakima Washington, in his fifties, and he had never gone over the mountain (Snoqualmie Pass) to Seattle. I find that incredible. Seattle, although a liberal haven, is still one of the most stunning cities in the world, and Puget Sound is breath taking, and the guy had never taken the time to go see it.

I don't know, maybe some of you have never been out of the county. To each his own, but this is sure a beautiful country. I wonder how many folks from our area have never been to Omaha or Kansas City? I have met people in Salt Lake City that have never been to see the spectacular Arches or Monument Valley in Southern Utah. How could you pass that up?

Get out of the house folks. See the country. You won't be disappointed. And, if some ole southern boy asks ya, "Is Nerbraska purdy?" You can brag a bit.