Nebraska

Remember that cousin of mine that I talked about some time ago, the one that was moving here because she apparently likes Nebraska legislature? Well, she’s here and my worst nightmare actually came true – she asked me oh-so-innocently about Nebraska legislature. Which I really did not know about, nor understand. Thankfully, Wesley the genius is smart enough to know what she’s talking about, so I was rescued from the horror of having to talk about Nebraska legislature. But I know that this is not the end of this, and I would probably have to gather some knowledge regarding Nebraska legislature unless I want to avoid her for the rest of my life.

Luckily, I believe that there is an online resource that allows us all access to Nebraska legislature so we could be as up-to-date when it comes to bills and resolutions as lawyers and politicians. Hopefully, however, I would be able to fully understand what the heck Nebraska legislature is trying to say, as I have this very bad history of taking the language of Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you who are reading this and are surprised, don’t be. I never said that I was done talking about Nebraska sports, and that’s probably because my brothers (blood related or otherwise) cannot stop themselves from talking about the Nebraska Cornhuskers. My case in point would be this morning, when I woke up to them reminiscing about – of all things – the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.

Now, I have nothing at all against the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. In fact, it is a source of great pride for me when, back in December 2006, ESPN and ESPN2 viewers selected the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers team as the greatest team in the history of college football. It’s another source of pride to be chalked up by the state and especially by the University of Nebraska, what with the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers team being chosen as the best collegiate football team of all time. But to hear men being nostalgic about things like the 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers when it’s obviously too Read the rest of this entry »

We hit Elkhorn Nebraska next during our game, and I found it amusing that we did considering that Elkhorn isn’t even a city of Douglas County anymore. I remember that much because the Elkhorn Nebraska thing was such a big annexation issue back in 2005, and my parents tend to like talking about big changes like that. In any case, what used to be the city of Elkhorn Nebraska is now the neighborhood of Elkhorn Nebraska, part of Omaha City – effective March 2007, if I’m not wrong.

Elkhorn Nebraska is nevertheless a very interesting place to visit (and since it’s part of Omaha now, I’m pretty sure that I could visit that place when I do visit Lily – even without the road trip), if only to look at an area that has lost its municipality status because it didn’t have enough citizens in its territory. I’m sure that it could still be easily mistaken for a city; a lot of places like Elkhorn Nebraska are that way after all.

Read the rest of this entry »

In an attempt to distract Sammy from the chaos (which now apparently included my father, who has started to threaten everyone with a shotgun if they won’t shut up about who the greatest Nebraska rival really is), I told the boy to ignore grandpa’s shouting and play the game with me. He pouted a bit, but was happy enough to throw the darts at the map again. It took us almost an hour trying to hit a new city (and within the borders of the map) before we landed in Lexington Nebraska.

Lexington, Nebraska is the county seat of Dawson County in Southern Nebraska. It used to be one of the stops of the Pony Express, and we suppose the legacy lives on in a way, as Lexington Nebraska still stands next to a major highway – Route 30 – as well as the Union Pacific Railroad. Lexington Nebraska is home to the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles, which we think is wicked cool for a non-profit organization that is dependent on donations. The town of Lexington Read the rest of this entry »

I was hoping that I would be able to let go of the topic of Nebraska and sports and the ensuing arguments, and my sister just had to bring up the subject of Nebraska rivals while we were having a snack with Sammy. And she had to do it in front of my brothers (blood-related and otherwise) who happened to visit us for a bit so they could hand over some of their old clothes for my nephew. Naturally, a rant about Nebraska rivals (at the top of the list, of course, is the rivalry with Oklahoma, which caused that blitz I mentioned a few posts ago) ensued and voices were raised and I had to take Sammy out of the room before he got involved.

That, however, did not stop me from being curious about the entire argument, so I tried to look “Nebraska Rivals” up on the internet, and wouldn’t you know it? I learned very little. Apparently you need to be a complete Nebraska sports fan to understand who gets to be the Nebraska rivals. And I don’t claim to be a complete sports fan at all, in the sense that I don’t Read the rest of this entry »

I realized that lately, I’ve been talking a lot about things that pertain or are related to Nebraska sports. Then again, I really shouldn’t be so surprised. Nebraska sports seem to be an incredibly important part of the culture and pride of the state of Nebraska. Especially among the men in our homes, but I’m not even going to pretend that the women aren’t as excited about Nebraska sports seasons as the women are. To some, such as myself, I watch Nebraska sports for the spectacle of struggle, the proud stories of achievement. To others, it is a means of identification – through Nebraska sports, we are all heroes and winners by association. Of course, Donna cheekily point out that by association, we could all be losers as well, but I ignore that comment.

I ignore that comment because I know that Nebraska sports is a serious matter, and it has created for the state of Nebraska the identitity of physical supremacy. Of course, this is mainly based on the performances of the collegiate Read the rest of this entry »

After I got Sammy to bed – he really is an angel once you get him to stop vibrating with excitement – I went downstairs and had some coffee with Donna. We hadn’t gotten around to talking all that much, what with her running a business from home and me trying to keep all the children (minors and otherwise, including myself) in line. But as we sat there and talked, the conversation amusingly turned to Nebraska wrestling. And when I say Nebraska wrestling, I mean the serious sport of wrestling and not at all that travesty of a show they put on television with all its drugs and plots and heroes and villains. Nebraska wrestling, like many of the sports here in Nebraska, is taken very seriously, and is held in pretty high regard.

In any case, Donna was saying that she was wondering if we should get Samuel into Nebraska wrestling instead of Nebraska football, as enough of our friends and family have gone insane over that. I replied that despite the lesser Read the rest of this entry »

The city that we hit for the second round of the game (before we could convince Samuel to go to sleep so he wouldn’t be tired tomorrow) took much longer to hit. Forty minutes worth of attempts finally yielded us a city, and I just couldn’t help but be excited over this because we hit America’s Heart City. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Valentine Nebraska (which I wish I hit last week in Valentine’s Day).

Valentine, Nebraska is the county seat of Cherry County Nebraska and is considered one of the best wilderness areas you can find. In fact, it was National Geographic Adventure Magazine (the issue called 50 Best Places to Live and Play) that had declared Valentine Nebraska one of the top ten wilderness towns and cities in September 2007. I’m not surprised, considering that the tallest falls in Nebraska, Smith Falls, and the largest falls in Nebraska, Snake Falls, are just a few miles away from Valentine Nebraska. Now, I may not be a complete nature nut, but I’m still a big fan of nature and I’d be more Read the rest of this entry »

Like I said before, I created a monster in my nephew when I taught him the game, the one that involved the map of Nebraska and a few darts. So obviously, Sammy refused to go to bed until we’ve finished a couple of more rounds of the game before he’s willing to sleep tonight. His mother’s pretty much given up, but I’ find myself delighted. It took him just five tries before we hit Alliance Nebraska on the map, and here is what we found to write about it.

Alliance, Nebraska is the county seat of Butte Box County Nebraska. It used to be a town called Grand Lake, but it was renamed in 1888 for the purpose of making it more appealing to businessmen – as at that point the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was built to reach the area. And many (including myself) believe this to be a good move, as Alliance Nebraska is informally regarded as a city that has the coolest name in Nebraska. As far as reasons to visit goes, there are many interesting things to find in Alliance Nebraska. One of the features I would like to visit when I do go onto that road Read the rest of this entry »

After I woke up, brushed away the dead warbler that felt like it had been laid to rest on my tongue and nursed my hangover for most of the morning with the aid of my special blend of energy drinks and a greasy breakfast, I finally felt that I am worthy to show my face to the rest of the family. Strangely enough, it was Samuel who didn’t recoil in fear; instead he insisted that playing the game would make me feel much better. So up to the room we went, and after thirty tries, Samuel hit Seward Nebraska.

Seward Nebraska is the county seat of Seward County – Sammy insisted that them having the same name is laziness, and I just had to laugh. In any case, Seward Nebraska is best visited in the Fourth of July, because they have the most massive celebration of that holiday that you could ever hope to see. The entire community of Seward, Nebraska is in on the production of this tribute to the United States of America. Trust me, I know about this because Dad drove me and my Read the rest of this entry »