Postblog from Nebraska: Subtle Distinctiveness - and Food.

Though very much at home in Colorado, I am Nebraskan to my bones. Here’s one indication: at each stop during the past week’s road trip, the first thing I wanted to know was the temperature and the humidity, and whether there was a chance of thunderstorms. No one is more obsessed with weather than a Cornhusker. Driving across Missouri today, I also noted standing water in the fields and tried to ascertain the condition of the crops. Though I’ve never even planted a garden, it’s all about the crops when you’re from Nebraska.

Another indication has to do with sports awareness: while I have next to none, what little I do have is related to Nebraska University football. I almost instinctively know who they’re playing some weeks, and I secretly delight in their wins. I laugh at the big rivalry between NU and CU which exists only in the minds of Coloradoans. Ask any Nebraskan who their rival is and they’ll tell you it’s Oklahoma. Colorado is barely a spec on the radar. Of course the reorganization of the conferences (big 10? big 12?) has messed that all up, so Colorado will have to find some other pretend rivalry.

Nebraska is a quirky state and requires a different kind of appreciation. Anyone can “ooo” and “ahh” at the mountains – that’s so obvious.

The Cornhusker State is a place of more subtle distinctiveness. I felt it today as soon as I crossed the Missouri River from Iowa. As if on cue, bugs started to smash into my windshield at such a rate that the wiper fluid couldn’t keep up. Why are there so many more bugs here than in all those other states I visited?

I was barely into Lincoln before I came upon an Amigos restaurant. Amigos, a Nebraska based chain, is home to the cheese Frenchie, which used to be served at the old Kings restaurants. Let’s see, there’s also Runza for those unique enclosed sandwiches and fabulous fries, and Valentino’s pizza of course – I could just eat my way from Waverly to West O Street and back again.

Oh yes, and on a side note, Lincoln is also the capital city of Nebraska and home to many institutions of higher education.

But the food, really, is what I plan my visits around.