“When a perfect stranger smiles at you and says hello, it means they are either insane or American”. This was a semi-humorous quote I heard when I lived in Stockholm during the 1990s among the very private and often emotionally-distant Swedes. On the other hand, Kearney, NE represents the complete opposite of the above view of life. I realized I had landed in a special place from the moment I arrived in this charming town of 31,000 people and was greeted with a smile and door held open by a patron who was just leaving the restaurant I was about to enter.
During the next forty-eight hours I was able to meet and talk with a number of people who live and work in Kearney and who each embodied a sense of friendliness and warmth. More importantly they projected a feeling of contentment with life in Kearney and its surrounds – a sense that individuals and families had found the right place to live and settle down.
For example I met Woody at the colorfully-named and colorfully-decorated “Chug a Lug Sports Bar” on the east side of town. He had been raised in a town nearby before joining the Navy and serving during the Vietnam era in Japan and the Far East. After his period of service was over, rather than re-enlist and see more of the world he informed his superiors that he wanted to return to Kearney because he felt it to be a great place to raise a family. Woody has been a Huskers season ticket holder since 1993, and he recalls his favorite memory of the team as being from 1994 when Nebraska beat Colorado 24-7 in front of 76,000 fans in Lincoln. He recalls walking towards the stadium an hour before kickoff and hearing the roar of the crowd who were already getting excited for the game. As a comparatively recent convert (2001) to Big Red football, I had been unaware of the history of rivalry between the two teams but Woody recounted a story from that day to illustrate the point.
Since he was early to the game, he stood for a little while outside the stadium where he witnessed the following exchange between a ticket seller in the street and a Colorado fan.
“Have you got any tickets?”
“Yeah, I have this one for $300”
“$300! That’s way too much. You’re just setting that price because I’m a Colorado fan!”
“Nope, it’s $300. Take it or leave it.”
The Colorado fan walked away without buying, head hung low in dejection. Then a Nebraska fan in a red shirt approached the ticket seller.
“Have you got any tickets?”
“Yeah, I have this one for $100”
The articulate Woody also summarized his view of the principles that should guide Nebraska fans: “You represent the State of Nebraska when you’re at a game”, and in response to games such as last week’s heart-breaking loss to BYU: “If you can’t lose with class, it diminishes both you and your program.”
Later that evening I had the opportunity to meet a number of employees of one of the largest companies in Kearney, who had gathered to say farewell to my friend Vinay as he prepared to change jobs and move to Seattle after 5 years in the warm embrace of Kearney. Several of the older guys reported relocating to the area some 30 years ago and finding the streets and stores eerily deserted during a Huskers game. Kevin recalled walking through a mall in the nearby larger town of Grand Island and hearing the radio broadcast of the game over the mall’s PA system (presumably to compensate those poor souls who due to some urgent situation at home had no choice but to make a hurried trip to the mall while the game was on).
It is indeed a special time of year in Nebraska. For Woody, Fall is his favorite time of year thanks to the harvest being completed, the opening of hunting seasons for pheasant and deer, Big Red football and the pleasant weather. Summarizing his Fall contentment with a line of poetry he quoted: “Then, if ever, come perfect days.”
Even after only two days in Kearney, I could not agree more.