Rolling its Way from One Century into Another

Last year, in 2016, Navy Pier marked its centennial, and for the occasion, launched some refurbished amenities, including a new Ferris Wheel.

For the occasion of my birthday recently, I decided to go to Navy Pier to ride the new Ferris Wheel (please see picture above), since the adult ticket prices are reduced a tad from November-March, and I could enjoy a warm ride inside the climate-controlled cars on what was a rather cool/cold day on March 16.  And it also seemed fitting to celebrate the day I was born in Chicago by going to an attraction that is a kind of Chicago icon, as it hearkens back to the Ferris Wheel at World's Columbian Exposition.

It was a nice ride, with some good views at the top.  On that day, there were clear skies in Chicago, so I got a fine view of the Lake Michigan waters all the way to the horizon, as well as the skyscrapers (please see pictures below).

I rode around three times, stopping periodically when new riders boarded cards behind me.  It was certainly an enhanced experience from the other Ferris Wheel that moved slower and had open-air cars--but the previous one was nice, too.

The Ferris Wheel car

As I reflect, I think of the many fond memories I have at Navy Pier, for at one point in my life, I would go there at least once a year.  While there are opportunities for some shopping and enjoying a variety of good food at the various restaurants there, it's also nice to be able to walk right into Navy Pier without paying admission and just walk around by the waters of Lake Michigan, which is what I like about it most.  And I think that's what makes it an enjoyable Chicago attraction for me.

Navy Pier also used to have a brick-and-mortar location of my favorite store, the Alamo Flag Company.  Every time I went to Navy Pier, I would stop there to buy something like a new flag, or a new US state pin to add to my collection.  With a good deal of dismay did I dash over there one day to discover it had been replaced without warning by a Garrett's Popcorn shop.

But still there's plenty of nice things to do there.  The Crystal Garden makes for a lovely setting to pass the time with a meal purchased in the food court.  They also once set up a temporary mini-golf course there, in addition to the outside course.

And I have enjoyed some delightful plays at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, ranging from The Wizard of Oz to The Comedy of Errors.

And then there were those summer evenings I would go with my high school church youth group to watch the fireworks display.  On one particularly memorable summer evening, we watched a fireworks display compete with a thunderstorm that started right before the time the fireworks were set to go off.  Surprisingly, the fireworks still deflagrated despite the storm.  It was an amazing scene to watch.

I also reflected as I watched a WTTW-PBS program on Navy Pier, per the occasion of its centennial, which the brilliant Geoffrey Baer hosted, which aired back in October.  It was interesting to see how many different uses it has had over the past century, and how recently, there were so many efforts to rejuvenate it as a tourist attraction.  Personally, I never felt like it was all that bad before.  It has always been one of my favorite Chicago attractions for being a place just to amble around, with some great amenities to enjoy.  And I hope to continue enjoying it, just as the grand new Ferris Wheel shall keep on turning to give people the chance to take in the fine views.

Thanks to fellow Navy Pier visitors who took the picture above of me at the end of the pier, and the one below before a sign marking Navy Pier's centennial.

All Hail the Queen on PBS

The trailers caught my attention, and it was from them that I first learned about a new PBS Masterpiece show, Victoria, telling the story of Britain's 2nd longest reigning queen, whose rule dominated the 19th Century.

I'm fairly interested in historical stories displayed in a drama format, and so I decided I would make a point to watch this show, starting on January 15 in a Daytona Beach hotel suite overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

I found myself enraptured from the start.  In fact, the arrival of end of the episode, especially towards the beginning of the series, would catch me off guard, as I would find myself wanting more.

It was amazing to watch Victoria accede to the throne in her late teens, and rise to the role bestowed upon her, even as other forces tried to take charge of this young woman, especially when it came to finding a husband.  The relationship she developed with Albert went on a bumpy road, yet somehow their romance came together in holy matrimony.  And then Albert, who came across as rather subdued and passive, had to find a way to fit into his role, overshadowed by Queen Victoria--with all her paperwork--as Lord Melbourne faded into the shadows.  It was a striking scene to see his speech at the anti-slavery meeting, and it was masterful to include that in the show.  Another favorite scene of mine was seeing him ride the train toward the end of the season, feeling the immense thrill of a burgeoning technology, even while I, as a major train enthusiast, shared in the thrill of watching him ride.

I was drawn in by Lord Melbourne, played by actor Rufus Sewell, who played Thomas Clarkson in Amazing Grace.  In this show, Lord Melbourne certainly served as a major driving force, and he was one of many characters who piqued my interest in the sequence of events in British history that drove me to start Googling various historical figures in the British government, as well as figures from other royal houses in Europe that figured prominently into the story of Victoria.  This was also the first time I've watched any kind of program starring Jenna Coleman, who I think makes for a fine actress.  I was particularly intrigued by one scene when she was just waking up one morning, her hair down, and looking so fresh as she suddenly decided she wanted to go to her other palace.

And the costumes amazed me, especially the regal outfits worn at the parties, and the especially regal vestments at the coronation and wedding ceremonies.

It's just like that grand song that starts each show, "Gloriana"/"Hallelujah", or whatever it's supposed to be.  I'm already looking forward to hearing that song start up the new season, and seeing how much of her life story the next season will cover, as the first season definitely got me interested in a remarkable story.  While Queen Elizabeth II surpassed Victoria as the longest-reigning British monarch not too long ago, I think this story has much to offer us as we consider the person behind the monarchs who dominate long stretches of British history.

On the Quarter-Millennium of Andrew Jackson

It was 250 years ago this day, on March 15, 1767, that Andrew Jackson was born, in the Waxhaw area, so close to the North Carolina-South Carolina border that both states claim his birthplace.

He would eventually move out west to Tennessee and rise through the political ranks to attain the presidency of the United States.

He overcome many difficulties in his rise to prominence.  At age 13, in the midst of the American Revolutionary War, he was captured.  When he refused to polish the boots of his captor, the British officer wielded a sword and slashed his face, leaving a permanent scar.  He is the only president who was once a prisoner-of-war.

He eventually came to be an army officer himself, gaining fame through his victory over the British in the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815, which happened after the Treaty of Ghent was signed ending the conflict.

He certainly got in the crossfire of intense mudslinging when running for president, with accusations coming from his critics about the circumstances surrounding the start of his marriage relationship with his wife--and the stress from enduring those accusations led to her untimely death.

When he entered the office of President, he set out to establish a populist atmosphere in the country.  He started by opening to the public a reception at the White House after his inauguration, complete with a giant ball of cheese, which turned into total chaos when the people made a mess, and he had to flee the White House.

He then tried to empower the common people more, with one of the notable efforts being his terminating the national bank, but that led to financial chaos after he left office.

I remember in my US history class in high school, I had an essay assignment to write one whether or not I felt that Andrew Jackson deserved to be on the $20 bill.

I don't remember too much of that essay, but I recognize despite his great strides to empower the common people, Andrew Jackson botched some things, and was tainted by being a slaveholder and the treatment of Native Americans taking a turn for the worst during his administration.

The talk as of late with President Trump's entrance into office heralding a new sense of populism, but it's been a bit of a bumpy road.

I guess when someone comes in to try to empower the people anew, things get a bit rough.  But I guess that's just part of the democratic experience of the US Republic, that things won't always go smoothly.  Yet somehow, this government of the people still manages to make things work.

Openness, to the Glory of God

It's the Jewish holy day of Purim.  The story of the Jews defending themselves against their enemies strikes a relevant tone with recent news headlines including stories about anti-Semitism.

These headlines and the occasion at hand remind me of the debt I owe to the Jewish people for making strong my faith in Christ.

As I have written before on this blog in reflecting on my extraordinary experience at Julian Middle School, I can only recall knowing one Jewish person and her family before middle school.  When I got to Julian, that number jumped astronomically.  It seemed I met another Jew among my new friends and classmates every time I turned a corner.  And they talked so openly and naturally about being Jewish.  The exposure gave me an opportunity to become more familiar with Jews.  This was happening at a time when I was getting greater exposure to the diversity of peoples that Oak Park is renowned for.

The openness of the Jews I interacted with caused me to turn inwardly and reflect on who I am.  It caused me to turn from lukewarm to deeper appreciation of who I am, especially as defined by my Christian faith and relationship with God.  I say this especially in light of the reality that the Jewish people were the first God called into a relationship with Himself, and they were the foundation upon which Christ built the church, which I give thanks to God that I am part of.

The story told in the Biblical book of Esther relates that Mordecai told his cousin Esther, who he raised, to keep her background a secret when she entered the palace.  He then told her to open up about her background before King Xerxes when her people's lives were at stake.

As an aside, there's one detail in the story that speaks to Lent, in that Esther recognizing the stakes were high to go before King Xerxes uninvited, and so requested a fast before she approached King Xerxes.  In this time of Lent, before celebrating the Paschal Triduum, we recognize the seriousness of how sin has damaged our relationship with God, and so we fast that we may enter more deeply into a
relationship with Him.

In great courage--one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit--did she approach King Xerxes.  She found favor in his eyes, and he worked to spare the Jews throughout the Persian Empire.  Then Mordecai was given an honored position in the government.

Thinking about my own experience in middle school, I am thankful for the Jews I interacted with who were so open about who they were.  That has helped me be open about faith, and embrace it as an important part of my life.

So as the Jews celebrate this occasion, rejoicing that God spared them from their enemies in Persia, I stand with the Jews and thank God for using them so wondrously in my life for His Glory.

Addressing the Addresses

Over the course of the past couple of months, there have been important speeches.

First was Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner's 2017 annual State of the State Address on January 25.  Then came his 2017 annual budget address on February 15.  (The highlighted links are to transcripts of both speeches.)

As befits a businessman, his speeches were both heavily focused on creating jobs, as well as making the Illinois state government more efficient with the aim of reducing the budget problems, ending the impasse, and putting the state in a position to prosper.

One thing that struck me in his State of the State Address was how he addressed the crisis of violent crime in Chicago, saying the remedy is to make more jobs available to give people something meaningful to do.

I noticed many references to making Illinois state government more efficient, especially in moving files into the digital realm.  And he also talked about the formation of public-private partnerships to more efficiently accomplish tasks, like roadwork on I-55.

It was also notable how many people he brought attention to, and acknowledged sitting in the gallery, especially throughout his State of the State Address, who demonstrate the kind of success that is possible in the state of Illinois, once the government gets in shape to make Illinoisans prosper, once a budget is in place, which took up much of the State of the State Address.

In his budget address, he made clear that Illinois is in a financial crisis, stifling growth that could otherwise take place, yet is poised to make a deal that will put things back into good standing again.  Much of the investments he suggested are about the big goal of fostering job growth, including education and transportation infrastructure.  It's clear that he sees the opportunity at hand to craft a budget that doesn't have to add to the burden taxpayers already face.  His take on Abraham Lincoln's quote, "It's time to think and act anew" in light of the current situation is well-put.

Then, in the waning hours of February 2017 came President Donald Trump's Address to a Joint Session of Congress--see the link for NPR's transcript.

I was struck by a distinct tone right away, with a strong focus on enhancing the United States of America.  The speech heavily emphasized how to improve the economy as a means of making the United States prosper.  And it was that topic that I sense colored everything else he discussed in the address, like crime, military spending, health care, and, most prominently I feel, immigration, which is probably his biggest issue of concern.  I heard some kind of noise mixed in with the applause on his statement about building a wall along the southern border, noise that I'm sure could have been booing of disapproval.  He even then underscored issues with immigrants with a criminal record by introducing the family members in the House gallery of people who had been murdered by immigrants who were in this country without proper status, and had committed crimes before those murders.

One thing that really struck me was how he looked ahead to the 250 year anniversary of US independence, and saying how it will be a time when the people of the USA will be prosperous, and will look back to this time, the election of Donald Trump and the start of his administration, as the time when that process of prosperity began.

The few commentators I heard noted that this was the first time Donald Trump truly rose to the occasion and came off as presidential.  I sensed that in his introductions of the various people in the House gallery and sharing their stories.

I was intrigued by the Democratic response to the address, given by former Kentucky Governor Steve Bashear, who was in a Lexington, KY, diner, surrounded by people with whom he had just watched the address.  It's clear from the remarks he made that any proposals to resolve the big issues of our time are double-edged swords, especially given all the negative comments on Twitter about Mr. Bashear's performance as governor.  It's going to take some good hard conversation to arrive at a reasonable solution that will do the most good.

So let the conversation keep flowing so we can get some meaningful action going.

A Desi-tennial

The world was really jazzed up 100 years ago this day when Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born.

He's better known as Desi Arnaz.  And I, like many others, know him best through his portrayal of Ricky Ricardo, the husband of Lucy Ricardo, on the TV show I Love Lucy.

He was an extraordinary person in the world of performing arts, especially for being the right-hand man of the "Queen of Comedy"--would that make him like Princes Albert or Phillip, a Prince Consort?  There was no shortage of opportunities for him to display his musical prowess on I Love Lucy, with all the numbers he performed with the band at the Tropicana, and in other places, too, like Europe, where he got to meet Queen Elizabeth II.  Certainly among his most well known was Babalu, which is one I really enjoy.  While it appears in snippets in various episodes, it appears full-length in the episode when the Ricardos and Mertzes go to Havanna to visit Ricky's family, and then Ricky and Little Ricky perform "Babalu" together.  He has quite a voice for the wide variety of songs he sings.

He offered a nice Hispanic flair to a US sitcom.  It's pretty classy when he fires off a round of fast-paced Spanish.  And then there's the way he pronounces words with his Hispanic accent, like "sperience" for experience, "fis-a-kee-a-trist" for psychiatrist, and "dipsy fishing" for deep-sea fishing.

It's amazing to see how well he handled all of Lucy's craziness, and sometimes got sucked into crazy situations like when he waited so long to stop while on their road trip to California that they were forced to have a dinner of stale cheese sandwiches and sleep in the crummiest of cabins.  His days in Hollywood certain provided many unforgettable moments, as did the bets he and Fred entered into with Lucy and Ethel, which drive them to dress like it's the Gay 90's, and scramble to find a good hiding spot in their Florida hotel for a big fish.

Indeed, he made for some great company with Lucy, and so that makes today's occasion a memorable one indeed.

150 for Nebraska: "Oh Yeah!"

It’s time for yet another momentous occasion, with the sesquicentennial of Nebraska, which became a state on March 1, 1867.

I have a certain fondness for Nebraska because a few years ago, I went on a mission/service trip there, which was one of the most profound experiences of my life.  My group went to the St. Augustine Mission in Winnebago, on the Winnebago Reservation in the northeast part of Nebraska, which is a rather hilly area.  (Futher to the northwest in Nebraska is the Santee Sioux Reservation.)  The mission serves the spiritual needs of people on the Winnebago and neighboring Omaha Reservations, with its church and parochial school.  It was founded over a century ago by St. Mother Katharine Drexel, who founded many such church missions for African-Americans an aboriginal Native Americans.  St. Augustine is one of a few sites in the United States associated with a canonized saint.

It serves an important need to help provide a good quality of life for the aboriginal people there, who have been through much devastation for many decades.  Among the notable efforts they have undertaken, they teach the Ho-Chunk language to their school students.  While there, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Ho-Chunk language class, which was taught in part by a fine young adult named Tunny, who at the time, as I recall, was a student at the nearby Little Priest Tribal College.

There are churches that are part of the St. Augustine Mission in other nearby towns:  Macy has the Our Lady of Fatima (Roman) Catholic Worship Center.  St. Joseph is in Walthill, which also has a senior center that serves some fabulous food, according to what a Bureau of Indian Affairs employee told me who goes there with some frequency for a good, hot meal.

Speaking of hot, the majority of people in our group experienced some extreme heat in Rosalie, where we participated in a traditional Sweat Lodge ceremony, held in the backyard of a fine man named Nate, who hosts the ceremony every Wednesday at 6:30 PM.  Participating in that ceremony was one of the most extraordinarily profound experiences of my life.

For many years, Father Dave Korth served St. Augustine as its mission director.  During that time, he learned how to play the flute, and made three CD recordings as a way to raise funds for the mission, just like the calendars of the St. Augustine children in traditional aboriginal Native American dress.

Since July 2016, Father Mark Beran has been serving as the mission’s director.  Father Dave started another assignment in Omaha, which is the seat of the Archdiocese of Omaha that covers much of the northeast part of the state.  The other Roman Catholic dioceses in Nebraska are headquartered in Lincoln and Grand Island.

My trip to St. Augustine was the first opportunity I had to spend an extended amount of time in Nebraska.  The times before and since I've been there while passing through on my way elsewhere.  My first experience in Nebraska was one I pretty much slept through onboard the Amtrak California Zephyr train back many years ago when my family took a long train trip looping around the western United States.  The train stops in Omaha, Lincoln, Holdrege, Hastings, and McCook, following United States Route 34 for much of its journey through Nebraska, as it does for much of the journey east of Fort Morgan, CO.

A few years later, my family and I took a road trip to Denver, traveling much of the way on I-80, until we reached I-76, which has its eastern terminus in Nebraska along with a few miles of road before entering Colorado.  After spending the night in the Omaha area, we headed west and stopped in Minden to visit Harold Warp’s Pioneer Village.  It’s one of the top attractions in the state, with many historic buildings clustered together that speak of the pioneer experience, as well as large collections of historic objects.  (It's one of the sponsored listings on the Visit Nebraska tourism website.)

Continuing along the I-80 corridor, we passed through wide open fields, filled with center pivot irrigation to fuel Nebraska’s robust agricultural scene.  Those fields produce lots of corn, which gives reason for the state’s nickname, the Cornhusker State.  At Kearney, the flatness of the Platte River Valley in the Great Plains was broken by the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, which extends over I-80, and contains a museum on the role of the Platte River Valley in westward expansion.  Fort Kearney, a military outpost at the site of the city, was named for General Stephen Kearney, who spent much time exploring western lands and helping settle Nebraska.

Nebraska has served as an important passage route throughout history.  Other historical trails that pass through Nebraska include the Oregon Trail, the Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail, the California National Historic Trail, and the Pony Express National Historic Trail.  In Gothenberg, you can visit a Pony Express station, as well as the Sod House Museum in tribute to a staple of housing on the wide open prairies.

Pioneers passing through Nebraska while headed westward used Chimney Rock as a reference point, which is part of Scotts Bluff National Monument, located in the Panhandle.  Near the very southwest corner of the Panhandle is Nebraska’s highest point of elevation, Panorama Point at 5,429 feet above sea level.  Also in the Panhandle is Agate Fossil Beds National Monument near Harrison, which exemplifies the rich abundance of fossils in Nebraska.  Then there’s Oglalla National Grassland.  Other scenic natural areas in the state include the Niobrara National Scenic River, Buffalo Bill State Historical Park and Recreation Area, and the Sandhills Region, which has a large Sandhill Crane Migration.  The scenery of this area provides a focal point for one of many scenic byway drives in Nebraska.  Another is the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway.

Nebraska has the most mileage of rivers of any U.S. state.  Its official state river is the Platte River, which has north and south branches that merge at North Platte.  Fort Sidney was built as a major outpost in the Panhandle in between the two branches of the river.  In fact, the name of the state derives from an Otos aboriginal Native American word meaning “flat water”, referring to the Platte River.  This river has provided a focal point for major transportation corridors, before I-80 was constructed, like the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Lincoln Highway.  The first transcontinental railroad in the United States built in the 1860’s started in Omaha, which still serves as an important railroad center.  And North Platte’s claim to fame is the North Platte Canteen that served many soldiers who passed through town on their way to serve in World War II, which all started when the townspeople thought that their very own Nebraska group of soldiers was to pass through, only to learn it was a group of soldiers from Kansas.  The trains would stop there often to be serviced in the days before diesel trains.

Nebraska became part of the United States through the Louisiana Purchase, and very soon after, the Lewis and Clark Expedition moved along the eastern and northeastern edges of the state while navigating the Missouri River.  They held a council with aboriginal Native peoples at a site near present-day Fort Calhoun.  The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail has its headquarters in Omaha.  Major Stephen Long lead an expedition out west in 1819, which spent much time in Nebraska.  In 1854 came the Kansas-Nebraska Act.  Another important act that opened it up to development by settlers was the Homestead Act of 1862, whereby settlers came in droves, paving the way for eventual statehood.  Homestead National Monument in Beatrice commemorates this act.

It has as state symbols the Western meadowlark bird, the rock Prairie Agate, the Channel Catfish, the Goldenrod as its flower, the Square Dance, the mammoth fossil, Blue Chalcedony, Little Bluestem grass, the honeybee, the white-tailed deer, Holdrege soil, and the Cottonwood tree.  Its state song is “Beautiful Nebraska”, and its state ballad is “A Place like Nebraska”.  The lyrics of both songs speak of the beauty of the land and the wonderful quality of life it furnishes.

Nebraska is notable in arboreal matters, because Arbor Day was started by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska City back in 1872.  And Nebraska National Forest is the only national forest in the United States to be entirely planted.  Nebraska City is home to The Arbor DayFoundation.

Nebraska has a state beverage, milk, and an official state soft drink, Kool-Aid, which was invented by Edwin Perkins.  Hastings holds a Kool-Aid Days Festival every August.  This is one occasion that leaves me saying, “Ohhhh yeah!”

The State Seal of Nebraska features important pieces of Nebraska’s heritage: the a blacksmith representing mechanic arts, a steamboat on the Missouri River, sheaves of wheat representing agricultural, and a settler’s cabin.  On the seal appears the state motto, “Equality Before the Law”.  The seal is on the state flag, with blue and gold as the primary colors.

In 1867, a village called Lancaster was made the state capitol and renamed Lincoln.  It has a magnificent capitol building, filled with many murals, and a dome sitting atop a soaring tower, topped itself by a statue called “The Sower”.  The capitol serves as the seat of the Nebraska legislature, which, through much effort apparently, was made unicameral, with only a body of senators.

The state capitol is connected to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by the Centennial Mall.  The University’s Memorial Stadium is the home of the Cornhuskers football team.

The College World Series for college baseball occurs in Omaha, the state’s largest city.  The tallest building in the state is there, the First National Bank Tower at 624 feet, which trumped other buildings, including the Woodmen Tower in Omaha and the State Capitol in Lincoln.

It is said that the Reuben sandwich was created by Reuben Kulakofsky at the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha.  The Swanson company also traces its origins to Omaha, where Carl Swanson lived.  The company’s most famous creation is the TV dinner.  Just outside Omaha is Offutt Air Force Base, and the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, which has a museum.  It was here that George W. Bush came to hold one of his first strategic sessions in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Also in Omaha is the Jesuit school Creighton University, the Old Market, the Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Joslyn Art Museum.  Two major newspapers there at The Omaha World-Herald and The Omaha Star.  As for major companies based in the city, there’s the Omaha Steaks.  One of the big ones is the Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, whose CEO is Warren Buffett, who was born in Omaha.

Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha.  And another famous person born in Omaha is Leslie Lynch King, Jr., who became President of the United States.  He’s better known by the name he got from his father, Gerald Ford.  Other politicians from Nebraska include former US Vice President Dick Cheney, Chuck Hagel, and William Jennings Bryan.

There are a notable number of Nebraskans who made it big on screen, including Johnny Carson, Marlon Brando, Nick Nolte, Hilary Swank, and Fred Astaire.

Also in the realm of the arts, Nebraska is proud to claim authors John G. Neihardt and Willa Cather.  Her home is a State Historic Site in Red Cloud.  She even has a stretch of prairie named for her.

Other notable sites in Nebraska include the World’s Largest Porch Swing in Hebron, the Front Street and Cowboy Museum in Oglalla, Carhenge in Alliance, and O’Fallon’s Bluff.

William Henry Jackson was an artist who focused on western landscapes.  Scotts Bluff National Monument houses the largest collection of his works.

Politician George Norris, who represented Nebraska in both houses of Congress for years earlier in the 20^th Century, helped develop rural areas through the Rural Electrification Act.

Also seeking to improve life was Red Cloud, an aboriginal Native American activist.  And then there’s Boys Town, founded by Father Edward J. Flanagan to help at-risk youths.

That leads me to one of my first memories of Nebraska during my Winnebago service trip.  After crossing the Missouri River, we stopped at a toll booth in Decatur.  There, on the side of the room was a sign welcoming us to the state: 

This caught my attention because the phrase, "the Good Life" is one I heard often in my study of Aristotle during my freshmen year of college.

Indeed, the Cornhuskers know how to seek after the good life by drawing from the beauty of the wide open spaces all over the state.

And so, there’s a 150 tribute to the fine state of Nebraska.  Godspeed for all the years ahead.

And as I sip on some Kool-Aid in honor this occasion, I furthermore declare, “Ohhh Yeah!”