Some things about Omaha are just flat out impressive.
I worked for Omaha steaks for 4 days. In that short time, I did learn something about what makes the meat so tasty. I don’t remember all the specifics, but I do remember something about letting the natural enzymes in the meat work their magic by storing the meat a certain way and a certain temperature that makes it so tasty. And hey, Omaha could do a lot worse than earning a reputation based on the quality of the steaks it produces. I mean, at least we’re not Idaho. While I’m on the subject, this one caught my eye too.
I think when buffalo were taken off the endangered species list, some entrepreneur called the FDA that day, Fed-Exed them a sample, and had this stuff on the shelves the next week. And despite my affinity for four-legged creatures, I am also a carnivore and I can’t wait to pony up the $7.50 I will need to purchase a hunk of this stuff. I’ve had bison burgers before (all the touristy restaurants in these parts sell them) and they’re quite tasty, so I can’t wait to get my hands on a hunk.
And Steaks aren’t the only thing Omaha’s got the bragging rights on.
Thomas Mangelsen is a renowned nature photographer with a gallery in the Old Market, the hip, Bohemian section of downtown. Go to the Omaha native’s web site and you’ll find some of the most impressive nature photography you’ve ever seen and it’s displayed all over the airport.
Other things at the airport celebrate the history of the state that makes it uniquely Nebraska
I’m a total history nerd, so flipping through this one consumed a good 15 minutes that I could have otherwise spent walking up and down from the north terminal to the south again and I do that enough already. The book was quite interesting and certainly appeals to the part of my nature that is extremely attracted to remote locations with historical significance. Even if it is historical for only a handful of people, I love to picture how the people in one of the long lost towns in this book once gravitated to the train that no longer passes through and the wastelands left behind. And then there’s the books that you wonder what possessed someone to publish it. I mean, I know I sound like a snob that wishes everybody listened to NPR and drank expensive coffee like me. But that is certainly not the case. I know there is a place for some books.
I can’t fathom what could be included in the “New and Improved” edition that they overlooked the first time around, but whatever. If there is a place in the world for the railroad book, this one gets to stay too. And again, there’s a little local flavor too,
The author is currently the head animal control officer at the Nebraska Humane Society, a former Omaha Police vice cop, a friend of my Da and actually pulled pretty hard for me to get in at NHS again. And the man’s publisher must have greased a few wheels because this book is right in the front window of the Hudson Booksellers at Eppley. As is this little number …
I mentioned in a previous post the T-shirts thing and I get it. I mean, I was in an airport in Milwaukee once and my Da signed up for a credit card just so he would get a “Milwaukee” T-shirt I still have. So if a weary traveler gets to the airport and realizes he hasn’t purchased anything for the kids yet, I can see how this T-shirt makes sense.
I cannot, however, imagine why this one does.
I suppose for a little old lady who knows nothing about the “Girls Gone Wild” franchise and it’s creepy, rapist proprietor, this sweatshirt would be kind of silly and fun, but really, why take the risk that she does? Why not do something safe and warm and fuzzy and not related to naked chicks.
Good, solid product of Americana right there. And Eppley has plenty of Americana. Take these wall displays.
You’ve got black Omahans and their contribution to WWII. In the Aviation display you’ve got newspaper articles about Amelia Airhart and Charles Lindberg touching down in Omaha. And yet in a wall display even bigger than these, a wall display that in fact takes up the whole damn wall, you’ve got …
Um, okay. One’s first reaction to this one might, understandably, be “AHHHHHHHH!!!!” So many questions went through my head when I first saw this one. Is that a child dressed up like that or a midget (okay, “little person”)? Is that two children or some funky Photoshop effect? Perhaps most importantly … I just …. What the hell?!? Why? My cousin is the CFO of Travel and Transport, the company the ad is for, and I’ve been tempted several times to call him and ask him to please make the necessary calls and take this one down. I have nightmares.
My Zen Brain 