Blog Archives
Dickens (not Charles)(but named for him)
When your itinerary for the day is to “drive around and look at stuff” and you’re traveling along a two-lane road and there’s a sign that says “Dickens” and run-down building down a dirt road, there’s really only one choice, isn’t there?
The place is unincorporated, and so small that there’s no population listed. I’d put it at fewer than 10. According to our friend Wikipedia, the place was founded in the 1880s when the railroad went through. Wikipedia also notes the place was named for Charles Dickens, though it offers no supporting evidence. But let’s think about long-ago students in this school reading Bleak House…
Dickens, Nebraska
photographed 8.26.2018
A giant white dress
Yes! Children AND adults can sew up a giant white dress, if they want.
But if that’s not your deal, look to the far wall, where you can (apparently) check out the BEST NEBRASKA WINES, which sounds weird enough that it’s probably a real thing.
Neither dresses nor wine your thing? Off to the right, then, is an accordionist/comedian you could check out. I make a mistake of sitting down in the front row after he’d started his show – I must have violated some some provision of the of Accordionist Audience Code of Ethics, which just goes to show the hidden dangers of traveling in foreign places like Nebraska – and he heckled me relentlessly. At one point, when some old dude came down to take a picture, he stopped playing, and said as he gestured to my camera, “Sir – no photos. She’s here from Jimmy Fallon and won’t let anyone else photograph me.” It was SO FUNNY. To the accordionist.
All this to say the state fair had plenty of stuff to look at.
Nebraska State Fair
Grand Island, Nebraska
photographed 8.28.2018
Quilt Show (do not touch)
I cannot over-emphasize how much fun we had at the Nebraska State Fair. And we truly enjoyed the quilt show – they were stunning works of art. And my impression that people in Nebraska fill up those long winters (which I believe last upwards of 16 months per year) by making quilts is a complete stereotype, and surely wrong. But still, the quilts were beautiful.
Each quilt came with a little sign that said, “Please do not touch.” It was almost impossible, though, to not touch them. I wanted to feel those tiny stitches, notice the different textures of the fabrics, and just rest my hands on them and think about the hands that did the work.
Nebraska State Fair
Grand Island, Nebraska
photographed 8.28.2018
Window Seat
This chair, set tight against a window-without-glass, seems to represent a someone’s sad story. I’ll let you fill in what you think is going on – I have my own ideas…
Maywood, Nebraska
photographed 8.26.2018
Bob the Bridge holds it together
Here’s another view from our friend Bob the Bridge, looking upriver past one of the cables.
Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
spanning the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs
photographed 8.31.2018
