Nebraska...

There are a few states that I always forget, Nebraska is definitely one of them, a close second to Delaware. As chance would have it Nebraska has been popping up recently. This may have something to do with my research on Alice Fletcher or maybe I'm being drawn to the West. I'm currently revisiting Willa Cather's My Antonia and just finished Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent, where it is simply put that "Nebraska must be the most unexciting of all states." This declaration actually sparks some interest and a challenge. 

On October 21, 1881 Alice Fletcher describes Nebraska with slightly more tact than Mr. Bryson. She writes, "I would not have credited a story of how they looked , but when one is days away from any sight but these prairies, the sense of proportions becomes enfeebled and judgment erring until one learns to discount in judgment." It would be a great feeling if we could discount judgement but is it worth moving to Nebraska? Lets look, it doesn't seem that bad...I'm not sure if I would want to drive in a Cart with Oxen across 77,421 Sq. miles of open tundra but at least the state motto is "equality before the law" that is almost on par with "live free or die". Having never been there I can only assume that Nebraska surely can't be that bad...can it? The way Alice Fletcher depicts the landscape seems refreshing with the rest of the country under construction. It would be nice to see a slice of the west, the real, nothing but horizon line, no mountains, no skyscrapers. It might not be exciting but it is what it is which is  the best lesson of all.