As the Sun rose over the early autumn Midwestern United States, Ming, her four children, and the Hobson Family, went shopping for affordable winter clothes.
“Have you ever been to Nebraska in the autumn? The scenery is wide-open and landlocked; There is not a seacoast visible for over a thousand miles”, said Mrs. Ming to Kate Hobson, the Oregonian, vacationing mother of a new baby boy.
Mrs. Ming and the Hobson’s wore woolen caps and ski mittens for their shopping “quest”, partly to stay warm, and also to remind their friends and relatives of what remained good about Omaha, and also, why that City can resurrect happily, starting in the winter, with a little help from civic interests and interested people.
In Omaha, skyscrapers and department stores appear so prevalent; And, everyone eats so much! Local family and restaurant gatherings have always been a part of the established lifestyle. But, you wouldn’t know, in fact, you couldn’t really know, only by looking at photographs, what Nebraskans are really all about.
Missouri floods changed parts of the landscape of large cities such as Omaha throughout the US Midwest. New, strong hurricanes and large tornados created storm damage that severely impacted Nebraskans, recently, so the people could have forgotten what a good feeling there was in Omaha, and in a few other Midwestern cities, before the storms. They experience instead, desperate feelings of, and harried responses to, weather-related losses of life, property damage and an overall feeling of depression and gloom.
If one has ever told anybody about, and shared, a good dream about an inland city in the Midwest, as I have, I probably would have made it seem as if every US Midwestern city had within its boundaries, people in rugged cowboy hats, rancher types of folk, and open spaces without end. And, though there are places just like that in every State within the Continental United States of America, Omaha is a contemporary city, and extraordinarily modern, in a state where there is no coastline! Starting at the handsome Pioneer Courage Park and ending in the surprisingly modern Gene Leahy Pedestrian Mall, Downtown Omaha provides some of the most gorgeous sightseeing and shopping adventures in the Midwest.
In fact, one can avail oneself to sights that only modern-day Australians might be accustomed to, with the wide Missouri River, The futuristic Desert Dome, the Walter & Suzanne Scott Pavilion, and the space-filled Henry- Doorly Zoo, as well as visually stunning Heartland of America Park, and the peaceful and serene Joslyn Castle, all situated in Omaha.
As Mrs. Ming and the Hobson’s might today, say, somewhat sarcastically, “Welcome to the Wild Kingdom”!