HE'S SO UNUSUAL...

EVEN THOUGH THE CALL IT 'THE METRO'...

... it's still Omaha to me!

I don't know the area of the city but it is smaller than Detroit.  A couple of 'up and downs' and you are on the other side of town pretty much.  So my sense of scale is off, still set on the larger municipalities that I am more familiar with.  When there is something jumping off, like the two shootings over the weekend, I still feel a little skittery because they feel so close, though I get the impression that the folks here see them as something that happens 'way over there', since the incidents were on the other side of Dodge Street.

Reading the paper is kind of depressing because if I am to 'see' Omaha's character by the World-Herald,  it is a great town if you are a conservative white person who has an ambition, education and a plan.  There was a story about this woman who relocated from Alaska (from all places... and was familiar with Sarah Palin, pre-Mayor of Wasila) with her 5 kids who had a nice little business going.  All the employment numbers are pretty high and there are still a lot of jobs to be had and yet, the town keep losing residents.  What is notable about that is that the folks on both end of the socio-economic strata are buggin' out of town.  Even if you account for an exodus due to the colleges, there are a lot of folks that are leaving.  I haven't figured out why that is but my quick estimation is that the culture here is regressive at the same time it tries to include everyone. Sure, all are welcome but maybe there is an 'only if' to town that has grated on both natives and transplants alike.  Not that I am going to put too fine a point on that topic because next week school starts and I should know where I will likely be for the next two years at least...

...BECAUSE WHAT KIND OF CHALLENGE QUESTION WAS THIS FOR A BROTHER..?

act “girly” or “manly” in a way you’d normally avoid.

Well, I repelled from helicopters and shaved my legs while in the service... fought with a broken hand and cried at the end of 'Steel Magnolias'.  If someone took me shopping I would get a makeover and try to go out in drag (cause I think it would be fun... but I ain't ever wearing heels..!) and I am brave enough to put brake pads on a BMW because I feel that 'since I can read a manual, I can do the work'!

In short, there isn't too much of anything that is too 'this' or too 'that' (see, I tried to told you... 'this and that' isn't related!!) for me to try.  Where do I draw the line..? Well, when a woman says, 'no', I freakin' stop and 'drink my drink'.  That is a line I don't cross.  There are a couple of more that violate 'fair play' but I think you, gentle reader, get my drift.

*sigh*  Just a little winded.  Next week is also MY birthday!  Forty-four!!  That is amazing to me... time keeps rollin', the years are passin' by, and I...