The Twenty-Seventh One

Or: My Childhood in Stories
Or: Just One More Stolen Idea
Or: Support Local Business

I had the opportunity to go home a few weeks ago to Lincoln, NE. It was wonderful. Not only did I get to see a LOT of family (including Aunts) I had the opportunity to meet up with and old friend, and of course I got to spend some quality time with the fam.

Let's get this out of the way: I love the Midwest. More than that, I love Nebraska (for all its cows and corn). More than THAT I love, love, love Lincoln. It's just such a great city. Every time I go home my family asks what I want to do. Most of the places I want to visit have to do with food (or drink): Amigos (best ranch dressing EVER) has "Two Taco Wednesday" and I was lucky enough to be there on "Five Tacos on the Fifth." There's Runza, Valentino's, The Grateful Bread/Freakbeat Vegetarian (try the Moroccan Tomato and soak in the atmosphere), The Mill (where we went to drink coffee, smoke cigars and watch people at the Farmer's Market on Saturday), and Jake's (where my brother works, we can actually, legally, smoke cigars indoors, and which has a selection of liquor the likes of which I've never seen).

But Lincoln is not only about food and family (just, you know, mostly). Lincoln has a remarkable selection of locally owned shops and restaurants (all of the one's I listed above originated in Lincoln and, as far as I know, only the food places have branched out to surrounding areas). Having grown up with this, I didn't realize how remarkable it was until I moved away. Maybe it has something to do with being a college town, but I currently live in a place that seems to house very few local, well, anything. There are quite a few restaurants and bars, but the most frequented joints seem to be the chains. I have yet to find a local bookstore and have found only one local coffee shop.

Keeping all that in mind, I do enjoy stopping in at some of the local shops whenever I'm in Lincoln. My absolute favorites are: Paint Yourself Silly (from which I own several dishes) and Ivanna Cone (where once I had a Nerds sherbert [sherbet?] and another time had a mango and chili pepper sorbet). Both shops are located in the same building in downtown Lincoln (although Paint Yourself Silly has another location I believe). The same building which also houses Indigo Bridge Books (please check it out. I love that it's local, I love that it has several events and book clubs, I love that it is dedicated to a bilingual community). Which brings me to the whole point of this post.

As I was browsing through the store I came upon a display entitled "My Childhood in Stories." Not only did have different books, but whoever (whomever?) made the display had also written little blurbs on notecards about why the books were so significant to him even as an adult. This idea made me swoon (metaphorically, of course) and I jotted down the idea for safe keeping. That said, that's what the NEXT few posts will be about. This one is just an introduction and chance for me to say: support local business! (as much as you can).