She walked into the room, the consummate professional, with over thirty years of teaching experience, ready to observe my student teacher.  Punctual and prepared, she greeted us both as she entered the room, laptop in hand, and with the other, she handed us each a little bag of snickerdoodles.  For those of you who don’t know, snickerdoodles are wonderful cinnamon sugar cookies and these were the best I had tasted in a long time.  Only in Nebraska would your University supervisor bring cookies before observing you.

But that’s just the way Nebraskans are.  While “Nebraska Nice” was probably THE worst state slogan ever, right along with “Nebraska:  It’s Not for Everyone”, it aptly describes the people of this state.  And, in a world where nice seems non-existent, I find myself appreciating this simple trait more and more.

It translates to our sports, of which we have one.  Okay, there’s volleyball and basketball, depending on how the new coach does, but Nebraskans have the reputation of being the nicest fans in college football.  This is truth.  I see it every game day when Nebraska fans greet and welcome those from out of town.  Today there was a news story about our little airport (all of 4 gates) that decided to pull out all the stops to greet Ohio State Buckeye fans.  High fives, cheers and hand shakes were handed out by employees of the airport which considers itself a “gateway to the community”.  This is not unusual in a state full of people who pride themselves in what used to be valued by all.  Just a bunch of hard working, do the right thing, polite, “think of others before yourself”, NICE people.

It’s not fancy, but it’s welcoming and heart warming.  Like the cookies brought into my room today.  Or the freshly baked pumpkin bread I received from a colleague earlier this week.  Or a simple note dropped in my mailbox.  It’s where “it’s the thought that counts” is taken seriously.  It’s the words “I’ll pray for you” and the person means it.  Or maybe instead of asking if you need something, it is just provided.  It’s the kind of thing that people did back in the day, neighbors looking after neighbors, people welcoming strangers.  In a world where no one seems to get along, Nebraska Nice is refreshing, and a place to get in touch with what relationships should be all about.

So back to those snickerdoodles, which were delicious.  Did I already say this?  Anyway, she didn’t have to do this.  She’s probably a very busy woman with many other things she needs to do.  But obviously not to busy to do something nice.  Nebraska Nice.