City Streets
Run Time: 61:49 + 2-minute kick
I started out with a plan to run at Central High School, which was only a half-mile or so from the hotel, but plans change. The football team was having practice, and half the team and the coaching staff were on the track, so even if someone didn’t ask me to leave, it was going to be awkward every time I threaded through. So I pivoted. Sometimes you pivot, and when you do, you are careful to not tear a meniscus or bump into the elderly. The High School was beautiful, though, so I am including a photo anyway.
If it was not a refurbished historical government building, it was at least built on the site of one, because a sign indicated it was on Capitol Hill. It was a stellar example of an urban high school — on the outside, at least. There appear to be no shortage of facility funds in Nebraska, though appearances can deceive.
Instead, I just ran up and down three parallel main downtown streets, between the hotel and the freeway. Not ideal, but the traffic was light, so fumes weren’t too bad. I cut through an alley at one point, but the alley denizens looked sketchy, although there was some excellent graffiti that I neglected to photograph.
Most of Omaha’s downtown leaves something to be desired. This church was magnificent, though. The cell tower on the property detracted just a little from the solemn grandeur. Like any city, Omaha has pockets that are welcoming, but lots of freeways and industrial squalor. My work visits are typically in the working-class commercial districts or along freeways. I rarely get to visit the garden district. It’s why I so appreciate the long drives between cities. Thank goodness my sales region is primarily in the West.
My good friend, the Missouri River, separates Omaha from Council Bluffs, Iowa. I see the Missouri a lot – in Omaha, Sioux City, Chamberlain, Pierre, Bismarck, Williston, Great Falls, Helena. There are no real headwaters, because it starts where the Gallatin, the Madison, and the Jefferson converge at Three Forks. Who Gallatin was, I have no idea, but his PR people didn’t measure up, apparently.
But that is a long way from Omaha, in more than one way.
Don't Make It a Habit. Make It a Ritual. 