One of my favorite comic strips is Calvin and Hobbes, featuring a little boy and his stuffed cat.
Calvin always had a vivid imagination, which led to some interesting and very insightful comments about everyday life.
In just a single, simple frame, the comic strip makes a lasting comment about our expectation for instant gratification these days.
In the image, Calvin laments how long it will take to cook his food.
“Six minutes to microwave this?? Who’s got time for that?”
His dad just rolls his eyes.
We are all guilty of wanting things right now.
We want to lose weight the first day of our diet, even though we gained weight slowly.
We want to play an instrument today, even though we haven’t put in the months and years of practice.
We want to have a retirement account, even though we aren’t willing to save each month.
With everything available at our fingertips from movies to food, we have become a society which expects something to happen immediately. We can access information instantaneously so we expect the same of everything in our lives.
But in reality, the best things in life take time, take perseverance, and take patience.
And a perfect example of this happened this week in McCook.
Nine years ago, Linda Graff had just wrapped up her daughter’s wedding in McCook. She had utilized the parking lot between the Keystone and the Fox Theater, as well as the Fox for movies for the kids and the Keystone for the dance.
It was a great example of using all those spaces together for a beautiful wedding and reception, but she realized it could be so much more. She conceived of transforming the parking lot into a gathering space, where people could do everything from just hanging out over coffee to a formal reception.
The idea rolled around in her head for the next few years but finally gained traction five years ago when the Norris Institute decided to take on the project. Since then, the concept of Norris Alley has gone through many design changes, but the idea never went away.
And this week - on Linda’s birthday appropriately - the Norris Institute officially broke ground on the Norris Alley project between the two iconic buildings. If construction goes as planned, the space should be usable on McCook’s Heritage Days at the end of September.
No, the project isn’t complete yet, but the first hurdle is out of the way - getting started.
With a lot of hiccups along the way, the organizers could have given up at any point and just thrown in the towel. That would have been the easy button.
Instead, they continued to modify the design, continued to raise money and continued to push forward to make Norris Alley a reality. And because of that perseverance, McCook will be a better place when it is done.
The McCook Dog Park is another example of an idea which has brewed for years and should finally see fruition this year. One of the first mentions of a dog park in McCook was in 2011 when a site and funding was briefly considered. Since then, a new site has been selected and enough funds to purchase and install all the fencing has been raised.
Hopefully this year, the McCook Dog Park will finally be in place as the last few steps are completed to make the facility a reality.
Again, the project has been a long time coming but McCook will be a better place when it is done.
There are many examples of projects which were conceived but never happened. There are others which seemingly happened over night. But it is those ideas which require determination and persistence that will endure for years and which will make McCook an even better place to call home.
McCook's last hometown bakery closed this past week, leaving a void not just for donuts but for connections.
Many organizations and businesses in McCook offer the opportunity to recycle, reuse and repair items that may just end up in the trash.
Organizer for Buffalo Commons Storytelling Festival and former librarian named Oct 2025 volunteer of the month.
McCook's Third Thursdays were created to get businesses and organizations involved and designed to create life-long memories for the community.
Long-time community advocate Barb Ostrum received the Sept 2025 McCook Volunteer of the Month award.
We need to celebrate our young people while they are here and encourage them to return.
While some like myself appreciate a rainy day, others dread them for a variety of reasons. We need to be empathetic as interact with others.
MCFF Fall Grant Deadline is Oct. 1. Complete list of former recipients on MCFF website
With so much going, it is time for a “This, That and the Other Thing” column, where we will cover several topics, not very deeply but hopefully with a sense of humor as we clean up and prepare for a busy week in McCook. *** McCook again made state and national news this week for ice. This time, it was in the form of hail that pounded the community for hours upon hours. Conversations this week begin with “where were you….?” or “how many windows did you lose?” And while they may be legitimate and are offering their services, it is like vultures with all the roofing repair and dent removal businesses which have descended upon McCook following the storm. As city officials noted, do your due diligence with any company doing repairs for you and follow the old adage, which is old and still around because it’s true: If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. And one last note on the storm, we need to be careful what we ask for. As storm after storm approaches McCook and then splits in two to go around the town, we finally got one to roll right over us. The storm liked McCook so much it slowed down and just there. I was in Lincoln during the storm and trying to determine when I would drive home. I thought the weather app had frozen or the radar was broken because every time I looked, the storm was still sitting over McCook, doing its damage. I guess we can be thankful the next time a storm seemingly just goes around us. *** We are in the thick of McCook’s Heritage Days celebration. Congratulations to all the Heritage Days Royalty, which was announced at the MNB Bank Mixer this week. A special shout-out to Bill Donze, better known as Mr. Bill and his wife, Kathy, who were honored as royalty for their impact in McCook. As many know, Mr. Bill is fighting cancer and the prognosis isn’t good. The chances of him selling snow-cones and candy out of his van next summer near the McCook Aquatic Center are not good. One judge of his impact was the response to my column about Mr. Bill a few months ago. The post was shared thousands of times, viewed nearly 70,000 times with just as many comments by people sharing their fond memories of Mr. Bill. So when you see Mr. Bill riding down Norris in the convertible this weekend in the Heritage Days parade, send extra prayers and well-wishes to the man who has brought so much joy to so many kids - and adults too - over the years. *** Continuing on the Heritage Days theme, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the McCook Rotary Club is tossing all egos and formality out the window this weekend. As the president of the McCook Rotary Club, I invite everyone to at least watch, if not participate, in the Rotary’s first inflatable costume relay race on Saturday as part of the festivities in Norris Park. These are those giant, blow-up costumes you usually see around Halloween. The first costumes were usually T-Rexes but now there is everything imaginable available as a design. With the idea for the race originally conceived by Melanie Goodenberger, she has purchased everything from corn on the cob to a cowboy riding a chicken. This is a fund-raiser for the Rotary Club with a cost of just $20 for a team of four to participate in the relay race. But it is also a chance to giggle, perhaps make a fool of yourself and just have fun. Come to the park Saturday afternoon for the Wiener Dog races and stay for the Rotary Relay races. While the dogs will already be close to the ground, the relay race participants will likely just end up on the ground. *** With so much going on in McCook this week, I debated whether there should be another activity the next week but the response has already been great for the Lied’s Arts Across Nebraska’s next production in McCook. Hosted by the McCook Creative District, the Omaha Street Percussion ensemble will perform at the Fox Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 24. There is a matinee showing at 10:30 a.m. but I will be up-front…we are testing the capacity of the Fox with every seat already claimed with students. If that is the only show you can make, please come and we’ll find you a seat but it may be those up in the rafters. Otherwise, please plan to attend the 7 p.m. show on Sept. 24. And even better, there is no cost thanks to the Kimmel Foundation and the Friends of the Lied. This is a busy week and a busy weekend but this is a great opportunity to sit back and enjoy a fun, entertaining evening of live music.
Most likely, we aren't going to be good at something at the start. But that shouldn't stop us from trying.
