33. Omaha, Nebraska

Relax with Jackie and Jon as they take a look around Omaha, Nebraska.  They will discuss the work ethic of Rose Blumkin, meet a bridge named Bob, and talk of the melodious singing voice of Warren Buffet.

Jackie Reilly: Host
Jon Schaller: Host
Charles: Producer

Instagram: @cozynookexplorers 
Email: cozynookexplorers@gmail.com

Community Shoutout:
Omaha Children's Museum

Mentioned In This Episode:
Omaha Tourism Website
Old Market
Bob The Bridge
Joslyn Castle
Joslyn Art Museum
The Durham Museum
Modern Love Restaurant

** 1 Disneyland = 500 acres ** 

Transcript

INTRO

JACKIE: I’m Jackie 

JON: And I’m Jon 

JACKIE: And we are the Cozy Nook Explorers!

JON: Welcome to our show where we explore the world from our cozy nook here in a guest room in Southern CALIFORNIA using the power of the internet!  And where every time we make a knowable mistake we put a coin in the adventure jar! 

Jackie: Yes- we’ve got the adventure jar right here, our producer Charles is in the house, and we pressed record which means it’s time for our next exploration!  Today we are exploring the least visited state in all of the United States- Nebraska!  Which is a statistic that I am having a hard time believing because I really want to see Nebraska.

Jon: Today we will be exploring the city of Omaha!

Jackie: Omaha is GREAT! I definitely want to go visit! Although, not in the winter when it’s freezing. 

Jon: Yeah, or the summer when it’s hot and muggy.

Jackie: Oh, yes, summer doesn’t seem very nice either. How about in the spring?

Jon: Spring is a bit much too, with all of the rain…

Jackie: Oh yeah. Ok, we will need to visit in the fall then.

Jon: Ok, but, before November because that’s when it starts to snow. 

Jackie: Soooo… September or October then?

Jon: I think that 8 week block is our only hope. Ok, before we go any further, what’s keeping you cozy this week, Jackie?

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU COZY

Jackie: Trying to keep plants alive!  I’ve recently purchased two plants and both of them lived for less than a month under my care. First, I bought a basil plant and named it Bae Bae and then I bought a hyacinth and named it Hi Hi.  Bae Bae lived for almost a month, but Hi Hi was dead within about a week and a half. But, when it bloomed it smelled so good!

• Why do you think plants tend to die in your care?
  • Oh, it’s 100% because I forget to water them after a few days. I have a hard time getting into a plant routine. 
• Do you have any additional plant projects coming up?

Jon: Soap

• Do you prefer liquid soap or bar soap?
• What is your favorite soap scent? 

LET’S GET INTO IT 

Jackie: So, we are obviously starting with Bob.

Jon: No, we are obviously starting with Rose.

Jackie: But, Bob is amazing.

Jon: So is Rose. 

Jackie: Charles wants us to start with Warren.

Jon: Charles, we talked about how we weren't going to start with Warren in a meeting last week because it would be the obvious place to start and we didn’t want to do that. 

PAUSE

Jackie: Yes, we know Warren Buffet is a billionaire. Yes, Charles, we will get there, but we aren’t starting with Warren.

Jon: That’s because we are starting with Rose, which has a little to do with Warren because Warren bought her business… twice. 

Jackie: And I can’t wait to talk about that, but first we need to talk about Bob and Omar because they are FRIENDS!

Jon: Bob isn’t even a person. Bob is a bridge. Come to think of it, Omar isn’t even a person. He’s a troll.

Jackie: A troll with a heart of gold! 

Jon:  Omar does have a heart of gold. I love when he says even trolls need a home.

Jackie:  Oh I love that part.

Jon:  But we should start with Rose

Jackie:  I think we should leave it to Charles 

Jon:  Charles is just going to pick Warren Buffet.

Jackie:  What if the three of us do rock paper scissors?

Jon:  What if we all choose something different?

Jackie:  Then we all win!!!

Jon:  Then who goes first?

Jackie:  Bob does.

Jon:  Ugggg!

Jackie:  So Bob... well, Bob is a bridge.

Jon:  Technically it is the Joseph Robert Kerrey Bridge

Jackie:  But nobody calls him that. They call the Bridge Bob because that’s his name. He even has his own commercial.

Jon:  I have seen it and its quite funny

Jackie:  So Bob is a 3000 foot pedestrian bridge. No cars, just feetsies! 

Jon:  The guy the bridge is named after is was the 35th governor of Nebraska, as well as a Medal of Honor winner, as well as United States Senator as well as….

Jackie:  Talk about the Bridge!!!

Jon:  Hehehe  wow you are really excited about this bridge. 

Jackie:  Bob is just the greatest guy. 

Jon:  It is a bridge, a bridge that is 3000 ft long 914.4 meters it was the first pedestrian bridge to connect to 2 states.

Jackie:  And if you take a picture while you are on Bob it is called Bobbing.

Jon:  That can’t be a real expression

Jackie:  It is! And we need to go Bobbing when we go to Omaha!

Jon:  And Omar lives under Bob.

Jackie:  He is such an adorable troll. He is blue, has a great haircut a nice beard and such a heartwarming smile.

Jon:  He is a statue of a troll.

Jackie:  You don’t know that. He could just be good at sitting very still.

Jon:  Hehehehe Omar stands for Omaha Metro Area River so it is a way to represent the river.  That’s why he is blue.

Jackie:  Ohhh I am just getting that...

Jon:  He has a children's book where Omar visits all of these wonderful places in Omaha Nebraska.

Jackie:  That is the first place I want to go.  I want to take a picture with Omar.

Jon:  Well the first place I would like to go is Nebraska Furniture Mart.

Jackie:  I knew you would find a way to talk about Rose.

Jon:  Indeed So Rose Blumkin had a saying that was repeated over and over again” Sell Cheap, tell the truth, don’t cheat nobody”.  This one phrase would serve her well as a business woman.  “Sell cheap, tell the truth, don’t cheat nobody”   But let’s go back before she was a business woman to 1893 when she was born.   Her early life was in the Russian  village of Schedrin which is now present day Belarus.   At that time she wasn’t Rose Blumkin she was Rosa Gorelick and dealing with what it means to be Jewish in Russia at that time.  One of the memories she shared about what poverty was doing to her family was when she woke up in the middle of the night and saw her overworked mother mixing bread dough in order to feed her family.  She said to her mother quote “ “Ma, it breaks my heart how hard you work. Wait ‘til I grow up; I’ll find a job and I’ll go to America. And I’ll bring you over. I’ll go to a big town and find a job. You’ll be my princess.”  She came to this country looking for a better life 1917.  And the big town she found was Omaha, Nebraska.   She had more than a significant amount of hardship you see she couldn’t speak the language.  I mean she spoke Russian and Yiddish fluently but English was another story.  She learned by going small.  Her daughter would come home from Kindergarten and she would have her repeat every new word that she learned in Kindergarten.

Jackie:  That is extra adorable and so educational.

Jon:  She overcame the language barrier in the same way she would conquer the retail world.  By starting small.  It was just a 5 hundred dollar investment.  

Jackie:  I saw that she sold all of her own furniture to pay back the debt.

Jon:  Well sell cheap, tell the truth, don’t cheat nobody.  She was in such a hurry to make sure she could payback a loan that she did just what you said sold her furniture and payed back her loan

Jackie:  She also promised her family that she would buy better furniture.

Jon:  And she did buy them better furniture and earned more than enough to keep business going.  The business was so successful that her competitors attempted to sue her a number of times.  At one point appearing before a judge and telling him that her supplier sold her carpet of 3 dollars a square foot and she sold it for 3.95, then asking him “how much should I cheat my customers”.  

Jackie:  The Judge dismissed the case and the next day that same judge went into her store and bought quite a bit of carpet.  

Jon:  The name of her store was the Nebraska Furniture Mart and if you live anywhere near Nebraska you probably already know all about this store.

Jackie:  Well Warren Buffet, currently the sixth richest man on earth certainly knew about it and bought 90% of the business for 60 million dollars in 1983.  At that time it was the largest indoor furniture store in America. 

Jon:  It was a good move buying the store except the handshake deal did not come with a non-compete agreement. You see Rose retired at the age of 96 in 1989.  Only to be so bored that she came out of retirement three months later and started another furniture store right across the street from her old store.  

Jackie:  It was called Mrs. B's Clearance and Factory Outlet

Jon:  And Warren Buffet bought that store too and still tells stories about this Woman who was astonishing at business.

Jackie:  She kept working until she was 104.

Jon:  And you can still visit Nebraska Furniture Mart today in Omaha Nebraska

Jackie:  You can’t miss it because it is 450,000 square feet.

Jon:  All because she sold cheap, told the truth, and didn’t cheat nobody.

Jackie:  If you were wondering what happened to her Mom, well Rose paid to bring her to the US where she did not make her a Princess, according to Rose Blumkin she made her a  “Queen”.

Jon:  Rose also worked 100 hours a week and referred to her sons in law as those Bums for only working 50 hours a week.

Jackie: And with that- welcome to Omaha, Nebraska! Omaha is 144.6 square miles which is about 185 Disneylands. 

Jon: As of 2019, the population of Omaha was 475,862 people and one of those people is Warren Buffet. 

Jackie: Warren Buffet has notoriously lived in the same house in Omaha since 1958 and it is valued at just .001% of his total net worth. We had the chance to watch the Warren Buffet documentary that’s on HBO Max right now. What was it called again?

Jon: Becoming Warren Buffett 

Jackie: Oh, yes! Becoming Warren Buffet. I think my favorite thing that I learned about Warren Buffet is that he has worked with the same people for years and years at his company Berkshire Hathaway. I think that’s really special, especially given all of his success.  What was your favorite part, Jon?

Jon: I liked the credits.

Jackie: The credits?

Jon: When he sang somewhere over the rainbow on the ukulele, remember?

Jackie: Oh yeah. You’re right- that was the BEST part. Worth watching the whole documentary just to hear that at the end.

Jon: And Charles’ favorite part was learning that Berkshire Hathaway owns See’s Candy.

Jackie: For those who are not from this area, See’s Candy is an iconic candy shop chain on the west coast.

Jon: Speaking of coasts, Nebraska is nowhere near one. 

Jackie: Yes, Nebraska is a landlocked state which means that there is no ocean in sight. You really can’t get closer to the middle of the United States then when you are in Nebraska. 

Jon: Omaha specifically is located on the Missouri river which your pal Omar represents and it is right next to the state of Iowa. 

Jackie: That’s why you get to cross the state line into Iowa when you cross Bob the bridge! The bridge drops you off in the small town of Council Bluffs. Some people say it is a bridge to nowhere, but I am SURE there is a ton to explore! I wrote it down as a future episode idea.

Jon: Council Bluffs here we come!

Jackie: So, back to Omaha- there are quite a few things to do! I wouldn’t call it a large city, but I wouldn’t call it a small city either. Should we talk about things to do after a quick break?

Jon: Sounds good. See you soon:

AD 1: Water Your Plants

Water your plants everyday

So they don’t droop away

Keep them peppy with H20

And they will stay adorable 

Let’s Get Into It 2

Jon: They have two main museums, the Durham Museum and the Joslyn Art Museum.

Jackie: And the children's museum!

Jon: But that’s for later.

Jackie: Oh yeah- I forgot.  So, the Durham Museum is, and I quote, ‘dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region.’  The museum is located in Union Station which is Omaha’s old train station. 

Jon: The Joslyn Art Museum is… well, it’s an art museum.

Jackie: It’s not just any art museum- it’s a free art museum!

Jon: True. Because of the pandemic, you do need to reserve a time to visit, but there is no cost to do this. 

Jackie: Between the Joslyn Art Museum, Bob, and Omar, we are really stacking up a lot of free things to do in this city!

Jon: You can also visit the outside of Joslyn Castle for free.

Jackie: Wait- Joslyn has a castle too?! She’s so cool! An art museum and a castle! 

Jon: No, Joslyn is a last name and the castle isn’t really a castle. Joslyn Castle was the home of the Joslyn family and they called their home Lyndhurst. But, everyone else called it ‘castle’ from the very beginning. They have scheduled tours of the home for a small fee, but the gardens are open to the public.

Jackie: Oh, that sounds fancy! We will definitely need to go to the gardens! Speaking of gardens, there are even MORE gardens in Omaha. The Lauritzen gardens are not free, but they look spectacular. 

Jon: Oh yes, isn’t that the botanical garden that is right in the middle of Omaha? 

Jackie: That’s correct, Jon. It’s open all year round. I bet it would be really interesting to visit during the winter and see all the plants that can thrive in those cold Nebraska temperatures!

 Jon:  Not to mention the Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium is more like a biological park.

Jackie:  With the huge geodesic dome!

Jon:  The World's Largest Geodesic dome as well as world’s largest indoor desert, and North America’s largest indoor rainforest.  After that we could head to dinner at Old Market. 

Jackie: Oh, is Modern Love in Old Market? Because I want to go to Modern Love. Charles does too.

Jon: Modern Love is not in Old Market, but it’s not too far from that area, so I’d imagine we could do both.

Jackie: Modern Love has awesome vegan comfort food that looks spectacular. Charles wants to try the Chili Cheeseburger on the pretzel bun and the Peanut Butter Candy Bar cheesecake. 

Jon: That does sound spectacular. Moving onto Old Market, it is Omaha’s historic district and is filled with old timey brick buildings and cobblestone streets.

Jackie: It’s a great area for high quality restaurants, entertainment, and shopping.  In non-covid times they have a fall festival in Old Market.  I’d love to go to that since we will be visiting Omaha in the fall.

Jon: They also put up lots of beautiful decorations for the holidays. 

Jackie: I think that’s all I have. Anything else?

Jon: During World War II in 1945 Japan attacked Omaha they sent a balloon that carried a bomb that exploded over a neighborhood called Dundee.  Thankfully there were no casualties. 

Jackie:  You can see a plaque dedicated to the attack in the area.

Jon:  Anything else?

Jackie:   Omaha is the city that has hosted the college World Series of Baseball for almost 60 years.

Jon: And on that note let's take a quick break before our community shoutout.

Jackie: See you soon!

AD 2: Soap

My thoughts on soap before 2020

What can I say soap is important to keep you clean

After 2020

Soap is literally keeping me alive

Before

I guess I use soap so much I don’t even think about it

After 

If I don’t wash my hands 20 times a day for 20 seconds a day everyone in my family will perish

Jackie: It’s 30 seconds, Jon!

Jon: Ahhh! I am doing it wrong, and my hands are already so raw

Before

Huh I’m outta soap I guess I’ll buy some tomorrow

After

Jackie:  Wake up, wake up, Jon

Jon:  What it’s 3 in morning

Jackie:  We are out of soap!!

Jon:  Oh no.  Get me my mask and a list of 24 hour stores.  I am not coming back till I succeed. 

Jackie: Soap! 

COMMUNITY SHoOUTOUT

Jon: Every episode we like to research and highlight something special in the community that we are exploring. 

Jackie: Today’s community shoutout is the Omaha Children's Museum! 

Jon: The Omaha Children’s museum is a non profit organization that opened in 1976.

Jackie: Their values are growth, respect, fun, and well-being. There is a line on their mission page that really touched me. It says, “Our organization strives to be a safe harbor where individuals can express themselves freely and can expect to be safe from harm.”

Jon: Oh wow, that’s so nice. They have a ton of great exhibits, so I thought we could each pick our favorite one. 

Jackie: Mine is the STEAM cave! This is so cool! So there are a bunch of interactive areas to play that teach us all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math!

Jon: Science, technology, engineering, art, and math! S.T.E.A.M.  Hence the name STEAM cave.

Jackie: Exactly. So, the STEAM Cave has things like the Glowworm Cavern which explores bioluminescence and Grace Hopper's brain where you can explore electricity and conductivity.

Jon: Grace Hopper was one of the first computer programmers.

Jackie: Yes she was! I just learned that!

Jon: My favorite exhibit is the Walker Tire and Auto Service Center where kids have the chance to work on cars.

Jackie: Oh, that sounds dangerous!

Jon: Jackie, they aren’t real cars. They are pretend cars with all of the car parts. So, they can learn to change a tire and things like that. They even have a kid sized car of a lift so that the kids can go underneath the car.

Jackie: Ok, that does sound really cool. I’ve never heard of an exhibit like that before. 

Jon: Yeah, I thought it was really unique.  We will put the museum link in the show notes so that you can check it out yourself.

Jackie: There’s a place to donate through the website as well. Ok, well, that’s our show. Thank you so much to our confident producer Charles.  

Jon: Thank you so much Charles. You are the best producer ever.

Jackie: And thank you so much to YOU for listening to our show! 

Jon: Yes, thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed today’s episode!

Jackie: If you’ve been enjoying this podcast please take the time to subscribe, rate us, and write a review on apple podcasts. It helps the show, so we’d really appreciate it!

Jon: Also, make sure to tell your friends! If there is anyone you know who you think would enjoy this podcast please make sure to share! 

Jackie: You can also follow us on Instagram @cozynookexplorers or send us an email at cozynookexplorers@gmail.com. 

Jon: We love getting to hear from you and we are always looking for travel suggestions! 

Jackie:  We can’t wait to return with our next exploration! It’s going to be great! Until then... 

Jon: Stay cozy, and we’ll see you soon.