Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Deshler, Nebraska for their Center-pivot irrigation technology. This technology allows for irrigation that can be spread throughout an acre of farm land(The company I visited was Reinke, to learn more view the Reinke website). Consider this for a moment, without farming the population of the world would not be what it is today. Without the constant supply of fresh crop we would not have a surplus of food for us as a species to reproduce at such an unaccounted rate. Without the advent of farming we would not necessarily have the luxury of visiting a grocery store to pick up food items. So you can image how much of a importance it is to believe in the quality of work that needed to be done at a such a job. This trip included a two days of getting to know the town, the people, and the possible people I would help.

Day one:
Upon arriving that afternoon, I had already organized how my day would go. I would check into the Inn, shower, go to dinner to meet a formal leader of Reinke and then reset for the next day of introductions and conversations. This was actually an relatively short trip, approximately 2 hours from Omaha. Now given there are some stereotypes of small towns, I took the liberty of reading up on the Great Plains and the culture I would suspect from a small town. I wanted to go in with no misconceptions, no falsehoods, and really get a chance to experience what life would be like in southern Nebraska. The great plains are often not met with too many accommodations, any nearby major stores would be at least an hour away, in all consideration this is not so bad, if you plan to go out on the weekends only. Though the strangest and most peculiar thing about living in Great Plains is the weather. Since even the Dust Bowl, there has hardly been a predictable storm, temperature drop or rise. Often times, fall months could be confused with the summer…. Though despite the weather, no one can disagree about how beautiful the horizon is, or how compelling the nature is in the country. The silence is comfortable, peaceful, and everything moves slightly slower. What I appreciated, is the friendliness, the peace, the ability to go out on your porch and not be interrupted by anything but the silence. So as soon as I first met this leader, I began observing, and a lot of what I read was true. For example, the small wave by a passing car with the lift of a single finger was exactly what I learned or expected. I noticed this as we rode around the town before having dinner. I had a chicken fried steak and peach cobbler pie, which was just amazing, this was not at all unusual. The standard questions were asked, also the familiar question about a persons commitment to living in such a different area. I am often asked this question about living in a town much like Deshler, and what life would be like for an engineer there, it is often met with uncertainty, given that why would someone move just for software work, there must be some other reason right? Though my reasons are usually quite simple, and really that I was lead to the destination for a purpose, and I tend to go where my destiny takes me.

A little background knowledge about the industry, often times working in technology requires traveling or visiting other sites or places to fulfill needs of a project. For those that do this as a living, they are are usually called contractors. The often take on a project for a few months to a year, work independently, and if they perform well or liked by the staff, they are hired on. Otherwise, they complete the term of their contract and move on to something else.

Day two:
As my morning started I decided to visit the same restaurant I had dinner for breakfast. If there is one thing I know about small local businesses, is the coffee is usually really good. As I ate, the vibe was as of the classic small town image, like that of a movie. There were a large group of men, making catering jokes to each other, as I believe they were starting there morning as well. From what I gathered, they did this almost every morning, considering how comfortable they were with each other. The waitress I caught staring into the distance in the window by the cash register, and I wondered, did she grow up here? How long had she been here? There was melancholic sense of hope, and magic that radiated from her. She has probably not had the opportunity to see the world, or maybe she had and was simply bored. Whatever it was, she was young, and it is not unusual for someone to graduate high school in Nebraska, to take over there parent’s farm when they got older or go to college, to return back to the “The Good Life”(Nebraska’s Slogan) in a small town. Size is relative for that matter, and what a small town to me is drastically different to someone growing in small town in southern Nebraska would perceive.

Before I left, I had the shrilling thought that this would be a great place to settle for awhile without the distraction of a larger town. What was most intriguing was that fact that everyone took their time and was not in rush, even their projects were treated as such. That seemed so very relaxing, considering how stressful it can be to meet a deadline, and I promise you, with my laidback demeanor I could understand. Though, as it turns out I did not end up staying in southern Nebraska for much longer, within that quiet friendly town. I was met with personable greetings, and smart retorts. I even went on to meet some of the engineers. I truly missed that visit, and hope to do that more in life. I would not mind at all having a career where I can constantly meet people like that, to not feel pressured but welcomed. I hope the best for Reinke and it’s employees, and if the circumstances ever change for me I would be greatly obliged to assist them. Yet, I am happy in my little town of my own, that borders a much bigger one.