Resilient Nebraskans always say 'it could have been worse'

Back in the day, reporters used to be able to hitch a ride with the governor or National Guard to the site of a disastrous tornado or flood.

One of those trips involved a flight to Coleridge, in northeast Nebraska, after a tornado had destroyed two farm homes and damaged several residences on the north edge of the town.

At one of the farms, the owner stood just outside the now-bare foundation where his house once stood. The house was gone.

“It could have been worse,” he said. No one had been injured or killed, after all.

For some reason, that quote has stuck with me over the years. It could be...