“Passing through” from California to Minnesota, a new midwestern resident spent a day or so in Plainview, taking in some Nebraska sights, learning about the film shot here and experiencing some Plainview hospitality.
German (pronounced Herman) Garcia was originally from Spain, and recalls, for a reason he couldn’t remember, always wanting to visit Nebraska, while studying in his home country.
Pictures from his studies of Nebraska and its landscape, was a discussion he remembered talking about with his friend during his younger school days, and when an opportunity to drive though came around, he took it – but certainly not in a direct route.
Garcia met his wife, Vivian, in China, and returned to the United States with her while she worked for the State Department in Washington, D.C., with government layoffs perhaps on the horizon, the couple decided it was time for a change, and moved to Minneapolis, Minn. recently.
While there, the couple purchased a car from his wife’s grandmother, who lives in California, and Garcia flew out to pick it up a few days ago, and made plans to drive it back cross country.
With the opportunity presenting itself, Garcia decided to drive through Nebraska, and with Plainview’s location in the “Middle of Everywhere” (as the town slogan suggests) he found the community an easy stop, prompted by his younger days, and with current thoughts about the “Nebraska” film by Alexander Payne that was filmed here in 2012.
Garcia spent some time at the Plainview Historical Society viewing the artifacts there and the movie display, then spent some time at Keystone hearing the direct tales from the film’s cast, and came by the Plainview News on recommendation from Sherry Ristow to pick up a copy of the “Nebraska” edition the News published with the film.
With a copy of Walt Sehnert’s book “Growing up in Plain-View,” a bit of movie memorabilia and a fresh dozen eggs, Garcia continued his journey on August 20, returning to Minneapolis with a great story for his wife and child at home.