Never a second chance to make a first impression

Last week due to a tragic accident, the Amtrak passenger train was in McCook for nearly eight hours, stopped at the McCook depot throughout the morning hours, finally departing at noon.

For those who don’t know the Amtrak schedule, the train passes through McCook at 3:43 a.m. if it is on time (not usually) and stays for just two or three minutes (most of the time) to quickly load any passengers boarding (many times).

If you see Amtrak in the daylight, it means it is off schedule because it passes through Nebraska in the nighttime hours. While we may love our surroundings in the high plains, passenger train riders seem to appreciate the mountain passes and tunnels more; hence, the train is scheduled to go through Colorado during the day.

So to see the Amtrak stopped in McCook not only during the day but for so long, there had to be an issue. And unfortunately, there had been a fatality east of McCook which meant many issues had to be dealt with and the train - and its passengers - were in McCook for several hours.

Now, no one can predict or plan for something like this: more than a hundred out-of-towners suddenly found themselves in McCook during the day for hours with nothing to do, except wander downtown streets. They didn’t know how long they would be in McCook, so they couldn’t wander far or be left behind.

Again, we can’t predict when we will suddenly find a group on our doorsteps but we should be ready. For many — if not all — of these people, this was their first, and perhaps only, visit to McCook.

What impression did our community leave upon them? Were we welcoming? Were there flowers blooming? Were the stores open? Was there signage to even let them know where they were at? Were the streets clean? Were there printed materials available for them to use while here or take home and perhaps return at a later date?

When they reached their destination and relayed the story about their trip, what did they say about their time in McCook? There is no way to know except to be prepared at all times.

As a community, we get ready for big events such as the upcoming McCook Chamber’s Heritage Days. The flags are installed on Norris Avenue. Norris Park gets mowed and the bandshell gets swept. Everyone tries to put their best foot forward because know people will be visiting and we want to make a good impression.

But shouldn’t we be doing that every day? Isn’t this something we should be striving for on a regular basis?

We don’t have to just do this for visitors; we need to make our communities welcoming for ourselves, for all our residents, for our friends and neighbors.

It would be great to have flower pots in bloom up and down Norris Avenue throughout the summer. It would be beautiful if there were lights draping from ornate light poles during the holidays or even throughout the year. It would be soothing if there was music emanating from a coordinated sound system, playing music for the season, as you strolled the sidewalks.

If you travel, you often see these welcoming amenities that could be added to our communities. Are they easy? Not necessarily. Are they cheap? Probably not. Are they doable? Of course, because we have seen them elsewhere and often comment on the welcoming feeling they have when visiting.

Author Malcolm Gladwell summed it up when he said, “Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions... by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions.

Call it whatever you want: first impressions, curb appeal, outward appearance.

As we get ready for McCook’s arguably biggest celebration of the year, let’s consider what our community looks like to residents every day of the year and visitors because we never get to make a second first impression.