Name recognition

Several fits and starts were required before I could find any rhythm to this column. We were catching up on a weekend of recorded television after a quick trip to the banks of the Mississippi, and I sat down to write while—not my choice—a Sunday Morning segment on Michael Bolton replayed in the background.

To me, Bolton ranks in the same muck with Kenny G, Celine Dion and pretty much anyone else responsible for overdubbed, under thought hits for the masses. Yeah, his talent is not in question. But even he admits that people remember his hair more than his lyrics.

Well, that’s an implication on my part, more than an admission on his.

Music of his genre instantly brings to my mind disturbing images of flowing manes, unbuttoned shirts and crowds enthralled by image more than the craft of a song. Right or wrong, that’s what I know of Bolton and his ilk.

I understand that I suffer from bias in this instance. Yet we all associate people, places or things with an encompassing, identifying bit.

If, for example, someone mentions Scotland, another might conjure images of bagpipes, golf or scotch—depending upon his or her predilections. Bring up Henry Winkler in conversation and his iconic character “Fonzie” will likely come to mind. Say the dreaded S word (“suburbs”) to an urban hipster and they slip into a fugue state, eyes glazed by their perception of little boxes, all the same. Serve regular old coffee in a world expecting chai soy latte … you get the point.

So this weekend, along the Mississippi River, as my family—it was a rare reunion—terrorized local Olive Garden patrons hoping for a quiet lunch with random shouts and wave after wave of poorly aimed paper airplanes (we can be a rambunctious group), I repeated “Sidney” to various relatives vaguely interested in my whereabouts. Their invariable response involved Cabela’s.

Many times I have heard Sidney old timers cringe when visitors consider the town and the company one and the same. More than one resident has uttered the “whatever Cabela’s wants” line, implying that the local government bows to the business’ desires. On the other side of the coin, City Manager Gary Person has often pointed out the community’s quality of life and variety of employment options, perhaps hoping to redirect focus on the famous outfitter.

Deep down we know perception and reality … OK, that’s not necessarily true. American sports fans, after all, view football with its 12 minutes of action in a two plus hour span differently than soccer, which involves constant motion. And we hail the accomplishments of anyone named Kardashian, Bieber or Oprah, without anticipating the coming “what the hell were we thinking?” hangover.

But deep down, we know the world hears “Sidney” and thinks “Cabela’s.” We also should consider this a positive. Whatever else the community offers to residents in terms of quality of life, it also claims an aspect so many cities yearn for: an attraction.

Paris is more than the Eiffel Tower. Gettysburg offers residents something beyond the battlefield park. Step outside of Primanti Bros. sandwich joint and Pittsburgh opens up in front of you. Look beyond the rubbish and empty buildings and Detroit … bad example, there.

In reality, the people of St. Louis care little if outsiders just imagine the arch. Those living a day to day existence in Prague could hardly care less that tourist know it as one of the world’s top party cities. William Shatner embraced the Captain Kirk character, despite all the jokes. We all know his name. And Michael Bolton has little trouble shaking off meaningless critics like myself. He has talent, a career and songs people know—even if those of us with taste cringe at the first note.

Cabela’s introduces Sidney to the world. The rest is up to us.