The Happiest Place On Earth

Welcome to the happiest place on earth! It's official. And it's about time.

Yesterday, Nebraska was proclaimed the happiest state in America by the prestigious mainstreet.com. It was a hard fought battle for runner-up between the up and coming Kansas, birthplace of Walter Chrysler, Amelia Earhart, Dorothy and Toto - and perennial happiness powerhouse Iowa, home of Pufferbilly Days.

Maybe Nebraska's "Good Life" will finally get the recognition it's due. Of course, all of this is based solely on financial measurements using The Happiness Index, which looks at household income, debt, employment and foreclosures.

But don't get too comfortable with your happiness award, Main Street warns. Misery and woe lurk right around the corner. They fear that Nebraska's happiness ranking is overinflated by government subsidies of corn production, which the new administration threatens to cut.

Well, that would surely wipe the smile off our faces.

Unless they take into account a few other, less tangible measurements of happiness.

Air so clean you could breathe it

Water so clean you could drink it

Mountains so flat even an amateur could climb them
Gorgeous beaches that rival anything either coast has to offer
Families where kids learn the value and necessity of hard work and honesty and personal responsibility
Communities who still do their "social networking" at the grocery store or barber shop

Nice try, mainstreet.com, but you're not telling us anything we don't already know. After all, Nebraska is the birthplace of Kool-Aid. Now there's something to smile about.