By Saturday I larned a thing or two.
Actually, I'd larned both things by the end of Friday, namely that the distance hadn't magically shortened since the last time we drove from Denver to KC, and Kansas hasn't become any more interesting. It's about 625 miles one way, and it's odd to think about the settlers toiling across that distance from the Missouri River to, as they thought, the waiting goldfields in Denver, whereas we drive it in airconditioned comfort, stopping along the way for gas, leg stretching, and caffeine, and grumbling about it taking us so long.
Three of Leonore's sisters live in KC, so we make that trip fairly often. This time, the son and daughter of another sister, who lives in France, happened to be there, so we were able to see them as well. We had a nice time, and I'm glad we went. But, jeez, Kansas is wide! And boring this side of Topeka, which is to say most of the state.
4 comments:
What's the matter with Kansas, anyway?
(Say, didn't someone write a book about that?)
There's always Sebelius.
There are anti-abortion billboards all along I-70. And lots of religious billboards and signs in general. In the western two-thirds of the state, almost the only radio signals you can get are rightwing talk crap, or country music or hog reports. (That seems to have changed since our last trip a year ago, when there was a network of classical stations.)
So something does seem to be wrong with Kansas. I haven't read that book, although I remember it being discussed a lot on the political blogs.
Southern Missouri is the same way, vis a vis billboards. I have a friend who lives in Cape Girardeau, and I joke that you get there by taking I-55 to the "abortion is murder" billboard and turning right. :)
I used to think that God and Country were the things the marine corps fought to defend. Now I realize that those are just your radio choices in rural America...
On a hill overlooking I-70 in Kansas, there's an adult store, with a prominent sign. On an adjacent hillside, there's a huge billboard telling us that pornography kills and quoting Bible verses. Both have been there for years. Whenever we pass by, the store's parking lot is always full.
Must be evil non-Kansans coming off the highway.
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