Send This To Washington

A copy of Rodin's The Thinker in front of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. It has become a cliche and isn't my favorite Rodin anyway (give me The Burghers of Calais any day)  but it makes a point. I usually avoid all but mild references to politics in this blog but that narcissistic wanna-be dictator in the White House and his spineless sycophants in Congress enrage me. Would that there were more, shall we say, rational and independent thinkers in our nation's capital. Not holding my breath.        

Law Of The Jungle

The displays of wild animals at Cabela's had a gruesome twist: simple, violent and completely natural predation, one species taking down another to devour. Still, it was a bit in-your-face for this kind of venue. How do children react to this? It's a lot more intense than Bambi's mother being shot.

Cabela's

After the visit to the Farmstead and a bit of lunch, the family decided to visit Cabela's in Kansas City, Kansas. It's a chain of huge outdoor equipment shops - fishing, camping, hunting, guns for all occasions. I was out of my element. Where I grew up, you wouldn't dare eat anything you caught in the local waterways. Where I grew up, only the cops and really bad guys had guns. City kid that I am, I never imagined that I would visit one of these. (As Gene Wilder said to Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles, the funniest movie of all time, what's a dazzling urbanite like you doing in a rustic setting like this?)

The place is mind-boggling. Not just the store itself but the amazing dioramas, for want of a better word, of wildlife from Africa to the Arctic. You know, things you can shoot. They reminded me of but far surpassed displays like this in the Museum of Natural History in NYC when I was a boy. You can take a virtual tour by clicking the link above.

A Kansas Farm Birthday

My wife's youngest sister, Mary Lee, has cerebral palsy and is severely handicapped. She has not had an easy life. Still, her brothers and sisters watch out for her. She is precious and much loved. She turns 60 this month and it was time to do something special for her.

She lives in a group home in a small Kansas town, quite some distance west of KC. The family brought her to town this weekend for a celebration. The suburban town of Overland Park, Kansas, has a remarkable facility, the Deanna Rose Childrens' Farmstead. It distills the essence of Kansas' farming tradition for kids who now live with air conditioning, cars and video screens. Good venue for the occasion. Above, my wife, Carolyn, is in  turquoise. Clockwise from her, Dorothy Holst, Mary Lee, Mel Kruse and Ron Kruse. 

Each of the pix below has a short note after it. And, by the way, it hit 108 F / 42 C in St. Louis today, breaking a record for the date set in 1901. Time to pay more attention to Al Gore.             

Greetings, urbanites.

Your face here.

My new business.

Lay or bust? Sounds apocalyptic.

I thought that's what scotch is for.

At The Nelson-Atkins

The temperature was one hundred degrees when we pulled into Kansas City yesterday afternoon. The wind itself was hot, not a bit refreshing. We were grateful that the Nelson-Atkins, KC's excellent art museum, had an underground garage.

We think it is one of America's best regional museums. Its photography section beats the heck out of what we have at home. Hallmark Cards, based here, had a spectacular collection of 6,500 images it donated to the museum a few years ago. The main current exhibition was about the photographers who worked for the government during the Depression. Most prominent were the images of Dorothea Lange, including one of the most famous and heart breaking pictures in the history of photography.     

Ghost Rider

I like this car for its clean lines and sense of forward motion. Parking it mostly under a tree highlights the aggressive nose. 

Road trip to Kansas City today for a family event tomorrow. It's supposed to be outdoors. 104 F / 40 C here today, 105 F / 40.5 C tomorrow. Only slightly better in KC. We can bake here or bake there. I wonder if the venue will have to be moved.   

Eat This To Get That

The cuisine required to own and drive XtremeMuscleCarz. Just don't tell your personal trainer or your cardiologist.