A Kansas City Geography Lesson

My home town has been in the news lately:

Yes, someone is driving around our city shooting at cars. The good news, the police made an arrest before anyone was seriously injured.
Who knew Lorde loved George Brett?
And of course, Miley Cryus was hospitalized here in Kansas City since she cancelled her show on April 15.

Miley tweeted this message the night she got sick:

As soon as I saw it, I heard the nails dragging down the chalkboard. Really? Once again, a celebrity shows their complete and utter lack of knowledge about Midwestern geography.

I recognize that it is not just celebrities. Almost every visiting sports team references how they are going to "beat Kansas!" I attended a football game in Denver many years ago. The Denver Bronco's were playing The Kansas City Chiefs. A fan stood up and hollered out, "Go back to Kansas!"

Even my beloved Miss Medical Student asked, "What is there to do in Kansas?" when she was about to visit us for the first time.

Okay, so here is the deal. Yes, there is a Kansas City, Kansas. But, there is also a Kansas City, Missouri. Trust me, everything you might know about Kansas City is mostly in Missouri. Not Kansas.

Kansas City Map, Kansas and Missouri, United States 1920

Let me just break it down: Rock group Puddle of Mud and Rapper Tech N9ne started here. Thomas Hart Benton. Even Walt Disney lived in Kansas City, Missouri as a young child. Kansas City host the American Royal Barbecue and Livestock show every year. You can visit the Negro League Hall of Fame or the Liberty Memorial - The National War World I Museum. The Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Kansas City Royal. They are all Kansas City, Missouri. Not Kansas.

Besides our sports venue and our event center, Kansas City, Missouri has other famous residents. H&R Block, Hallmark Cards, Cerner Cooperation, AMC Movie Theater, Applebee's Restaurant, Russell Stover Candies, and even Boulevard Brewery Company all call Kansas City, Missouri home.

There is a significant size difference between Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas. KCMO, the largest city in Missouri, reports a population just over 467,000. It is the 37th largest city in the USA by population and 23rd by area. Kansas City, Kansas on the other-hand reports a population of under 146,000 residents.

I guess part of the misconception is that other states who have a city named after their state are actually located in their state. The way New York City is in New York. Or Oklahoma City. It must be unfathomable that the Kansas City everyone reference is in Missouri not Kansas.

I don't want you to think I am hating on Kansas City, Kansas. I am really not. I should note that if you ever visit our area to watch the Major League Soccer's 2013 Winners of the MLS Cup, Sporting Kansas City, they do in fact play in Kansas City, Kansas. NASCAR's Kansas Speedway is also in Kansas City, Kansas.

There is an outdoor amphitheater in Kansas. When I was a young person I attended a lot of concerts there. It would be more than appropriate to address the crowd with a "Hello, Kansas!" But the same greeting given at the Sprint Center in the heart of The Power and Light District would not be appropriate.

When Miley tweets out an apology to Kansas when she was scheduled to play in Missouri, it is most likely offending her fans.I do have to wonder do fact checkers and public relations managers still exist? I get that Miley is a performer and waking up in a different city each night is hard but is it too much to think that a personal assistant would educate her on where she is at and how to greet her fans?

Is it?

My Weekend Project: A PVC Camping Lamp Post and Flag Holder

I have seen a few of these around campsites and I knew I would like to have one. The only problem that I had is The Husband. He already thinks we drag too much stuff with us when we go camping and if I had told him my desire to have a PVC Camping Light Pole he would have shut it down quickly! So, that leaves a girl with only one choice: Figure out how to do it by herself. I did some internet searching and found a few road maps on RV forums. They seemed easy enough! I visited the local hardware store for the supplies: An exterior post lantern light 2 inch PVC pipe (I used 5 feet but had to purchase a 10 foot piece) A 3 inch toilet flange A 3 inch to 2 inch Reducer PVC Glue A 12 foot electric cord kit 2 - 3/4 inch PVC Caps I also used a few supplies we already had on hand: White Spray Paint 3 1/2 foot - 3/4 inch PVC Pipe Drill Bits (1 inch and 1/2 inch) Tent Stakes The first step was preparing the lantern light. I could only find black i

Liver Cheese: A Family Tradition

Today is an anniversary date. One of those dates you wish you did not have to remember but there is no way you can forget. Fifteen years ago today,two days after his birthday, my father died of lung cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and his cancer was aggressive. His battle was short. He fought for six short months after his diagnosis. He knew the chemo was not working and that his time was limited. When he came to this realization he became the best dad in the world. In the days before my father's passing, my family shared some memorable moments. One of those moments centers around the deli meat: Liver Cheese.I would not be surprised if you have never heard of it, or even never tasted it. But I was raised on it as it was one of my Dad's favorite things. What is it? Well, it is a German food that is actually called Leberkase. It is bacon, corned beef, pork, and onion that is ground together and baked. It comes with a

Tonsillectomy (Warning Photos!)

The Short Chic came down with a pretty nasty case of strep throat back in April. So, when The Boy started complaining about his throat hurting about 12 days later, I was pretty confident that he had inherited his sister's strep. Instead, The Boy was diagnosed with a peritonsillar abscess growing on his right tonsil. We had to immediately see an ENT Physician who took a needle and drained the abscess. He removed about 5.5 cc of puss from The Boys throat.and then told us that once you have a peritonsillar abscess you were high risk to keep getting them. The Boy's tonsils were now compromised and needed to be removed. We were told to plan for a two week recovery so we worked a surgery into our summer plans. Between family vacations, summer sports, and the beginning of school The Boy had his second surgery. A tonsillectomy. Pre-surgery prepping went well. It must be nice to be young and have healthy veins for an IV! The Boy had lots of pre-surgery visitors. My

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