Thursday, August 14, 2008

Potpourri

"Man, I am just flat worn out!" ~ Me

Since my new wife had never been to Kansas or Missouri, I wanted to show her some of my favorite sights and monstrosities located in Kansas City, my adopted hometown, and Wichita, my actual hometown. Most importantly, I wanted to treat her to some of restaurants that I used to eat at but don't exist out here on the east coast.

Unfortunately, our time was limited, and she was tired, so we didn't get to very many places. I managed to show her those ridiculous modern art "sculptures" (and I use the term loosely) mounted on the top of the pylons over Bartle Hall in KC, but only from a distance. I don't know if she got the full impact of them or not.

I wanted to treat her to Gate's Barbeque, too, but didn't have the time. All I could do is point one location out to her as we drove past. Gate's is famous as much, if not more, for the greeting one gets as soon as one enters ("Hi, Can I help you?")as their tasty barbeque.

We left our motel room early Sunday morning and I intended to take her first to Oklahoma Joe's Barbeque, which I think is the best in the world, but we were too early and it wasn't open for business yet, so we drove on southward.

Then, after visiting "The Kansas Sampler" a store that sells souvenirs of Kansas and Kansas City, and buying an armload for friends back home, I wanted to treat her to the absolute best frozen Custard anywhere in the U.S.A. (sorry, this was the biggest picture I could find, and this one is in Chesterfield, Mo. I should have taken a picture of it myself, but I explained why I didn't in my previous post)It's called Sheridans Frozen Custard, and the reason it's the best is because of the secret ingredient. I know the secret ingredient, because I was once a manager for Sheridan's, but I won't divulge it here.

Again, my intent was stymied, because on Sunday mornings, Sheridan's doesn't open until 2:00 P.M. The sign says they are "In church", and at the original location, I'm sure that's true, as I know Jim Sheridan, and he is a church-going man, but the one in Olathe is owned and operated by a Jewish man, and I doubt he is in church on Sunday mornings. Alas, it was closed, too.

So, disappointed, we drove on down to Osawatomie, Kansas, where my daughter and her family live. After a very nice visit, we left for Wichita, but I wanted to make a quick stop in Ottawa, Kansas, to treat my wife to Taco Tico, the closest Taco Tico location to Kansas City. Most are located in and around Wichita. Again, to my consternation, we found Taco Tico no longer in Ottawa, the building now occupied by a fish restaurant. So, we ate at Sonic, and continued on to Wichita.

After we arrived in Wichita, my wife at last got the opportunity to sample Taco Tico, and she agrees it is much, much better than Taco Bell. I was pleasantly surprised as well. It was even better than I remembered. Unfortunately, after eating Mexican food once, she didn't feel up to sampling "Lil Mexico", another of my favorites.

Oh well, at last we had the pleasure of eating at both Oklahoma Joe's (Yes, it is located in a gas station. I even got a T-shirt that reads, "My favorite Restaurant is in a gas station") and Sheridan's on the way back through Kansas City. She agrees they are both as good as I predicted.

Also, in KC, I tried to show her some more sights like the Country Club Plaza,
including the J.C. Nichols Fountain, (above) and other Kansas City tourist attractions, but she was so engaged in a phone conversation with AAA securing a motel room for the night, she totally missed most of what I showed her.

Upon arriving home to Virginia, I checked my e-mail and found this interesting picture sent to me by a friend: The caption said something like, "If you're going to feature the flag in a photo-op, you might consider holding the phone right" or something like that. I can't think of the words to describe what I think.


I'll leave it to my readers to decide what might be a better caption.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

A better caption might be, "FAKE!"

http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x280/icebergslim1047/barackonphone.jpg

Mark said...

Anon, how do you know? Maybe your photo is fake.

Anonymous said...

the original photo is higher resolution than the fake your posting. that's a standard photoshop technique to try to hide fakes

but it doesn't work backwards. you can't make higher res photos from lower res fake of yours

anywya, if you think yours is real then prove it.

dcat said...

^..^

tugboatcapn said...

I wonder in which of the fifty-seven states the Obama has campaigned was that picture taken?

Or is that soundbite faked as well?

I remember the video clip of Bush walking into the door in China, and the one of Dukakis looking through the binoculars with the lens caps on them, Gerald Ford falling down the steps of Air Force One, Reagan with the hole in his boot...

If anyone in the world had the kind of Press following them around that any of these guys has (or had), there would be pictures floating around of that person doing something stupid. (Both fake and real.)

The thing that sets Obama apart is this...

Whichever way he was holding the phone, and no matter who was on the other end, he was saying something stupid while he held it.

Mark said...

Anon, sporting with you is like shooting fish in a barrel.

I never said the photo is real or fake, and I never said anything about it pro or con. I said I got it in an e-mail and I can't find the words to describe what I think. I only made the point that either photo could be fake. So, I don't have to prove anything. Do you think you do?

You cannot infer anything negative or positive from what I wrote.

You really have a thin skin. You must be an Obama supporter. He whines about everything, too. What a great leader he will be. Can you imagine what he would do if Iran's President called him a name? He'd probably break down and cry on the spot.

Mark said...

Here's another curiosity:

Look to the bottom left part of the picture. Is someone on his hands and knees there? Why? Is the unknown person in a position of supplication to his God, Obama?

Or maybe the person is drunk.

Tonto said...

"Hello, HellO!?!" -- Common sense called and I couldn't hear a thing!

Tonto said...

You made me want a slice of custard after that.

Dionne said...

Glad you had a good time in KC.