You KCers may like this article

[JivecitySTL]

This article appeared in my neighborhood newspaper, the West End Word (www.westendword.com.  I think it's very poorly written and disjointed, but it makes KC sound good:


For a Midwestern cowtown, Kansas City scores above par
By Jeff Fister

Posted Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Until a recent weekend, I had never visited Kansas City.

Granted, I’d gone through the town many times on the way to and from Denver, but I’d never had a reason to stop.

My only view of the city was from my windshield as I sped down I-70. There was the Royals baseball stadium, scene of the 1985 meltdown by the Cardinals in the World Series — not exactly a pleasant sight. Or the bland suburban exits of Blue Springs and the non-descript skyscrapers of downtown.

Then there was the “St. Louis snob” attitude I carried; in my mind, Kansas City was a “cowtown” that touted its barbecue and, well, the barbecue. But everything else compared poorly to St. Louis.

Jazz and popular music? Sorry, we had Scott Joplin before he left for Sedalia, not to mention Miles Davis (OK, East St. Louis), Gaslight Square, Tina Turner and, well, Nelly.

Baseball? Yes, we lost in 1985, but the Royals have lost 100 games four of the last five years while the Cardinals have won more games than any other National League team since 2000.

Literature? We can claim Tennessee Williams, T.S. Eliot and William Burroughs. The only writer I can think of from Kansas City is Calvin Trillin, who writes for The New Yorker. History? St. Louis was a proud French town founded before there was a United States, while K.C. is named for another state.

And I don’t even like barbecue.

We visited K.C. because our oldest daughter, a senior in high school, had been invited to compete for a scholarship at Rockhurst University. Parents were invited, and it seemed like a good excuse to escape the St. Louis winter blahs for a while.

This was the second “college visit” I’d had with my daughter. About a year ago, we’d gone to Chicago to see a couple of schools. And we’re probably not done; unlike her older brothers, who both applied and were accepted to state schools, my daughter has applied to six colleges, most of them private. This reminded me that women are from Venus and men — like myself and my sons — are from Mars.

My daughter is from planet “I Care About School.” Don’t get me wrong — I’m extremely proud of her. But after having to bribe one of my sons to get out of bed in March of his senior year of high school to take the ACT so that he could go to some college, my daughter comes from another world.

She has a high G.P.A. at her high school, she’s taking four college-level courses and — gasp! — she’s still concerned about her studies in the second semester of her senior year.

Contrast that to my planet, where I knew exactly where I was going to college because my dad taught there. I slouched through the SAT and worked only hard enough in college to finish in four years and keep a solid “B” average. My biggest ambition was to finish school so that I could go to work.

So when Rockhurst offered this opportunity, we figured we’d make a weekend of it. And I could finally decide if K.C. is a real town, after all.

The school is located on the south side of the city near Country Club Plaza. A couple of people from St. Louis said the school is near a “bad” neighborhood, but I didn’t see it. Yes, if you live in Wildwood and you’re not used to city neighborhoods, it may seem intimidating, but we found the area to be much like the Central West End — lots of museums, historic housing and lots of boutique retail and restaurants.

While we spent most of our time at the school, my daughter and I spent one night walking through the Country Club Plaza, a collection of 1920s Spanish-style buildings with shops and eateries. We stopped at a bookstore and while my daughter searched for books on French literature for one of her classes, I went straight to the “local interest” section. I found a chair and started paging through a history of Kansas City.

Much to my chagrin, I found out that the first settlement in the area was established by Francois Chouteau, a grandson of the founder of St. Louis. Kansas City, it seems, could also be considered a proud French town.

As far as music, I’d overlooked the fact that not only was saxophonist Charlie Parker a native, but also Count Basie, and, well, Eminem.

Baseball? Yes, the Royals date only to 1968, but the city is also the birthplace of the Negro Leagues, which featured players such as Satchel Paige and James “Cool Papa” Bell. And Albert Pujols was drafted from a K.C. high school.

Writers? I found out Ernest Hemingway cut his literary teeth at the Kansas City Star. And the city was named for the tribe of Kansa Indians well before the state of Kansas was established in 1861.

Before we left, I made a mental note of the places to see the next time I’m in Kansas City. Downtown, Crown Center, Union Station, the museums … and maybe even a barbecue place.

[KC0KEK]

This thread probably should be merged with the "What is the most insulting thing you've been asked about Kansas City?" thread because Fister displays an ignorance about KC that rivals many of the anecdotes in the other thread.

[mayor_of_waldo]

This article appeared in my neighborhood newspaper, the West End Word (www.westendword.com.  I think it's very poorly written and disjointed, but it makes KC sound good:




Before we left, I made a mental note of the places to see the next time I’m in Kansas City. Downtown, Crown Center, Union Station, the museums … and maybe even a barbecue place.

What did he see?

[kcmetro]

What did he see?

Barnes & Noble on the Plaza.

[JivecitySTL]

And who the fuck cares about his daughter's grades? 

[chrizow]

thanks for posting this!  i like to read about outsiders' impressions of KC, even if they are pointless and poorly-written.  i think it's kind of hilarious that a guy can make a whirlwind trip to a new city on a college visit for his daughter and write a travel piece about it - and have it published. 

i also enjoy how he not only explicitly mentions his "st. louis snobbery" but in fact uses like 200 words of a 600 word piece about KC to talk about st. louis. 

[chrizow]

Fister.  hehhehhehhehheh.

[JivecitySTL]

I didn't know that about Albert Pujols though.

[Beermo]

I didn't know that about Albert Pujols though.

he went to fort osage h.s. in independence and then played at maple woods c.c.

[KC0KEK]

And his wife's family still lives in Roeland Park.

[eliphar17]

The school is located on the south side of the city near Country Club Plaza. A couple of people from St. Louis said the school is near a “bad” neighborhood, but I didn’t see it. Yes, if you live in Wildwood and you’re not used to city neighborhoods, it may seem intimidating, but we found the area to be much like the Central West End — lots of museums, historic housing and lots of boutique retail and restaurants.

This is probably the most frustrating part, doubly so because of the suburban bias and the StL superiority complex.

[nota]

I didn't know that about Albert Pujols though.

I hate to say it, but even I knew that and I don't know a touchdown from a tipoff. All in all, if he had left the grades out, I thought it was a good article. Thanks for posting it.

[jlbomega]

Not bad.  I have learned a long time ago that people from STL think their city is the greatest place on earth.  They are all pretty small minded.  However, everytime one of my friends from college makes the trip they have a great time.  If I had a dime for everytime a St. Louisian said "if St. Louis had the Plaza it would be perfect" I would be a rich man.  Unfortunately they just have a lot of dirty slums all over the place.

[nota]

We all must keep in mind that probably no one here is going to like what any St. Louisan has to say about KC.

Having lived both places, they are both great places to live. I would move back to STL in a heartbeat-Wildwood anyway

[shinatoo]

This thread probably should be merged with the "What is the most insulting thing you've been asked about Kansas City?" thread because Fister displays an ignorance about KC that rivals many of the anecdotes in the other thread.

But if your read the WHOLE article, he fesses up to that and admits that he was wrong.

[JivecitySTL]

Not bad.  I have learned a long time ago that people from STL think their city is the greatest place on earth.

There is a long tradition of hometown pride here, yes.  Although most can admit that New York edges out STL just by a hair. 

They are all pretty small minded.

Doesn't making blanket statements like this make you small minded?

However, everytime one of my friends from college makes the trip they have a great time.  If I had a dime for everytime a St. Louisian said "if St. Louis had the Plaza it would be perfect" I would be a rich man.

I've never heard anybody say this.  I do not think the Plaza is the greatest thing about KC.  I think the city has a lot more to be proud of than the Plaza.  Sure, the Plaza is unique and all, but the neighborhood surrounding it is more impressive than the Plaza itself.  And I recently also had a great time in KC.

Unfortunately they just have a lot of dirty slums all over the place.

As well as a lot of incredible, beautiful, wonderful, unique and historically rich neighborhoods all over the place too.

[Maitre D]

And who the fuck cares about his daughter's grades? 

That's what I ghought.  Who cares?  I had to skip that trash.

[mean]

There is a long tradition of hometown pride here, yes.

Conversely, there is a long tradition of hometown self-deprecation here. 

[riebschlager]

hahahahaha wow.

"For a Midwestern cowtown, Kansas City scores above par"

mmmmmmmmmm that's good condescension.  i can't wait for the kansas city response, "for a crime-ridden, over-hyped shithole, saint louis scores above par."

[rxlexi]

thanks for posting the story jive.  I've always like the WE Word, kind of a cool little neighborhood paper.  As much time as I spend in StL, the one thing that I wish I could transplant here would be the glorious, blind pride in the city that I feel throughout the metro area.  Most recent example, off the top of my head; last weekend, St. Louis CITY flag flying high and proud over CBC High, which sits WEST of the 270 loop on highway forty.  The one thing I wish I could change (as in any city, really, but especially in our cross-state pal) as the general ignorance of all things KC, as reflected in this article. 

  on a not very intersting side note, I type this from a computer at Rockhurst U., and you would be amazed about the comments made regarding its neighborhood (and the core in general) from some of the MBA students here.