Dog eat dog world

Back to the UK and the difference is noticeable and immediate.  Where have all the manners gone? 

When the plane landed at Terminal 5 Heathrow, the passengers were jostling to get off the plane.   No such thing in the USA where passengers would politely wait their turn, deferring to fellow passengers who sit in front of them.  In central London today, drivers were cutting in to save that precious 2 seconds, and when they failed to squeeze in, raised a two-finger protest.  This happened with a boy racer and a woman driving a Chelsea tractor (i.e. an SUV).

Remembering the gentler times at Kansas, this clock at Leavenworth signified a different kind of time, and perhaps a different kind of world in which people are civil to each other.

People in South East England are so easily stressed out, they will benefit from taking a leaf from the book of the American football fans.  Here they were, exiting orderly from the Arrowhead Stadium after the game.  Quite remarkable when there were at least sixty thousand spectators exiting the stadium.

In four days' time I will be off to Japan, where manners reign supreme, even at peak hours on the Tokyo underground. 

Brrrrh! Another sub zero day

This translates to -12, -8, -6 in new money (Celsius)

At 06:45, Kansas City is -20 wind chill factor. 

Wonder if Santa at Weston will be out today?

Artic monkey condition

- 13 degrees Celsius, and dropping

The I-435 South

Reflections

Three more days and I will be home before returning to Kansas in the New Year.  What are the moments that will stay with me and what are the memories that I will cherish?

Undoubtedly, the people at Kansas have made a mark on me.  Most of them are kind, courteous, helpful, and friendly.  They like to engage with people, particularly visitors, and they are welcoming.  It is easy to understand how some foreign visitors have chosen to stay on, once they have been bitten by the American bug. 

Part of the team that I work with - they embody the qualities

that I have come to regard as quintessentially American

There are also places that I have been to and enjoyed, which help to dispel the myth that there is nothing much to see at Kansas.  Or at least that was what the immigration official at Chicago O'Hare airport told me. 

The Spencer Museum at University of Kansas, Lawrence.

An unexpected find, with pieces of modern art that I can understand.

Lawrence, Kansas - a quirky colleage town,

with new age shops that break away from the chain store mould

The Rodeo show at the Kemper Arena.  

It gave me a glimpse of the American cowboy tradition

A first hand experience of what football means to the Americans -

the good naturedness of winning and losing,

the community spirit of enjoying the game together

The Bloch building at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art -

an architecture statement of space, light, and fluidity

The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art including the sculpture park.

Unquestionably the museum that has the most appealing collection

The Kemper Museum of Art, with an impressive collection

of paintings by three generations of the Wyeths

 

The place where I have met some great people

The Hotel - it makes me realise the true meaning of

 "There is no place like home"

To my beloved who will be waiting for me at the gate to the arrival hall: 

Homeward bound

The heart leapt

Sight of you again

Carousel

Growing up in Hong Kong, I do not recall ever been on a carousel.  I had the opportunity to ride on one today at the small town of Leavenworth, about 42 miles north of Kansas City.  Most of the shops were closed, and it was the carousel accordian music that drew me near the hall.  Mr Jim, the gatekeeper, made an exception, and allowed me on one of the horses.  Yi-pee!  It was a ride and all.

At the gift shop next to the carousel ride, there were all manners of bric-a-brac related to carousels.   The carved horse in the photo here is displayed behind a glass case, whereas the carousel stained glass is for sale.

On the way back to Leawood, the car passed residential areas deep in the buckle of the bible belt - the small town America that I see so much in films.  The Christmas decorations were up, and two of the locals continued with the the carousel theme.  They were a laugh, but I am sure they were put up with the most serious of intent.

Art is everywhere

Aspirational mural at Lawrence

There is an absence of graffiti at Kansas, the kind of urban art crime that blights some parts of the UK cities. At Lawrence, I bumped into two murals along a passage way to a car park.  The colours are muted now, but they must have been virbant when they were first painting.  They caused me to pause for a while, to see what it was about, and to say a little thank you in my head to the artists who created them.

This one is subject to interpretation

There was a modern art exhibition at on a first floor gallery in one of the bookstores.  The collection was eclectic to the point of bewilderment.  I couldn't relate to any of the objects on display.  Here is one with a headless torso that begs the question: what is the point?  Should art have a point at all?  What was in the head of the artist when he/she created this piece of work? What is the message? What is the meaning?

To me, art is embedded in everyday life; it is present in everyday objects, like a painted chair, or the patterns on a biker's helmet. 

In life, stuff happens

It was back to Lawrence, Kansas today, in minus 2 degrees Celsius.  The psychic, one of our intended destinations, did not see us coming, so my fortune remains untold.  The neon light above the door said "Open", but it was no more open than the Lubyanka.  So it's back to reading those little slips of paper inside the fortune cookies that are served up at the end of a Chinese meal in this part of the world.

At the Sunflower bike shop, among the bikes and the outdoor clothing and accessories, there were a number of objects from the past.  The connection is dubious, but they raised curiosity and added interest.

Rack of bikes at upwards of $2,000

An old cash register

The iconic Beetle

A replica penny farthing

The image that gave a glimpse into the liberal character of Lawrence is this poster inside a tattoo shop.  This is the man who once said, "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things" when he commented on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding that "stuff happens". 

Leawood, Kansas

Leawood has become a familiar territory. It is not home; but it is conveniently located for work and a number of good restaurants.  It is within walking distance from work and the Town Centre Plaza, the latter has a number of my favourite hangouts - Barnes and Noble bookstore, Dean and Delucca delicatessen, Bristol seafood restaurant, and the AMC cinema. 

This is the place where I lay anchor temporarily.  But it is the people that make the place, and the people that I have come into contact have made me feel very welcome.

View of the Aloft hotel - my current abode -

from the Town Centre Plaza

Sculpture (if that is the correct description) in

the Town Centre Plaza car park

The AMC cinema at Town Centre Plaza

Leawood is expanding.  The edge of a plot has been

marked out for development.

Handle with Care

There are some fabulous glassware on display at art galleries, museums and craft shops in Kansas.  Ever since I saw glass blowing at Burano Island, Venice, I have come to appreciate the skill that goes into making glassware.

These objects are so beautiful, yet so fragile.  You can draw a parallel with life, so appreciate it, handle with care, and don't drop it.

Glass objects at Kemper Museum of Modern Art

Glassware at Spencer Museum of Modern Art

A bunch of glass shapes hanging at the entrance to

Kemper Museum of Modern Art

A haiku poem from Spence, on fragility -

Intricate design

Of natures web is fragile

Threads may well unwind

Images of Intimacy

Images of intimacy are a rarity in the modern art scene in Kansas.  Why this is so has so many speculative aspects, not excluding the invalidity of the premise, that any views I venture to give here will be incidental and inadequate. 

Looking at the photos I have taken since coming to Kansas, I notice the dichotomy of the old and the new. 

Sculpture at Nelson Atkins Musuem, Downtown Kansas, Missouri

A couple in harmony

Brick sculpture at Johnson County Community College, Kansas

Two individuals in discord

To Mike, I say this:

Count not the distance and the time

For hearts of the truest mettle

Absence joins and time settles.

The Day of a Thirsty Handbag

Today, the screw top of the bottled water came loose in my handbag and drowned the new camera.  Had to make a brief stop on freeway KS10 to pour the water out of the handbag.  Giggles and plenty of swearing aside, it was RIP for the camera.  The camera on the mobile handset survived the minor flood, but it attained an unexpected dreamy quality.

Lawrence was the destination today.  This is a college town some 45 miles west of Overland Park, dominated by the University of Kansas.  The high street, Massachusetts Street, has a variety of individual shops catering to the student population: new age, new age, and new age.  Thank goodness there were few signs of the ubiquitous chain stores, so prevalent in Overland Park and Leawood.  There was even a shop selling things British.

Lunch was at Milton's Cafe, bustling with young and old having their Sunday lunch.  Takeaway today is this tag line from Mark Twain, quoted on the business card of a fellow diner, a print graphic designer who has chosen to settle in the liberal heartland of a conservative Kansas -

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Check out her website at http://www.debstavin.com/index.html to see some vibrant images taken during her trip to India.

Then it is on to the Spencer Museum of Art at Kansas University.  A poster exhibition on peace, social justice and environment was on and there were some thought provoking and conscience pricking images, including a bath tub filled with red water entitled Israel and Palestine.  This one is striking and shocking with equal measure -

A traditionalist at heart, it was an oil painting by Sandford Robinson Gifford that made my heart hit the high C, and more .... 

To end on a different note, the sculpture below is entitled "Collection".  I invite you to tell me what you see....

On Being

I have always been fascinated by philosophy, but seldom have the staying power to read an entire book. When coming face to face with Martin Heidegger's fundamental treatise "Being and Time" at the Barnes and Noble bookshop, I asked again the question "What does being mean?"  For Heidegger, the truth of being, its openness, is not our own production.  We find ourselves thrown in a historically conditioned environment in which the decision concerning the prevailing interpretation of the being of being is already made for us.  Yet, by asking the question of being, we can at least attempt to free ourselves from our historical conditioning. 

Next to the solitary bay of philosophy books were two rows of bookshelves on religion, mostly about Christianity.  Almost 20% of the floor space was given over to religion as a genre.  But curiously, a recent survey shows that the number of people in the USA who say they are unaffiliated with any particular faith today (16%) is more than double the number who say they were not affiliated with any particular religion as children. Among the younger generation, those aged 18-29, one in four say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.  Perhaps it is deliberate that the floor space allocated to each genre is not directly correlated to the reading habits of the consumers.

Weston was the next stop on the itinerary.  This is a charming small town, situated about 30 minutes north of Kansas, in Missouri.  The trip took us along I-435, MO10 and then JJ, deep into the country side.  The landscape was flat as a pancake, with fields stretching well into the horizon.  Weston's main thoroughfare, Main Street, is lined with antique shops and the odd eaterie.  Chief among its attractions is the wine tasting offered by two wineries, which I did not partake due to lack of time and my travelling companion being a teetotaller.

The Weston Cafe, festooned with brightly lit festive lights, offered good honest home made food.  The fries (not chips please, chips are crisps) were fab.  So was the roast pork bun; the pork was melt in the mouth.  The young girl who served us proudly explained that it is a family business and that the cafe will one day be her inheritance. 

In the warrens of an antique shop that sells all manners of trinkets, bric-a-brac.  They are Weston's answers to the flea market or car boot sales.

Some humour to attract attention.  The USP really.

The Poles are everywhere, if ever proof is needed.