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Published: January 14th 2008
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Posted by Onaxthiel: I've always had a hard time sleeping late. When I was very young, this meant past three or four in the morning. In college that meant more like eight or nine, even when I would stay up until the wee hours partying. In my post-army months, this has meant past sunrise. On this morning, having stayed out rather late to explore all the night spots of a small Kansas city still didn't keep me in bed once the sun rose. Eventually, Obfuscator and my old Army friend awoke and we went out for brunch at a local chain. Once that was done we began a drive to the south towards the town of Wichita, the largest city in the state.
The particular reason that we decided to make this trip was to see the show of our cousin M. She is an actress that has already found more success than most, as she actually gets PAID for being on stage. We met up with her and her mother, Aunt R, who also happened to be in town this weekend to see the show. Aunt R kindly treated us to dinner at a German restaurant in a part
of the city known as oldtown, near what was once the heart of the commercial district. I think we might be kind of a hard crowd to please with German cooking since our grandfather took it very seriously, but the food wasn't to bad. After dinner we took a tour of the downtown guided by M. An old cattle and rail town, Wichita has grown to be what looks like a very nice city, complete with a living history museum known as Cowtown. We were unable to visit this re-enactors village, as it is a seasonal attraction. They did have an open botanical gardens with nothing in bloom if we had wanted, but we agreed with Aunt R that that would have been inadvisable. In the middle of the Arkansas river (pronounced, strangely, as Are-kansas, not Ar-kan-saw) stands the Guardian of the Plains monument, a giant steel Indian in head dress looking to the rising sun.
The river also provided us with one of the odder things we have seen on this leg of the trip. We seemed to have driven onto the set of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Crossing a bridge we found a park where virtually every branch of every tree seemed to be occupied by a small crow. They were quietly cackling to each other as we drove through and sometimes entire groves worth would take off within seconds of each other, momentarily darkening the sky. As suddenly as we had entered the groves of the dark wings, we crossed an unassuming looking urban street and found no more birds. Not a one. Above, the circling animals refused to even orbit above the road. It was like a mystic line they were unable to violate, their very own 38th parallel that actually seemed to function. Once the tour was done,we went to our cousins apartment to wait for awhile and discuss literature with our Aunt before heading to see M's musical.
The show is called Honky Tonk Angels, and is about three country girls of disparate backgrounds that head to Nashville to chase the dream of singing professionally. The featured songs are all old country hits from the sixties through the eighty's, by many of the famous female performers of the era. Being only somewhat acquainted with country music, I only knew about half of the songs, but they all were well done and the show is well worth a stop if you are a country fan at all. The dinner theater that hosted the performance is worth mentioning as well. The ---- is an eighty year old theater that has hosted both stage and screen over the generations. In its current incarnation, the theater has a Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean feel emphasized by water fountains, courtyard like walls, and statuary. In the ceiling are tiny light bulbs suggesting stars overhead.
After the performance we went to a local bar with M and her lovely Co-star V. They told us that most nights when they head out on the town they are hit on often. Go figure! Two stunningly attractive and unescorted young women get hit on in bars? I know you're all shaking your heads in disbelief.
On the way back, we watched a police helicopter search around with a spotlight. We must have looked suspicious, because they shined us for a bit as well. Or perhaps the cops just like checking out hotties too. Apparently crime is a bit of an issue in Wichita, so the police like to have a big eye in the sky. We finished off the night at a nearby hotel, the protestant sounding Wesley inn. It was pricey, but a nice place with an excellent internet connection.
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