by Pa Rock
Grandfather of Kansans
The broad expanse of businesses and homes commonly referred to as Kansas City actually stretches across many smaller cities, towns, and incorporated communities - like most other large urban areas in the United States - a geographic fact that often makes tallying populations and delineating boundaries on maps a challenge. The heart of what many consider to be Kansas City lies in Jackson County, Missouri, but part of it stretches into two other Missouri counties. The city's sprawling suburbs also cross two major rivers and reach into three counties in Kansas. And, to add to the confusion, there is a large incorporated city in just across the line in Kansas that is officially known as Kansas City, Kansas.
And the new world champion Kansas City Chiefs regard the entire two-state area as their home - of that there can be no doubt!
When it comes to iconography, however, much of what is typically regarded as Kansas City is rooted on the Missouri side of the line: the downtown and its famous skyline, the Power and Light District, Union Station, the World War I Memorial, the Kaufmann Center, the Sprint Center, 12th Street and Vine, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Nelson Art Gallery, Starlight Theatre, all things Truman - and on and on - including Kaufmann Stadium - the home of the Kansas City Royals - and Arrowhead Stadium - the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
People who live in the greater Kansas City municipal area understand the complicated political geography of the area and seem to intuitively always know where they are and which laws and taxes apply wherever they happen to be during the course of a busy day, but sometimes tourists get confused. Apparently there is a history of drug-addled rockers stumbling onto concert stages in Kansas City, Missouri, and telling screaming fans how glad they are to be in Kansas - something that stirs local ire because the celebrities can't even be bothered to find out where they are actually performing.
It's "Kansas" City, so it must be Kansas, right?
Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, himself a Kansan, tried to embarrass a veteran NPR journalist by challenging her to find Ukraine on a map, a task that the well-educated journalist who had studied at Cambridge University in England, easily accomplished. If Secretary Pompeo wants to become a geography teacher perhaps he should start by educating his boss, Donald John Trump.
Last night after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49er's in the Super Bowl, Trump, who has been known to disparage Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco, rushed out the following tweet to congratulate the victorious Chiefs:
Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri quickly posted her own tweet response to Trump with "It's Missouri, you stone cold idiot!" Comedian Gilbert Gottfried chimed in with "Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I don't think we're in Missouri anymore!" And another Trump critic posted a two-state map of Kansas and Missouri with the Kansas border pushed out, presumably with a "sharpie," and bringing Kansas City, Missouri, into Kansas.
If a national politician - like Trump - is going to tweet about a United States' professional sports team, perhaps he ought to take a minute to find out where the team is actually from - before going with his gut instincts. And if that politician is as dumb as a Trump, he would be a lot better off hiring someone to do his tweeting for him!
Just sayin' . . .
Grandfather of Kansans
The broad expanse of businesses and homes commonly referred to as Kansas City actually stretches across many smaller cities, towns, and incorporated communities - like most other large urban areas in the United States - a geographic fact that often makes tallying populations and delineating boundaries on maps a challenge. The heart of what many consider to be Kansas City lies in Jackson County, Missouri, but part of it stretches into two other Missouri counties. The city's sprawling suburbs also cross two major rivers and reach into three counties in Kansas. And, to add to the confusion, there is a large incorporated city in just across the line in Kansas that is officially known as Kansas City, Kansas.
And the new world champion Kansas City Chiefs regard the entire two-state area as their home - of that there can be no doubt!
When it comes to iconography, however, much of what is typically regarded as Kansas City is rooted on the Missouri side of the line: the downtown and its famous skyline, the Power and Light District, Union Station, the World War I Memorial, the Kaufmann Center, the Sprint Center, 12th Street and Vine, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the Nelson Art Gallery, Starlight Theatre, all things Truman - and on and on - including Kaufmann Stadium - the home of the Kansas City Royals - and Arrowhead Stadium - the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.
People who live in the greater Kansas City municipal area understand the complicated political geography of the area and seem to intuitively always know where they are and which laws and taxes apply wherever they happen to be during the course of a busy day, but sometimes tourists get confused. Apparently there is a history of drug-addled rockers stumbling onto concert stages in Kansas City, Missouri, and telling screaming fans how glad they are to be in Kansas - something that stirs local ire because the celebrities can't even be bothered to find out where they are actually performing.
It's "Kansas" City, so it must be Kansas, right?
Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, himself a Kansan, tried to embarrass a veteran NPR journalist by challenging her to find Ukraine on a map, a task that the well-educated journalist who had studied at Cambridge University in England, easily accomplished. If Secretary Pompeo wants to become a geography teacher perhaps he should start by educating his boss, Donald John Trump.
Last night after the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49er's in the Super Bowl, Trump, who has been known to disparage Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco, rushed out the following tweet to congratulate the victorious Chiefs:
"Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on a great game, and a fantastic comeback, under immense pressure. You represented the Great State of Kansas and, in fact, the entire USA so very well. Our Country is PROUD OF YOU!"Soon after that tweet was posted, some underpaid staffer was shoved into the presidential bathroom to explain to Trump that the Chiefs are a Missouri team, and it was quickly pulled. Trump's private school education had embarrassed him once again.
Former U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri quickly posted her own tweet response to Trump with "It's Missouri, you stone cold idiot!" Comedian Gilbert Gottfried chimed in with "Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I don't think we're in Missouri anymore!" And another Trump critic posted a two-state map of Kansas and Missouri with the Kansas border pushed out, presumably with a "sharpie," and bringing Kansas City, Missouri, into Kansas.
If a national politician - like Trump - is going to tweet about a United States' professional sports team, perhaps he ought to take a minute to find out where the team is actually from - before going with his gut instincts. And if that politician is as dumb as a Trump, he would be a lot better off hiring someone to do his tweeting for him!
Just sayin' . . .
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