Skip to main content

The other side of Wichita

Wichita. First off, people from outside Kansas never spell it correctly. They spell Witchita. Or Wicheta. Or, if they're feeling particularly phonetic, Weechetaw. At any rate, it only gets worse from there, image-wise. People in large cities elsewhere actually have asked such questions as:

1. Is there indoor plumbing?
2. Are the streets paved?
3. Isn't it in Texas? (No...that's Wichita Falls.)
4. Is there really no place like home? (A general and generally bad Kansas joke)

And to give you a bit of insight and trivia into the town that has been taken over by BTK Mania:

Wichita is known as the Air Capital of the World because it has been home to big aircraft-related businesses and industry, to-wit, Boeing, Cessna, Raytheon, Learjet, Beechcraft, and so on. It is the largest city in Kansas, with more than 300,000 residents, but it is NOT the capital. (Topeka is.) It is located in southcentral Kansas, at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. Famous Wichitans include: Don Johnson, Kirstie Alley, Hattie McDaniel, Barry Sanders, Arlen Spector, Jim Lehrer, Dan Glickman, and Jeff Probst. Famous Wichita State University alums: NFL coaching legend Bill Parcells, former baseball star Joe Carter, and Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney.

Don't hold Wichita's bad tagline—Wichita, We got the Goods—against its citizens. Generally, it's a fun place to be, with a terrific Old Town district featuring great restaurants, bars, clubs, movie theaters, stage production venues, shopping, and more. We were married at a Methodist church in Wichita in 2000, and we spent our wedding night in a CASTLE along the river. If you'd care to read more, or if you're eager to make upcoming vacation plans, check out the Greater Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau.

BTK killed in Wichita. He worked for a while in Wichita. He went to school in Wichita. And now the suspect's being held in a Wichita jail, after being arrested by Wichita police, awaiting trial against Wichita's top prosecutors. But, let's not forget...

Dennis Rader lived in Park City.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is it OK to own a Canadian?

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. resident, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexic...

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.