When a Kansan decides it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge (literally or figuratively), a lot of times that involves planning a road trip somewhere. For instance, you could take the advice from Dodge City’s website and “get the heck into Dodge” where you could buy a “get the hell outta Dodge” shot glass or t-shirt from the Boot Hill Museum. Or you could drive out to Colorado for a stay in the Rockies, go to the Ozarks in Missouri, or drive down to Austin for South by Southwest. One person I know goes to Florida every year, and a friend of mine is planning on driving to Glacier National Park soon. Kansans can plan for a road trip like no one else.
Kansas is “The Wheat State.” One of the major crops grown in Kansas is wheat, and, on average, Kansas ranks number one in wheat exports. Our farmers can grow some wheat, that’s for sure. But farmers aren’t the only ones who have anything to do with wheat in Kansas. People in Kansas have found all types of things you can do with wheat. For instance, there’s a life-sized replica of the Liberty Bell made of wheat in Goessel, Kansas. There’s some great beer, such as Free State Brewery’s Wheat State Golden. There’s WuShock, Wichita State University’s mascot, which WSU describes as “a big, bad, muscle-bound bundle of wheat.” If we can make a mascot out of wheat, we can make anything out of it.
This means, “There’s no place like Kansas.” However else you might interpret the movie is wrong.
A Kansan can spot a Jayhawk anywhere. It’s almost like a sixth sense. The first thing you pick out from a crowd. I can remember going to Paris with French Club in high school. Amidst the throngs of tourists mobbing the Eiffel Tower was this random couple wearing KU t-shirts featuring our iconic mascot. It’s hard to say what we noticed first, the Eiffel Tower or the Jayhawk.
Kansas might not have a professional basketball team, but Kansas certainly has some bragging rights when it comes to the topic of basketball. The University of Kansas’s basketball program was founded by James Naismith, who invented the sport. Oh, and Wilt Chamberlain went to KU in the ’50’s.
Or, maybe I should say some Kansans are good at this, but not all. Some just wear shorts all year round. One way or the other, the weather changes all the time and you either learn how to dress for it and bring an extra hoodie, jacket, or coat and maybe dress in layers, or you decide it’s too much trouble to deal with and just wear the same thing no matter what. 