greetings from the land of oz

hooba here

i've returned to the land of my birth and am just tickled to be here for visits with friends, family, my alma mater, and the landscape which so many of you in the great northwest consider to be flat and non-descript. a much needed respite from the grind provoked a trip to the midwest for the cure. kansas my friends is not a place to drive through or fly over and think that you've seen all you need to. i'll enlighten should you continue reading.

i flew into kansas city yesterday to experience life in missouri for about an hour. winter is steadfast in january and the cold, wind and snow had many at the airport questioning my fashion sense. most of you realize i lack sense and pants so shorts are probably what most of the locals consider abnormal. i beg to differ as the increased circulation inspires the faculties. my intial observation of the portly airport cops made me wonder why airport food gets such a bad rap. if these dudes missed the low fat wrap or salad offered in the concourse i would argue that it was by design. they should be wearing shorts and the fat melting waistband versus the kevlar vest. enough about one of the country's worst airports.

my weeklong junket proceeded to the ol' hometown today and i'd be remiss if i didn't alert you to the sign outside emporia that advised that we should accept jesus christ as savior or regret it for life. in an election year it occured to me that allah or any other god should get equal time and billing even here in the bible belt. hooba's all about acknowledging a higher power but to exclude those that others worship seemed a bit narrowminded. after all isn't one of the premises of our fine country the freedom of religion. sounds like eternal damnation is waiting for me at the end of the line should jesus christo and i not be drinking pals. seems i meet more like him in places such as bars. in fact i'll drink more wine as i type and pontificate.

for those of you who reside in the northwest and constantly harp on the winter weather being cold, gray, and rainy i would suggest a trip to a place such as this on a day like today. the damp, sullen, gray skies are of the 180 degree variety. the entire horizon reminds you that those bits of sunshine between clouds at home are non-existent while the fine frozen mist that engulfs the landscape can easily turn driving or walking into a skating adventure unlike anything you've endured elsewhere. it tends to highlight the beauty of the stark surroundings you drive through. wind is a constant factor whether it cuts through or around you and everything else. you become more cognizant of what it takes to survive in a harsh environment that lacks trees and the variety of clouds you're accustomed to seeing. hooba says quit your whining or spend a few weeks in a place such as this to realign your thinking.

this trip will include some r and d for bbq in hopes that we can add it to the menu in the future. i would encourage you to educate yourselves as to what bbq really is. forget the sauce and start with the wood and the smoke. smoked salmon is an entirely different beast or fish as the case may be. remember that salmon doesn't exist where bbq is king. this weekend i anticipate savoring some of the finest kansas city has to offer. i hope to at least duplicate a version in husum that will make the locals proud. don't get me started on mexican food. if you can't cook beans and rice how can you think you could possibly reproduce the original?

i'll leave you with a reminder to look for yours truly wednesday night at allen fieldhouse via espn. my nephew kelly has provided me an opportunity to watch my beloved jayhawks play some hoops and keep their undeafeated season alive. we'll call it ku 89 isu64.


hooba who regrets little if any