Issue Preview ~ Winter 2002
Culture Stalking
Little Grouch on the Prairie
By Chris Pyle
The sheer number of myths about southwest Kansas that run rampant throughout the country could fill a magazine. When I lived in Los Angeles and told folks I was from Kansas, the inane responses were predictable:
- Some dumb joke about Dorothy, often containing the phrase, "You're not in Kansas anymore"
- A reference to Marshal Dillon or, more annoyingly, Festus
- "Sure is flat out there, isn't it?"
But those are to be expected from the uninformed huddled masses of the big city. A more insidious myth is one often subscribed to by actual residents of our fair state.
Southwest Kansas is a cultural wasteland.
To those folks I say, "Nuh-uh."
I suppose I should be more eloquent, but that gets the point across.
Admittedly, due to the spread-out nature of the region getting to the "culture" takes a bit more planning and time. That is part of the beauty of our corner of the world. If you live in London and everywhere you turn is a historic building, an art museum, or a theater, it is too easy.
Southwest Kansas are more adventurous. We stalk our culture. We research it. We capture it. We are the Indiana Joneses of the cultural world.
There is an old axiom that says anything that comes too easily makes the attainment of it less valuable. A New Yorker can see a Broadway show nearly any day of the year. Where's the fun in that? Southwest Kansas has Broadway-calibre talent. I can be accused of not being an impartial journalist in this instance, but the Boot Hill Repertory Company has the talent and the vision to do things as good as any Broadway show. With the construction of its new facility, it will be even better equipped to showcase those talents. So we have access to this cultural gem. However, we have to pay attention to when the shows are being presented and be efficient in getting tickets because there is a limited window of opportunity. It is not as difficult, say, as stalking a ringtailed lemur through the treetops of Madagascar. However, it requires effort, thus making it more rewarding.
To read all of "Little Grouch on the Prairie", pick up a copy of the Winter 2002 issue. Click here to find a copy.