Featured in Category

A WICHITA STORY: The English Connection Returns

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The Wichita Wings and England have a long and storied
tradition. Names like Andy Chapman, Kevin Kewley, Roy Turner, and Norman Piper
echoed across Wichita playgrounds through the 1980s and 90s. Thanks to Kieran
Laking, in the 40th anniversary season of Wichita’s storied indoor
soccer team, local schoolkids once again have the opportunity to imitate an Englishman
on the pitch. A defender on the field, the 24-year-old hails from Hartlepool,
England, a hard-scrabble city of just under 100,000 people on the coast of the
North Sea. Laking cut his teeth playing for Hartlepool FC in his hometown.

Century II

GUEST EDITORIAL: Thinking Outside the Dome

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Have you ever flown out of or into Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport? You may do as I do and seek the icon that says you’re home; the identifying feature from the eye in the sky: Century II. For many, Century II has always been there. Others may remember when it was built to commemorate Wichita’s hundredth year. School field trips, car shows, graduations, plays and performances are just a few examples of the many memories we share as a city in the “mothership” that has become more motherly than alien.

WICHITA MATTERS: Questions for Riverfront Boosters and Their Critics

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Last week, Populous
presented their complete (or nearly complete) vision for transforming
the east bank of the riverfront through downtown Wichita.* They were not
unambitious in their recommendations. In what they predict
to be an at least $1.2 billion project whose construction would stretch over at
least 10 years, they recommend the demolition of Century II, the construction
of a new performing arts center and convention center twice the size of Bob
Brown Auditorium, a host of mixed-use properties to bring consumers and
residents into the downtown, and the development of a wide green space which
the labeled Century Park, which might include a brand-new ice rink (apparently
no one told them about the publicly owned Wichita Ice Center  less than a half-mile away from their proposed
park, or maybe they just figured no one would notice). The developer-beloved
new pedestrian bridge is there, of course, but sadly, no monorail. Of course, the most controversial part of all that was their urging the city to level Century II. Its defenders are gathering petitions to put on the ballot a requirement that any historic building in the city can only demolished after a public vote.

Poetry

Field of Dreams

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The
Yankees will play the White Sox as the first big-league game in Iowa at a
ballpark to be constructed next to the movie location. Fox will broadcast the
game.                                                                                           -The Hollywood Reporter-

August 8, 2019

The professionals will soon be here Having had their dreams Come true. Pick any boy. We are familiar with abandoned Movie sets, rotten film secretly running No cinematic effect involved Watch the game manifest, crush Into vapor, then forever hide Among the stocks without maturity You are not alone, unrestrained on a mound Without a team, The segments of the sum will continue To whisper if you build it….

Music

My Year With the Walrus

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Over the twelve months of 2019, I listened to every single Paul McCartney album, thus becoming a Macca completist. Not an expert; I wouldn’t claim that, as I don’t have that knowledge base, nor that skill. I’m not a musician–I played the violin all through middle school and high school more than 30 years ago, and there were some piano and voice lessons in there as well, but none of it stuck, and I’ve never studied music beyond that. So, claiming any kind of genuinely expert assessment of what Sir Paul has accomplished in his more than 60 years of music-making would be pretentious in the extreme. That said, I’m no slouch when it comes to pop music.