July 21, 2005
my friend: dammit, how about a fucking post about lawrence in the summer you nimrod my friend: how there are more punk rockers, more tourists, less students my friend: traffic my friend: shopping chrysanthalbee: Lawrence in the Summer my friend: swimming my friend: chicks wearing nothing chrysanthalbee: lots of street repairs my friend: yeah, street repairsFirst off, it's hot. Damn hot! Africa hot (Gooooood morning Lawrence!). There is a heat advisory from 1pm today until 7pm Sunday with the heat index expected to be 106°. My in-laws think it's hot in El Paso. It might be hot according to the thermometer but the humidity here wraps you in a cocoon of heat. At least in arid El Paso it cools off in the shade and in the evening. Downtown bustles with people during the summer. It's fun to just stroll down Mass Street and enjoy the scenery. I know there are plenty of downtowns around but I'm particularly fond of this one. It could be the smell of nag champa outside of Creation Station or the transient kids. It could be the guy that plays music at 7th and Mass. Whatever it is this is the place where you feel the pulse of the town. It's a bit of a luxury to have the college students gone. It's easier to get into Free State on a Monday night. Patio space is still tight but the beer tastes especially good on one of the cooler summer nights. Parking is eased and the weekend breakfast wait is shorter. There are fewer people wearing pajamas to Dillons and Target at night. And there are fewer overheard conversations that start out with, "I was so wasted I last night! Dude it was awesome!"Road repairs. Construction and destruction. This year it's been especially hectic for me with all the Sixth Street construction. I never know on any given day if I'm gonna be able to make it to work on time or if I'm gonna simmer in my car going home. My "commute" is short but somehow the road repairs always make me think I'm stuck in the middle of Manhattan (not Kansas).You have to be careful traveling North on Kentucky. Kids from all over converge on the pool. I wish more people were cautious in that area. The stoplight there is to be respected, not beaten.When I get home the mosquitoes are waiting. I'd love to go catch fireflies with my kids but the mosquitoes are nasty. If the bloodsuckers don't get me the chiggers will. Unfortunately I don't hear the seesaw sound of the cicadas this year but their hum lulls you in to dreams some lucky nights.Mow the lawn once a week, twice a week? Trim once a week, twice a week? Mulch it or bag it? Then there are people in Lawrence that just let everything grow. I'm sure some people could get a full bale of hay off their lawn. I don't know if this is peculiar to North Lawrence or if everyone suffers through the moles. I swear I'm gonna go Caddyshack on the ones that reside in my lawn. I've tried it all, except plastic explosives. When you read a story about me being arrested for using high explosives (considering the proposed ban on fireworks), just know it was the mole that drove me to exasperation.
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Todd (anonymous) says…
I hear yeah on the moles. Last year I got lucky and I was sitting on my front steps and I saw the little bastard moving right next to me. I jumped at the sight and pounded the living crap out of the spot. I didn't have a mole track the rest of the year. This year I got lucky and the latest mole found it's way over to my new neighbors extensive flower beds.
My 2 cents on the stop lights by the pool> Do people really need 3 stop lights there? Now that there's a light at 7th & Kentucky can't people from the pool/park just walk to either 7th or 8th street to cross?
Not to jump all up in your kool-aid but you have a commute within the city limits and you complain about it? Jeez, try driving K-10 to joco everyday. I have a gut feeling more and more stoplights are going up on my commute. A new one popped up on K-7 in Olathe just this week. I'm sure the EastHillz people will add one then that SE Lawrence housing development will want/get one too. It's going to take me a freakin' hour to get to work soon. Keep in mind that I drive that far so my wife and kids can have a nice place to live where they can walk to things instead of drive. Funny when you think about though. (I drive so they don't have to)
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chrysanthalbee (chrys anthalbee) says…
todd, i can't complain about my commute. i did about a year of commuting to downtown KCMO so i know what you mean. by all means, jump in my kool-aid.
i don't know why we need three stoplights on kentucky. i like the fact that there is one right by the pool and i respect that light probably more than any other in town. i just hope the other two can be synchronized so that i don't have to stop twice in three blocks.
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leslie (Leslie vonHolten) says…
Clearly, we didn't need a stoplight at 7th & Kentucky. I'm at that intersection all the time, and have never had to wait more than 1 minute (on a busy day) to cross.
So Chad, I'm curious...why not bike your commute? I know the heat is brutal now. I biked to a work meeting yesterday afternoon. I was a sweaty wreck when I got there, but as my friend Stu pointed out, if more of us biked in the heat, sweating for a few minutes afterward wouldn't seem so weird to those around us.
As for cicadas, I think they usually kick up mid to late August. They drive me batty, but I know most folks love 'em.
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chrysanthalbee (chrys anthalbee) says…
leslie: why not bike? i don't have a good excuse. i love biking and my bike. my commute would take just about as long and i'd save on gas. i've been trying, honestly. maybe tomorrow?
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Carmenilla (anonymous) says…
I have friends who threaten to leave in the summers. They say its the heat, no good bands come thru, the heat, less "eye-candy" (don't even ask me what that means, I'm married), the heat....to name a few.
Me, I like to sweat. My car has no A/C, if you can believe. I bought it from someone in Wisconsin, where the worst part of summer is the sparrow size mosquitoes, not heatstroke.
I like Lawrence esp. now. It seems more "student-free" than the last few summers. Traffic, even with construction is bareable only because I drive as the crow flies as much as possible. With the lack of A/C in the car, I pick the side streets with the most trees. By doing so I'm treated to a lovely drive thru Lawrence. I did see some idiot going the wrong way down Tennessee at 8 this morning. Someone needed coffee obviously.
I am slightly perturbed by the additional street light on Kentucky. Going thru this morning and in the afternoon picking up the munchkin from the pool will be hellish. I guess I will deal. Giving people more reasons to stop/slow down is fine with me. I think people drive like assholes down there, even though they KNOW there are a ton of kids around.
But overall, I'm digging all the BBQs I keep going to, the Replay on Sunday afternoons, the pool (but sadly, not the lake anymore-crypto outbreak!), the flowers and the scenery. I like it all. I'm easy that way.
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cfdxprt (anonymous) says…
We have a shower at work which makes it nice, I can bike or run in, or go for a jaunt at lunch, and then at least wash the sweat off. If you get in the habit of biking to work, you'll get the cool experience of meeting the others who do it too, and not having to deal with traffic issues. Summer's not bad to bike in, sometimes winter hurts.
Remember today is the downtown sidewalk sale. They usually have some good deals, last year I got a 300+ dollar tent for 150. Go down and walk around, sweat a little and support your local merchant. I know I'll be going to Sunflower to get a new backpack and maybe some bike stuff - since I usually can't fight the urge...
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chrysanthalbee (chrys anthalbee) says…
when i do bike to work i usually bring my work shoes in my bag so i can wear tennis shoes. and generally the biking forces me to be empasize the casual in my business casual.
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liz (Liz Weslander) says…
I always think of the sidewalk sales as the begining of the end of summer in Lawrence. These last few weeks are always the most brutal for me - the novelty of summer has worn off, it's hot as hell, and all the summer activities are coming to close.
This is why I'm very thankful to be leaving for Colorado next week.
What's this about the crypto outbreak at the lake? Did our local paper have this info, or do you have an inside source?
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cvillehawk (anonymous) says…
"Africa hot (Gooooood morning Lawrence!)"
One of these is Matthew Broderick in "Biloxi Blues" and the other is Robin Williams in "Good Morning Vietnam".
I know, I know.... I'm a tool.
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kidmystic (anonymous) says…
you are not a tool cvillehawk, i couldn't read the blog b/c all the way through i was trying to figure out, "was he meaning to mix those up, or does he not know what he is talking about?" "Does he think vietnam is in africa?????????"
a tool for truth you are.
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Carmenilla (anonymous) says…
No I don't have that crypto thing confirmed, Liz. My brother did get it at Lonestar last year though. I was out there recently and it didn't look much cleaner. My good friend and her family live out there but don't swim in the lake very much. That says a lot.
The area around the beach is particularly sketchy. Mulletheads with KKK tattoos, dirty diapers on the beach, and the other day someone saw a guy with 2 giant iguanas on the dock. Pretty far out stuff goes on at Lonestar.
I advise you to keep your mouth closed while swimming there.
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chrysanthalbee (chrys anthalbee) says…
vietnam isn't in africa? i should've looked at google maps first!
sorry to confuse you. i just like to make word salads sometimes.
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liz (Liz Weslander) says…
I'll never forget swimming at Lone Star as a kid and someone finding a butcher knife at the bottom of the swimming area.
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ichikuo (Hanluen Kuo) says…
Mass was great today. I love the annual sidewalk sale. It's just great to see the whole community get out there.
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Freakshow (anonymous) says…
We went to the concert in South Park last night. For us, it was a journey to an America that has vanished completely from the coasts. It was incredibly moving and beautiful. Lawrence is, in fact, at this moment, perfect.
Groundhogs and such are very vulnerable to bubble gum. Leave it unwrapped near their holes. They love it, they eat it, they can't possibly digest it, and they die. Painfully, I might add, so you may not want to use it. Don't ask how a New Yorker knows this. We know how to kill everything.
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DavidRose (anonymous) says…
I like going to the theatre and not having to tolerate noisy frat boys and sorority girls flip floping they're way in and taking up rows of seats because they just all have to sit together.
August 1 is next Sunday... oh boy. *sigh*
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DavidRose (anonymous) says…
Add me to that they're/their idiot list. Cripes!!
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cfdxprt (anonymous) says…
Back in good ol' Indiana we used dynamite for mole control, for removing beaver dams and occassionally for fishing, on my friend's farm. Illegal yes, I think the statue of limatations has expired on that...but it did wonders for moles, if you don't mind replacing a few divits in your yard. Also a good stress relief, if a bit dangerous...
Mass was nice today and I got a wicked deal on a camping backpack I've been scoping out for months. Ah, I love the sidewalk sale.
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Carmenilla (anonymous) says…
Freakshow, the city band on Wed. nites may be one of the most charming things about Lawrence. We're glad you like it here. Its not perfect but its pretty nice.
Is it just me or does Sunflower Outdoor have the most rockinist sale ever? I scored big there too.
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Dazie (Aileen Dingus) says…
I didn't even realise today was sidewalk sale day, all I wanted was dolmas from the Mad Greek. However, I did get a great pair of shoes and ALMOST bought a kickass couch for $250.
I ended up going a few streets over and getting a big chair and ottoman for $100 though.
I was cranky, so if any of you were among those I either glared at, bumped into or attempted to kill using only my mind, I apologize.
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ichikuo (Hanluen Kuo) says…
Will someone tell me more about this Freakshow? They play every Wednesday night? What kind of music? Where? Thanks.
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chrysanthalbee (chrys anthalbee) says…
i biked to work today. it felt really good. it took about 30 minutes to cool down enough for work clothes. but i didn't get held up by any road repairs.
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Carmenilla (anonymous) says…
ichikuo, the City Band just played its final summer show. Sorry you missed it. The band is mostly brass and some percussion. They play classical and some "popular/comtemporary" music but it is all arranged for this big brass band. Its really great if you have kids as it is in South Park, at the gazebo. They even use cannons around the 4th of July for the 1812 Overture (did I get that name right?). Anyway, its a great thing to do on a steamy summer night. I think there is nothing more magical than watching the children dance and chase after fireflies while the music of Henry Mancini wafts thru the air. Now I sound like a cheeseball....
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chrisgladfelter (anonymous) says…
Henry Mancini composed the score for the movie "Mommie Dearest." Watching kids dance and chase fireflies to that soundtrack would be...different.
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cvillehawk (anonymous) says…
My actual concern was that you thought they both happened in the same movie. I'm a quote geek, I guess.
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Lardass27 (anonymous) says…
I moved to South Korea in march and this is the first summer in five years that i havent spent in Lawrence. I can say with total honesty that i've never missed anything as much as i miss the summertime in Lawrence. Enjoy that shit please.
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bigmomma (anonymous) says…
When I moved here, I had no idea what to think... thought it would be all hippies and democrats. Actually, it's a nice blend of everything. Intellect, art, Americana, good moral values and out of the box thinking. i love it!
Still a little scared of the sidewalk sale, though. People get a little crazy... I swear some guy tried to kill me with his mind today!!!!
Sigh... August is almost here.
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