Deflated Wichita State Program Limps Offstage

by Kevin Burton    Well, at least it’s over.    The 2024-25 version of Wichita State basketball bowed out yesterday, when the Shockers lost an American Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game to Memphis 83-80.    The team went 19-14 this year and will not go to a post-season tournament. They were far from sublime, not …

Taking Uber To Calvin And Hobbes’ House?

by Kevin Burton    I open my Uber app. First thing it wants to know, “where to?”    Good question. Obvious question, logical.    Oh I know exactly where I want to go. And I’m pretty much packed already. Traveling light.    But the thing is…well I don’t, you know, strictly speaking, have an actual …

Where Ya From? What’s Your Demonym?

by Kevin Burton    People from Wichita, the nearest large city to me, are called Wichitans.  That’s straightforward enough.    People from Puebla, Mexico, a city very near to my heart, are called Poblanos. Why not Pueblanos?  Not sure, good question.    Wichitan and Poblano are demonyms. The word demonym is “Rooted in the Greek …

A Shoutout To The Quiet People Among Us  

by Kevin Burton    The story goes that an opera singer, seated next to Calvin Coolidge at a dinner said she had made a wager that she could get him to say three words.    “You lose,” said the famously taciturn 30th US president.    Mr. Keller, my history teacher at Wichita South High was …

Despite Upgrade, City’s Website Not Accessible  

by Meg Britton-Mehlisch Wichita Beacon    Staff at Wichita’s City Hall weren’t happy with their virtual footprint. In 2022, they described the city’s website, http://www.wichita.gov,  as “suboptimal,” “outdated” and “confusing.”     So the city spent $312,000 on a website refresh intended to flip that description and create a welcoming and easy-to-use virtual gateway to local …

What If 911 Doesn’t Speak Your Language?

by Kevin Burton    Today’s post is kind of a follow-up to yesterday’s story about the best countries for expatriates.    The BBC did that story, based on a survey of people who had left their home country and settled elsewhere. My wife read it and asked “What about health care?” The story didn’t mention …

It’s All About The Cats At A Cat Café

by Kevin Burton    This is a fun story, filled with cute kitties, but with a serious bummer at the end.    On the first part of our June vacation, we came across Papa’s Cat Café in Columbia, Missouri.  It was easily the most interesting tourist attraction we read about it mid-Missouri.    I thought …

Website Says Wichita Is A Travel Mecca

by Kevin Burton   I don’t know what this story will do for you, but it could save my family a ton of cash.    WalletHub, an online finance company that I had never heard of before last week, ranks Wichita in its top ten of travel destinations.    And Wichita is way up high …

In Today’s America You Have To Pay Attention

by Kevin Burton    Gonna make myself a sign, and I’ll tell you why.    First, by way of explanation, a bit from my coaching days.    When I began coaching the Wichita Sonics beep baseball team, I adopted the three rules that the late John Madden, the old Oakland Raiders coach, had for his …

Leaving Comfort Zone, Finding True Love

by Kevin Burton    When we started a beep baseball team in Wichita, my then girlfriend-now wife Jeannette was issued uniform number 5.    Why? Glad you asked.     It’s anniversary week with the Burtons. Ten years ago yesterday we tied the knot after five years of dating.  I’ve talked about this from several angles, …