The Dogmata Of It All...

It just doesn't make sense to me. How can everyone be right, and not one person be wrong; except for those people that aren't right!?! Does that make sense? Sure doesn't seem right to me, but then again I'm wrong.

Here are some ways you can be sure that you are always right.

• When proving that you are right, please be sure to talk excessively loud.
• While talking excessively loud, you can further your rightness by not stopping when you talk.
• Make certain that you interrupt others and talk louder when doing so.
• If someone says they don't agree with you, then tell them they are wrong. Remember the louder the better.
  
• Don't purposely say something that is wrong. It will only confuse those that are really wrong into thinking they are right.

Memory Lane of West Line Missouri

Today was an interesting day. Dana and I decided to take a motorcycle trip through Western Cass County. On our way, we passed through West Line, a small village about 40 minutes due south of Kansas City.


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I've taken this little spur that connects between 2 Hwy and Route D many times. It's a town of roughly 90 people and the main road is roughly less than 1 mile long. On your way towards the South end of town, Memory Lane is almost hidden on the West side of the road.

Memory Lane is a little nostalgic 'mini-town' created by Romaine Dennis. I was lucky enough to meet Dennis and ask him the questions that had been lingering with me ever since I first discovered the little town about two years ago. Dennis owns a classic car shop in Paola, Kansas, and in his spare time, he build his own little village. He didn't have any exciting story as to why he built it. He says that, "It just keeps me busy."

Memory Lane is quite the interesting town. It's a mini version of a small town setting with just about as much as you'd expect to find in a 60's - 70's style town.

You will find the following buildings: West Line Courthouse, Church, School, Soda Shop, Diner,Filling Station, parlor, boutique and more. Even more interesting, most of the building have an interesting assortment of vintage artifacts inside.

Take for example the marble collection and bath powders and medicines.

Dennis has just about thought of it all. Even down to the 'Burma Shave' signs throughout Memory Lane.



If you are ever in the area (Louisburg, KS, Freeman or Cleveland Missouri, then I suggest you take a few minutes and give memory lane a check. If your lucky, you'll find a couple classic cars sitting in the filling station. And say hi to Dennis for me. He spends his spare time up keeping the little town, and he's more than happy to give you his little tour. You'll know it's Dennis as he'll have his little golf cart close by to get him between the town buildings!



Here is a tidbit of history of the old West Line village. The town was originally called State Line when it was founded in 1854. Before that it was inhibited by the Poney Indians, one of the 12 tribes of the Osage Indians. The town really didn't grow much until the KATY (later to be called the K.C.P. & G Railroad) railroad. In 1872 the towns name was changed to West Line. From 1890 and later, over 20 buisnesses were run. It had a general store, bank, barber, lumber yard, restaurant, dance school, several blacksmiths, a couple doctors and much more. In 1904 a chocolate factory was built by Mr. Holinger. From 1890 to the 1930's, the West Line Baseball team was known as a great team, and often played the Kansas City Monarchs. The post office closed in 1972 because of a mishap. The people thought they were voting to keep the post office open, but because the way it was written, they actually voted to close it. Their address is now Cleveland, MO.

Matt the Nomad

So I was bored and decided to stay way up past my bed time so I could plot all the places I lived and worked. If you are just as bored, you may want to click this link to get a virtual tour of the places first hand.

Fathers Day

Fathers day has past, but the memories will be good! We had the boys this weekend and took the boat for its maiden voyage on Saturday. I got a great sunburn! The boys both loved it. We went over to Moms on Sunday evening, and everyone was there except for L. I believe she was working.

I always feel like I have so much to live up to. My father definitely continues to show his compassion and is definitely someone I strive to live up to. He's a dedicate individual that puts his dedication in anything he sets out to do. Raising a family was and is still to this day a priority he keeps close. I'm sure he has his moments and feels that some times he didn't do good enough. I suppose we all fee that way sometimes, where that seems to be the norm, not the exception for me. I take it as it comes, and thank God for my family and for all that we don't have to strive for. There are many less fortunate ones out there, and my prayers are with them often. Often I pray thanks for all that I don't have.

If it's one thing I've tried hard to do in the past 6 years, is to put others before me. To force myself toward my declared dedication, I recently volunteered my time to the CA/N initiative. The Child Abuse and Neglect prevention program in Cass county is spearheaded by a nurse with the County Health department and the local Cass County prosecutor. I'll be on the planning committee whose purpose will be to design a response to the issue of CA/N. I look forward to providing my time, and hope that the initiative will be a positive influence for others that are less fortunate, as well as a positive influence on me and my family. This is a brand new initiative for the county, and so far it seems the response to this initiative is very positive. The first planning committee is the second week of July. It's a chance for everyone to meet, and to find more information on how child abuse and neglect is effecting our community.

Now for the best part... tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! I'll have the boys again, and I hope the weather is good. Fishing seems like it would be a fun thing to do this weekend.

Till next time!

Three years ago today...

...was one of the greatest days of my life. Dana and I were married at Calvary Lutheran Church in Kansas City Missouri. Time has gone fast and it's hard to believe it's been 3 years already.

We celebrated by Dana staying home from work (actually she had to take Joe to get one of his teeth pulled), and us taking Joe to a baseball game this evening. But it's all good! We exchanged our cards and gifts when I got home from work. I received a cool little glass Fox figurine, as well as a glass Pug (very striking resemblance to Delmar!). Dana has been wanting to frame our wedding pictures, so I came up with an ingenious idea. I framed all 402 of our wedding and honeymoon pictures..... By using a 7" LCD picture frame, that is! It's pretty cool. She can keep it on her desk at work, and reminisce all she likes!

Life couldn't be better these days and I thank God for all he has given me! We have both been truly blessed. Praise to Him!

Delmar's Idol...

Death Metal...

Toll road washed away...

It's not the first time, and won't be the last. Lake Annette has flooded again. Lake Annette has been doing a good job at keeping in the nightly Kansas City news. Herschel Young claimed that the legality of creating a toll road was always a question; but was done more so to create a stir in order for the county to pay up sooner and help fix their roads.

I'm amazed how often Lake Annette has made headlines. These are just a few, but a quick search on any of the Kansas City News sites will show several pages.

May 29, 2003 - Town Mayor Refuses To Step Down After Losing Election

May 13, 2003 - Lake Annette Mayor-Elect Faces Felony Charge

August 1, 2003 - City Holds Garage Sale to Help Pay Its Bills

and my favorite from the New York Times:

Tiny Missouri Town in Big City Political Brawl

Happy Birthday Grandpa

Saturday the 7th was Grandpas 81st birthday bash. It's so awesome that he is still able to enjoy all the days that go by. He had a pretty good turnout, as A&B, L&T, Mom, dad, T&B&S, B from Arkansas, and all of our kids were able to make it.

Great Value Corn Surprise

I love it when I find a little beetle in my corn. Now I'm no scientist and don't even pretend to be. But something tells me that this little bugger was growing in my can of corn for some time. I looked on the can for the toll free number to call if you are dissatisfied and whoa-is-me... none to be found. Just says 100% satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Needless to say we didn't have corn last night.

Other life elsewhere?

This is the question that's on everyone's mind. Right at this moment, the Phoenix Lander is scooping up ice from the Mars polar region. It's from that ice, scientists will determine if Mars was once life sustaining, and if so, could it harness life itself?

The image above is one of my favorite images taken by the Space Telescope Hubble. Just the vastness of space is unimaginable. This image was taken back in 1995 and 1998 (it's a composite of two separate images). The Hubble's shutter was held open for 1 million seconds; long enough time to let even the faintest of light hit its lens. It's estimated to hold around 10,000 galaxies in this small slice of space alone. If you attempted to view the same spot from earth, even with a powerful scope, this portion of space would be mainly black. Because Hubble doesn't have the atmospheric disturbances that we have here on earth, it can surprise us with images such as this. And more so, from earth, this portion of space would only encompass an area roughly 1/10th the size of the moon! This is like a grain of sand from all the sand on the earth.

Personally, I totally believe that the possibility exists for life elsewhere in space. It's gotta be like winning the lottery? There has to be a 1 in 100 billion chance. I find the Phoenix mission very exciting, and hope that we learn a good deal from this endeavor. Who knows... maybe we will be making some new friends as well!