Week of March 15th

When we pulled Kansas out of the hat, we thought how appropriate, since the NCAA March Madness was about to begin and the talk on the street was that Kansas University was going all the way. Being a Syracuse grad, I naturally thought that this wasn’t going to happen but was more than willing to cheer for Kansas & Kansas State in week 1 of the tourney and than have Syracuse taking out K State in the Elite Eight and toppling the Jay hawks in the Final Four. And I had $10 bucks on a bracket backing up my prediction. As luck would have it, this wasn’t how the final script was to be written but this week the celebration was all about Kansas and at least 1 team didn’t disappoint.

Since Kansas isn’t all about basketball, I decided to explore what else this very flat state has to offer. Although it enjoys the nickname “The Sunflower State” we already know that another state claims to be the highest producer (N.D.) of sunflowers. But they do have something N.D. doesn’t – the world’s largest easel (80 ft.) which holds a 32 X 24 foot representation of Van Gogh’s “3 Sunflowers in a Vase”. You can find this roadside attraction in Goodland, KS which is at the center of Kansas’ sunflower industry. I’d hate to be visiting this during one of those famous Kansas tornadoes. Kind of like the “Sunflowers” meet “Starry Night”. The story has it that the artist, Cameron Cross, pitched it to Goodland as part of a project to erect 7 easels around the globe, one for each of the 7 Van Gogh Sunflower paintings. To date only 3 have been realized. Any one have a big backyard and $150K to spare? You’ll have the largest sunflowers in town.

Kansas does grow more and mill more wheat than any other state in the union. This will help with the game watching menu. It’s also known for its Kansas City style BBQ but I have since come to find out that this style of barbecue actually originated in Kansas City, MO.

So with the games about to begin, the table once again adorned with sunflowers (5 Sunflowers in a Vase) and the tangy barbecue wafting in, we popped open bottles of Boulevard Pale Ales (also Kansas City, MO but don’t tell anyone) and toasted to the Land of Oz and the teams from Kansas.

Color in the “Sunflower State” with 3 very large flowers and head West again (Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.) to the “Beehive State” – Utah. 21 down - 31 to go.