Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The Kansas City Vlog: 20230227 to 20230305 Boorish Slice of Life

The Kansas City Vlog: 20230227 to 20230305 Boorish Slice of Life



The second to the last day of February is yucky. I endeavor to be ahead of the curve and get my KCI media parking pass early, but the airport police are busy with the new terminal. There is a threat of severe weather as I do this. The rain does not help much to put out a vagrant house fire on Flora in KCMO. I am live at the old KCI terminal B. I recall old memories as many Kansas City residents do. It would be a shame to see such public works of art destroyed. I do one last walk through and admire the Brutalist Modern Structures which are still in many ways ahead of their time. I have mentioned that I have some ideas for uses for the old terminal buildings. I believe terminal B could become a capsule hotel for those times when peoples flights get cancelled or delayed, like the big meltdown that happened at the end of December 2022. It can also be a good convenient spot for a ground transportation hub to get people in and out of the city and to the airport. People could be close by and have a better option than sleeping on terminal floors when their flights do not connect. Terminal C could be a readiness/emergency preparedness facility/USO facility as well a a convenient place for the MEPS. With the infrastructure all ready in place and with little modification, all the military units in the area could make good use of this building. If there were ever a major disaster in the area, having this facility for coordination of emergency and contingency forces would be of great service for the metro. Since the airport is right there, all of these uses would be a perfect fit for this terminal. USO could use this facility for helping troops depart and come home. Military units could use this facility for their readiness needs as many deployments begin and end at a commercial airport. This terminal could serve the needs of US troops deploying and arriving home in a way that does not entangle them in the confusion and congestion of the main terminal. They could arrive as normal at the main terminal, and then catch a bus to Terminal C to be processed and welcomed home. As for deployments, all of their needs and processing can be accommodated in their own space with members of their unit temporarily setting up shop and making sure they have everything they need. In a similar fashion, the MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station) which has similar needs to a deployment station could be set up in the old terminal. The linear design of the terminal could ease the process as it is a logical layout for the recruits entry into the military. As for USO uses, with so many other military needs being met in the same building, it would be very convenient for the USO to set up shop in the same facility for their uses. Many military functions take place at commercial airports, and having a close by facility could make many of these needed functions seamless and economically viable. Those are a few of my ideas, I am sure many other people have ideas as well, other than tearing down buildings with a lot of life left in them. Remember, we need to reuse and recycle rather than demolish only to find we have to build the same type of facility in the same spot and many times the cost.
Continuing with my week, I am at the end of a busy day I pursue a fix for my right rear tire. I end up going to Discount Tire, which has a policy of doing minor fixes for free. Many other places are nearly impossible to get into. I do some bargain hunting at Retail Rebel and I get a bunch more junk to load into my car. On Tuesday we are at, can you guess? Yes, we are at the new terminal. There are some impressive features of the new design but that does not mean I would like to see the old terminals thrown out. Kansas City cannot celebrate for long it seems as three KCPD officers are shot trying to serve a warrant. This kicks off an operation 100. The three officers survive, but the shooter took his own life. I take the old Westport road in Independence on my way out of my work day. I kvetch about gas stations with no real facilities for the public to use. Cafe Cà Phê is calling for a hot drink and a dog nut. The first indications of spring are sprouting in our yard but we know it is fake spring. Thursday brings us doing a follow up live shot of the three injured police officers. We go live from the government quarter of downtown KC as going live from a place where even the police are not safe is not a healthy idea. I've had a stressful night with my personal life, so I stress eat at Winsteads -- the best steak burger in town. We have steamers at Cafe Cà Phê. Actually I have Vietnamese hot chocolate. Friday finds us with a rainy night and an uneventful evening where I livestreamed. I get danishes and cawfee at Headrush in Gladstone. Saturday we celebrate our dawgs birthday at their favorite, Three Dogs Bakery. Stella was born in March 2013, and Jimmy was born in February 2015, so we split the difference and celebrate around the first of March. We have brunch at Vietnam Cafe in Columbus Park. Retail Rebel calls our name on ten dollar day. I celebrate the beautiful weather with a walk in the River Market area followed by a cup of tea at Cafe Cà Phê. The dogs have no idea why we are singing to them and giving them treats and making them wear silly hats. Sundays have become one of the busiest days of the week for us with one kid serving and one kid singing in the choir and Sinag Tala dance plus a grocery run on a nice fake spring day.

Blog Archive