Harry S. Truman that is. With shops closed in the early morning hours we wandered around the downtown area which would make a great setting for a remake of the Andy Griffith Show. At 8:30 we were first in the door at Harry S. Truman National Historic Site. The ranger on duty gave us tickets to tour his house and gave us directions to the house roughly five blocks away. We inquired whether we could walk and he looked at the clock and said we would have to hurry...
We headed out the door and made it to the house with twenty minutes to spare. Perhaps the ranger pictured us walking on our hands...
The Truman's house was an interesting mix of grandeur at one side and down-to-Earth living on another. Apparently the Truman's were responsible for the meager look, while Bess's parents were responsible for the more ornate architecture. It was an interesting and informative tour and unlike many historical houses, all the furnishings and items displayed were original to the dwelling.
After the park ranger gave us some tips on local Barbecue restaurants (they had a preprinted sheet...), we got in the car and headed to the Kansas City Jazz Museum. It was a small museum but had some great displays and artifacts including one of Charlie Parker's saxophones and one of Ella Fitzgerald's gowns. It also had a great section of interactive exhibits geared towards children which we naturally enjoyed toying with.
With tummies grumbling, we went down the street to Arthur Bryant's Barbecue and ordered two beef brisket sandwiches. After we ate, I declared that we had found my favorite place on the road trip already and refused to leave. I told Lisa that I was content to live the rest of my life cycle at Arthur Bryant's fine establishment but she dragged me out of there kicking and screaming.
We made one more stop in Topeka to see the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site. It was in a formally segregated black elementary school within the city. We were both struck by the interesting history of integrating the teachers within the city since we were already familiar with the integration of the students. They also had a kindergarten classroom set-up as it would have been in the 1950s and the tiny wooden chairs were adorable (or adorabubble as Maya would say).
I spent the rest of the drive slumped in the passenger seat asking for Lisa to turn the car back towards Arthur Bryant's Barbecue...she never did and now we are sitting in Goodland, Kansas for the night - phooey!
At least my mental anguish and suffering inspired the following song while driving through Kansas today:
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