Up In the Air

I just spent a few days in Portland. It turns out that many of the cliches are true. Even the city's children are hipsters. Aside from its dank climate, the defining characteristic of Portland is the kindness of its citizens. The friendly people of Portland smile, eagerly assist one another and display a remarkable level of civility. Such sweetness made me feel slightly uncomfortable. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Kansas Citians snipe at one another like rats on a sinking ship.

It's the Talk of the Town

It took years of trial and error before I finally came to understand that the list of acceptable topics of conversation among neighbors in my community is very short. I do just fine if I limit chatter to the following matters:

• Restaurants- only those that have opened in the past three months qualify.
• Sports- KU, KSU, MU, Chiefs and Royals only.
• The nimby issue of the moment- right now, it's this.
• The weather- seriously, what is going on?