There’s No Place Like Home
Waking up on the 16th floor of our home away from home in downtown Wichita, we had a beautiful view over the river and to the town beyond. It was going to be another scorcher out there! Sam and I took advantage of the amazing hotel facilities and had a lengthy morning swim and spa. There was a whole basket of giant beach balls which made for a bit of fun while we were the only ones in the pool but once we were joined by a serious young man with his book we had to tone it down a bit as we weren’t sure he would be a fan of having big, wet inflatables flying past him at great speed while he was trying to read. Just a hunch.
There was a USA Vietnam Vets conference being held at our hotel and we saw so many wonderful white-bearded vets – some in wheelchairs – all wearing train driver caps covered in badges and medals. They had a great camaraderie with one another and we met a few of the guys in the lift, who were so friendly. There was also a ‘hunting meet’ going on and we saw some classic characters amongst them too! Lots of bandanas around necks and grown men in denim overalls, reinforcing our stereotypes somewhat!
The breakfast at the hotel was scrumptious with home made maple granola – big chunks of nuts, fruit and toasted oats! There was an abundance of fresh fruit, all kinds of breads and pastries, a huge hot selection and made to order omelettes! Sam and I agreed it was the best brekky we’d had on the whole trip and so it was only fitting to eat enough to last us through lunch as well!
Getting around Wichita presented us with quite a challenge. There doesn’t seem to be any public transport system in existence here, which is puzzling since it is one of the biggest cities in Kansas! There’s a railway line but that carries only freight and we were told there is a bus that comes sporadically but the girl at the hotel desk strongly advised us not to take it saying it was “horrible” (we weren’t too sure what she meant by that!) and doesn’t cover much ground anyway. We needed to do a bit of shopping for Sam – buying sheets, towels and supplies for College – but really weren’t too sure how to get around town. We also had to somehow get to Winfield, which was a 40 minute drive away. By all accounts it seemed that hiring a car was our only option.
The super friendly and helpful staff put their heads together to come up with a plan for us. Jeannie, today’s bus driver, said she’d be more than happy to drop us right at the car hire desk at the airport. She was so nice! In New York, we found most cab drivers didn’t want to talk at all (apart from the soft-talker of course!). They were all wired up and already conversing with an invisible conversationalist at the other end of their wire so it was hard to ask a question or get any information from them. I frequently thought they were talking to me and tried to chip in when Sam would give me an elbow and an admonishment, “mum, he’s not talking to you!” Jeannie, on the other hand, was up for a chat right from the word go. She didn’t know what car “hire” was and took a while to figure out we meant car “rental”. That was funny! She was lovely.
Since we’ve hired quite a few cars in our travels now, it’s becoming a bit of a joke that whenever we turn up to a car hire place, Sam asks if we can get a Mustang. They’re always double the price and the answer is always a resounding no. This morning I was greeted at the Thrifty desk, while Sam waited near the door with all the luggage, with the news that they only had one rental car left today and it just happened to be a Mustang…convertible! She said she was terribly sorry and that she could rent it to us for the price of a regular car. Yes! No need for an apology! I kept it a surprise from Sam, just saying the car was in Bay 9, and when he saw this bright green piece of automotive splendour sitting there in Bay 9, he could barely contain his excitement. “You got a Mustang? Alllriiiigghhtt!!”
I had to admit, the Mustang was pretty cool. The Hulk-green duco was even cooler. We pressed a button on the ceiling and watched in amazement as the slick roof folded and slid down behind the back seat (I’ve told you we lead a sheltered life). It was awesome!! We managed to just squeeze all our luggage in, putting seat belts on our bags in the backseat in case they spontaneously ejected out on the freeway somewhere.
We set off for the Mall (the “Moll”), where we found everything Sam needed for his dorm life (we hoped) and marvelled again at just how cheap things are in the States. We got beautiful, full-sized, plush bath towels for $6 each and they weren’t even on special! If I didn’t already have too much in my bag I would have snapped a few up myself! For the life of us we couldn’t see any Single sheets. With shelves and shelves of sheets on offer, we thought that surely we must’ve been mistaken. We were. It seems that here they call Single beds, Twin beds, which seems like a paradox to me, since “single” implies one and unless you actually have twins, you usually only have one bed. No one knows what a doona is here either (in Kansas anyway) and we got some very blank looks indeed when we sought to find one. We found only “comforters” which come already patterned and don’t have removable covers. Some time before winter kicks in, Sam is going to just order himself a doona online!
Our shopping safely onboard, it was then time for us to hit the open road in our Green Machine, top down, wind in our hair (more like elastic in hair because otherwise hair flies in eyes greatly hindering vision of road!) Another thing we hadn’t factored in, was that there’s a high chance of sunburn in a convertible. Der! We both got a bit fried but have learnt our lesson. There’ll be a lot more slip, slop, slapping going on tomorrow that’s for sure!
The highway to the little town of Winfield was lined on both sides by immense, wide open fields all the way to the horizon – so much space on either side of us – with corn fields (and other green unidentifiable crops) flourishing all around us. We were warned it would be flat out here and indeed it was! We arrived in Sam’s little town of future residence in the late afternoon and went straight to the bank to open him a new account. The Corner Bank of Winfield was opened in 1877 and was housed in a beautiful high-ceilinged historic building, so big for such a small town! One thing we’ve noticed about America is the number of banks around. Even the tiniest of towns will have at least 3 or 4 banks. Winfield has more than its fair share with about 10 banks in the main street! There’s even a bank of drive-through ATMs!
Now we were ready to visit the College. I was feeling a bit nervous as we approached, not knowing what to expect and knowing Sam would be living there for at least the next year. Feeling a bit pretentious rocking up in the convertible Mustang, I felt the need to explain it had been the last available car (probably unnecessary!) we walked into the admissions office to announce to a full room of people we who we were. Leslie, whom we have corresponded extensively with over the past few months yelled “OH MY GOSH, IT’S SAM! It’s Sam!” and came rushing towards us with open arms and the warmest of welcomes! She immediately introduced us to all the smiling faces in the office, who echoed Leslie’s enthusiasm and greeted us like long lost relatives. Two of the young girls, Morgan and Corrie offered to take us on a tour of the campus. They’d both been under and post-graduate students at Southwestern and now worked at College. They obviously loved it there and gave us all the inside information, recounting funny stories from past students and cluing Sam in on all the Southwestern traditions. We heard about Alvin the Alligator, a real alligator that used to travel around campus on a lead and the tradition of the “Jinx” which began when the old Fairmount College (now called Wichita State University) was defeated by their Southwestern rivals in a football game 41 to 3. That day, a Southwestern student prepared a tombstone, stamping it with a picture of a black cat at the top and writing the score underneath. From then on, Fairmount couldn’t defeat Southwestern! The black cat came to be called the “Jinx.” With the Jinx on their side, Southwestern continued to beat Fairmount for the next 14 consecutive years! The black cat, The Jinx, is now part of Southwestern’s logo and they have a real black cat as a pet that roams the grounds.
Corrie and Morgan also showed us through all the grand, pillared limestone halls, walking across the lush green lawns and up to the soccer field that was massive, with a big grandstand and “bleachers”. We saw Sam’s dorm room which was great but small (not sure how he’ll go fitting all his stuff in!) and then the “Field House”. As we were walking up to the Field House I was imagining it being used for agriculture or something field-related, but it was the gymnasium! Field, being of the track and field kind, as opposed to the cow standing out in the field kind of field! It was an impressive gym, with a timber elevated indoor running track around its perimeter (very handy in the snowy months!).
Apart from the Jinx tradition there’s another quite unique one, started back in 1927, at Sothwestern. It happens on the first Thursday of each school year and on the Wednesday night before, all the students gather on the lawn to paint and decorate a rock of their own. The following day, after a rousing speech from the College Dean, they take turns to add their rocks to the “Mound”, a circular shrine in the centre of the College. The Southwesterners are known as the Mound Builders (& their colour is purple)! It’s kind of weird but it’s amazing to see the individual students’ inscriptions on their rocks from the past nine decades. Sam will get to put his stamp on Southwestern when he paints his own rock this month and tosses it into the mix!
After our extensive tour, we checked into our Winfield Motel, which is a classic American motel, just like you’d see in the movies! Apart from the flat screen TV hanging on the wall, you’d swear you’d been in a time machine and landed back in 1975! Everything is still really well looked-after though and really clean (which is more than we can say for Bill’s place in Cape Cod!) so we can’t complain. It’s like a blast from the past!
I know the day I have to farewell Sam is fast approaching but I’m still trying not to think about it!
