Family Get Together

Last weekend Alex and I headed to Kansas City to hang out with my side of the family.  We spent the weekend staying at my uncle and aunt's home in KC and they were great hosts.  The driving force of our get together centered on the Western Farm Show, an annual event where a large amount of equipment is on display.  No one in our merry group (comprised of Dad, my uncle, my brother-in-law, and myself; the womenfolk went shopping) actually is currently employed in the agricultural industry, but Dad grew up on a farm and still loves looking and drooling over farm equipment.  This sentiment was shared by everyone in our party, with perhaps the caveat that I have never had enough of an interest in farming to educate myself on what half of what we were about to see is actually used for.

In spite of my ignorance, I really enjoyed myself, though I was looking through the eyes of an engineer as opposed to hobbyist.  I got a great deal of entertainment looking at a piece of machinery and imagining how it was assembled.  It was a reminder of how we are all surrounded by stories, if you have the background to read it.  Even though I lacked the background, it was interesting to think that someone very purposefully chose, say, a 4 inch, 3/8 diameter cast iron bolt with 18 threads per inch with a hex head to perform a certain function.  Something as simple as a bolt was specifically chosen for its specific characteristics which were meticulously tested (I found a datasheet with 35 pages worth of data on a bolt.)...

While Arthur's background of engineering gave him a lens to view the farm show through, I (Alex) am a physical therapist.  My experience and interaction with the agricultural industry through my line of work is that once I find out my patient farms or ranches I know several important things: 1. They will probably be a nice person but they will be a terrible patient.  2. They won't listen if I say to take it easy, don't lift anything, or back off if you start having pain. 3. They are impatient- they wanted to be better two weeks ago and they will get on with planting now matter what.  I think it is ironic that farmers are some of my most impatient patients (that's also ironic) since who else waits several months for factors outside their control (weather conditions) to see the fruits of their labor.  4. When I ask what they did since their last appointment that has caused increased pain I don't really want to know that they unloaded a truckload of seed and have back pain, jumped off the tractor in a hurry and tweaked their knee, or got kicked in the shoulder by a steer.   Anyway the only thing I need to know about the farm industry is how tall the steps to a combine or tractor are since getting back on the equipment is the chief goal of many of my knee replacement patients.

Therefore I didn't go to the farm show.  I actually haven't really been back to Kansas City since I finished up graduate school and I still have several friends in the area I wanted to catch up with.  I met my friend and former classmate Anna for brunch at her new home.  In school we lived two blocks from each other so we would car pool, go running, or study together.  She and her husband recently bought a home about a mile from our old stomping grounds so it was fun to go back and see how the area has changed so quickly in less than 2 years.  Over brunch we talked about work, what our classmates are doing, all the wonderful things that young couples without children do with their social lives-- we really decided we like to hang out at home and go to bed early.  It was also interesting to get a tour of her home and appreciate her sense of decorating.

This leads into my next stop.  An IKEA just opened about 2 miles from where I lived and I have always wanted to go to IKEA for the experience.  I talked my former roommate and blogging partner Jules into meeting up and walking me through the IKEA experience.  First of all the building is huge and there were a lot of people-- I didn't handle this well when I lived in the city and now I am out of practice.  I knew I would love IKEA right away since there were escalators-- riding an escalator is one of the small joys of life.  We wandered through the showroom floor following the maze of people and furniture.  Since IKEA is a Swedish company many of their products are design for living on a smaller scale in Europe.  On of my new interests is understanding how to design small spaces to not feel too small and cluttered and to optimize the use of space.  We then perused the shopping floor looking at neat kitchen gadgets, bookshelves, lamps, a plethora of throw pillows (I had to resist the urge to bring home a new throw pillow for Arthur).  We finally found our way out of the unending boxes of furniture that needs assembling and to the cafeteria.  I couldn't fit a futon in the car so we decided to get dessert instead and catch up on each others lives...

About the time Alex was dreaming of superfluous throw pillows and other accessories, I (Arthur) headed to the shooting range, dreaming about what I would do to said throw pillows should they dare wander past my threshold.  I have shot guns twice before in my life that I remember; once out at my grandparent's farm and once I went clay pigeon shooting with some of my fraternity brothers.  Among the many different ways you can categorize the human population, one interesting demarcation is whether the first time a person squeezes the trigger of a gun that person goes "Whoa, that was awesome!" or whether that person goes "That was loud and unpleasant."  That first time as a timid boy on my Grandpa's farm found me rooted firmly in the former category.  The second time as a strong college kid was more enjoyable, but frustrating (I can't hit the broad side of a barn, much less a four inch disc moving at 30 mph 50+ yards from where I stand.  The worst part is I don't understand how anyone can tell how far off they are to make appropriate corrections.)  This time, shooting at stationary objects where I could at least tell how much I missed by, was by far the most pleasant shooting experience I've had.

Well, this blog is getting plenty long, so suffice it to say we had a wonderful time with my family--there was time spent eating out, visiting, laughing, and general family togetherness.  Omnia Vincit Amor.