The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

I am parked on the edge of Lake Shawnee. Across the lake is a botanical garden where every Spring they have a tulip festival. Miko and I wandered over there – the tulips are getting quite a late start because of all of this cold weather we have been having. I just wanted to share some pictures of Spring for my northern friends. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to give y'all hope that Spring is possible and on it's way.

One of my neighbors in the campground.  He was a competitive BBQ Smoker.

My view out my door - a Kansas sunset at it's best

I also hit another worthwhile, strange museum, the Evel Knievel Museum. For you youngsters out there, Evel was a daredevil stunt performer who specialized in doing motorcycle jumps over great distances and over buses, cars, fire, and man-eating sharks during the sixties and seventies. He broke nearly every bone in his body during his career. Evel was actually from Montana, but there was a tiny little connection to Topeka so some of his fans built the museum here. The museum is located in a Harley Davidson dealership, but it is huge at two stories and about 13000 square feet. There were plenty of displays of his actual motorcycles and his outfits (the sixties were not a particularly good time for fashion). There were also panels that displayed his jumps. On these panels there would be a square that would explain what the jump was and where it took place and what happened (ex: Caesar's Place, Dec 31, 1967, Crashed). There was a video that would show the particular jump, landing and crash if applicable. If he broke a bone, there was a picture of a skeleton depicting which bone/s he broke. A little strange, I think. 

The museum had a 4D virtual reality jump that you could do. You would sit on a motorcycle (which was on one of the original ramps that Evel used). They would put headphones and a virtual reality headpiece on you. I was trying to decide if I should do this and told the guys there about my experience trying to summit the dome at the state capital. One of the guys said – 'you know, I'm supposed to push this ride, but I really don't think it would be a good idea for you to do this.'  Ok, since I'm not on the debit side anymore for doing scary thing for the rest of the year, I decided to pass on this. 

I try to keep this blog politically free and fairly upbeat. I really do try to not offend others. Sunshine and light is what I'm all about. So, I am going to deviate from that for the remainder of this blog. Topeka is the home of one of the most horrendous groups in our country – the Westboro Baptist Church. Westboro hides behind the bible for all the hateful actions and inflammatory hate speech that they do. They are especially against LGBT people but also Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Jews and U.S. soldiers and politicians. Their tactics are despicable and hate filled. Just nasty, nasty people. 

I will not show the hate signs on the church, there is no need to have that seared in your brain. This is their flagpole.

I went to the Westboro Baptist Church neighborhood. Just the thought of being in the same area as this organization made my stomach roil. Why, you ask? I went to see and support the Rainbow Houses which are across the street from the church. 

Planting Peace is a nonprofit huanitarian organization which specializes in global causes, such as orphanages in Haiti and India, international deworming efforts, rainforest preservation and anti-bullying programs. Planting Peace bought a house across the street from the church and proceeded to paint it in rainbow colors, in tribute to the gay pride flag. They called it the Equality House. They have rainbow flags all around the property. They then bought the house next door to Equality House and painted that house in the Transgender colors – white, pink, blue. Sort of like a finger in the eye to the Westboro people.  You Go Planting Peace, You Go!!!!

The side of the Equality House

Take Care of Each Other.....