Kansas: My 32nd state!

On Wednesday, April 26 I arrived in Kansas! Before arriving in the state that was made famous by Dorothy and her dog, Toto, I drove right through Independence, Missouri (home of President Harry Truman) and Kansas City, Missouri.

Then, I was on to Lawrence, Kansas ... home of the University of Kansas and the Signs of Life Bookstore, where I was to participate in two events later in the week, put together by one of the best ISI Campus Representatives around, Josh Ney. Josh and I have been in contact for more than a year. We talk often on the phone and send lots of emails, to further the conservative and faith-based causes in Lawrence, Kansas.

On Wednesday, I finally met Josh in person. He gave me the tour of Signs of Life bookstore. It has lots of ISI Books titles! It also is a conservative and Christian book store, but less overtly. It's suttly conservative and Christian. On one side of the store, there is a coffee shop, where students and locals hang out and check their emails through their wireless laptops via a wireless field set up in the store. Upstairs, there is an art gallery with very tasteful art. This store truly is demonstrating "Signs of Life" in a postmodern age. I'll have more to say about this in my upcoming blogs.

Josh has been married for almost 2 years and his wife Carol is expecting a baby girl any day. She's officially "due" in a couple weeks. Carol and Josh joined me for a little side trip out to Manhattan, Kansas, which is about 80 minutes to the west of Lawrence. We drove on a pretty scenic strip of I-70, through an area called the "Flint Hills". It was neat, and the sun was setting as we drove through there.

We were headed out to Manhattan, Kansas to make a visit with 3 College Republicans at Kansas State, including Ben Davis, who is also an ISI Campus Representative. We met up with Ben and 2 of his cohorts at a local establishment and exchanged ideas for several hours. It was fun and it also helped Ben really introduce ISI to his two other friends who lead the College Republicans. They were excited to host ISI lectures, perhaps even work with Josh to get some similar lectures at KU and Kansas State during the same times when those speakers are in the area.

I will have more to say about the conclusion of my first day in Kansas. But for now, I'm getting some sleep.