In the Land of the Purple People

Well, as promised, I'm spending the week in Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University, the Kansas State Wildcats, and Purple Pride, which came well before the Minnesota version.

I haven't been able to post because a hotel reservation mixup knocked me out of the connected world, but tonight I've got a chance to hook up and type. It's been a good trip, so far. The natives are friendly, even though I'm usually wearing my jacket with a small Jayhawk patch. I've walked through Aggieville and lived (though I didn't try this during happy hour). I've made some good contacts here at the department, so we may have collaborations in the future.

Outside the University district, Manhattan is your typical mid-size Kansas town. In the center is a park, which for some reason is only named "City Park". It's not as big as its NYC counterpart, but it does have picnic areas, a swimming pool, baseball fields, lots of grass, and plenty of sleeping Eds and Co-Eds. The area around Manhattan, which is in the heart of the Flint Hills, is green and beautiful. (It's always beautiful, just not always green). It's not Oz, but it's closer to Oz than to the description of Kansas in the Oz books.

I'll be here a few more days, then back to Holyrood, then home. More posts whenever I get time and Internet. Y'all write now, hear?