Funny how in turning a famous lyric about New York City on its head, a turn of phrase in Thursday’s front-page homeless story managed to encapsulate Wichita’s low self-esteem. A 48-year-old homeless man who’d passed up a ride to California to work on his problems in Wichita said, “If I can’t make it here, I can’t make it anywhere.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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43 Comments
For some reason I get a mental picture of the “Last Chance Saloon” standing in a solitary pose right before a great desert.
If the 48 year old man is homeless and is clear thinking enough to make a statement like that, then he needs to trot himself over to Southern Mississippi where they are begging for workers of all kinds.
He could start anew and have cash in his pocket.
I think a salary that will be temporarily higher than any of its surrounding states sure sounds like a delicious offer. All the homeless able to work should be pointed towards southern Mississippi and start their life anew.
Maybe the next “Grapes of Wrath” writer will get a story out of it.
I sympathize with the man. Wichita has become known worldwide as the sump of the world. It is as low as you can get. No wonder so many people snicker or smile when I mention that I am living in Wich-IT-TAWW. Many people call it the center of the “flyover” zone, meaning that you wouldn’t be caught dead here. I have even had my European friends admit that they would have to be paid heavily to visit Wichita. Even though our people are illiterates, frauds and deviates (BTK, Carr Brothers, etc.) Whilst Wichita does have a great concentration of misfits and lowlifes, it does has several very fine attributes… great porn shops, liquor stores, pawn shops and strip clubs.
90% of the problems Wichita has are illustrated in the above post: the negative attitude of people here.
I moved here by choice from Tampa (after 20 years in Los Angeles) and have found Wichita to be a delightful place to live with an unending list of activities and entertainment. Of course, people that sit in front of the tv and grumble will never find anything positive. You have to get out, volunteer, get involved and learn.
I suppose that is too much work for many people, it is far easier to sit back and complain.
A few years ago, I spoke with a man from the east coast who was here interviewing for a job. He was an engineer, and the description of the job, as he explained it to me, indicated he’d have a pretty good salary. His one question was: Will I be able to afford to play golf here? Since it was evening, I couldn’t find out for him what the fees would be. But I had friends in near-minimum wage jobs who play golf, and I was able to assure him it would be no problem. He didn’t believe me. I finally got a friend on the phone and had the two of them talk about it. I dont’ know whether the guy took the job, but he was certainly excited about his golf opportunities here. Then I told him about our parks. He had a hard time believing that, too.
Happiness and opportunity aren’t found in a set of circumstances. They’re found in a set of attitudes. We need to get over it and appreciate who we are and what we have.
“90% of the problems Wichita has are illustrated in the above post: the negative attitude of people here.”
Raptor –The negative attitude comes from the treatment of people from other people.You have just made a contribution to it with your comment.
Frank Sinatra wouldn’t be caught dead or alive in Wichita
How is raptors comment contributed to the treatment of others? He made a fair critisim of what people project against Wichita.
Treatment of other people? How about the treatment of their own city?
Wichita awesome! If you don’t think so, you haven’t been anywhere else.
I thought that was a great comment made by the homeless man who turned down a ride to Cali-for-nica to address his problems here in Wichita.
The truth is, that man’s statement was actually more of a compliment than a lot of people realize, and it occurs to me that maybe not so many people understand the meaning of that statement.
Despite the negative press and the surly attitude toward TA-Town, or “Dub-K” (”Dubya, KS”), many people will be quite surprised to find out that Wichita residents take a lot of time and donate a lot of effort and money to care for their homeless population. Simply put, no homeless person in Wichita need ever go hungry or without shelter. The resources in our community are vast, they are truly helpful and in most cases they are without charge to the truly needy.
So, to make the statement “If I can’t make it here, I can’t make it anywhere” is really meaningful and a translation of that might read: “Given the number of places there are for me to eat, the number of places there are for me to sleep, the number of places I am able to receive psychiatric treatment and medication, financial aid, help with non-psychiatric disorders including dental care, ALL AT LITTLE OR NO CHARGE TO ME … If I can’t make it here, then I can’t make it anywhere.”
Wichita as a community should be, and will be by me, commended for stepping up to the plate for not only caring in the first place, but providing so many avenues of support for “the lesser of us.”
I should know; I’ve been homeless on and off for 10 years now due to mental illness.
And the homeless count is lower because what Wichitans are doing IS WORKING. Section 8 IS WORKING. THE BREAKTHROUGH CLUB IS WORKING.
May God bless truly people who understand the meaning of the biblical statement “The Strong Shall Care for the Weak.”
tc - you make a good point. I would add that for a number of reasons opportunities here may be greater than elsewhere - particularly in a high-cost location like CA.
Frank Sinatra wouldn’t be caught dead or alive in Wichita
Not true. He’s been here a few times. I did some work for some rich people in Crestview. Interesting stories.
Good interpretation, tc.. and looking at your analysis, I certainly agree with you, it is a compliment to our city.
Those that hate it so much have plenty of choices…do something to improve what you dislike, learn to accept what is very positive here..or, find somewhere else to live. Constantly knocking the city in which you live is destructive and just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Hey, thanks, Joe…I appreciate your words!
Wichita like anyplace has its negatives and positives. Having now resided in 5 cities myself including Wichita, Kansas City, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle and Atlanta where we now reside, I can tell you that there are things about Wichita I hate- lousy weather (which nobody can fix), lousy job prospects (which is why we don’t live there) and not much to do besides work. But if you live in Wichita, you can take things like good public schools, mostly safe streets and clean air for granted. People here in Atlanta face 2 hour commutes to work and the air quality here in the summer ranges from “sorta bad” to “can’t see my hand in front of my face” from all the smog here. And if you live in the city (we don’t), private schools for your kids are not an option if you don’t want them assualted and want them to learn something. And you don’t dare leave anything loose in your car or on the subway because it will be swiped. Oh, and that $100,000 house in Wichita- about $300,000 here. On the other hand, plenty of good paying jobs here, first class medical care and more to do than you could ever want. And good weather about 10 months a year. So you see each place has its ups and downs. The grass ain’t always greener on the other side.
Kev - you would be surprised at some things we have here. Music Theater as good as any. A Zoo better than ZooAtlanta. Symphony. Art Museaums.
Big problem still is air transportation; in my view they should have gone for a shuttle (Air MidWest) to KCI instead of AirTran. And, of course, my commute across town is considered bad by Wichita standards - about a half-hour INCLUDING stopping at the drive-through to get breakfast. (How long are you on the road?)
What part of Atlanta? I was born/raised in DeKalb County - Avondale.
“Frank Sinatra wouldn’t be caught dead or alive in Wichita”
He would if he had been looking for a plane.
A friend (of my kids’) works at Cessna, cleaning planes. While doing his job, someone spoke up behind him to tell him and his buddy what a good job they were doing. It was Harrison Ford.
Another friend of theirs (and mine–and now deceased) was with his new wife in Denny’s on W. Kellogg late one night, and looked up to see Keanu Reeves across the room. He and his wife didn’t believe it at first. Keanu was with his band members and had stopped for a bite to eat. I’ve seen the CD he autographed.
My ex saw Rod Stewart in Sheplers once, years ago.
You’d be surprised at how many *stars* stop in Wichita. They come for our planes, on route to somewhere else, and to shop at the world’s largest western store.
I believe that how good or bad Wichita is, like most things, depends on your attitude. If you see a place with great housing costs, big yards, safe neighborhoods, good schools, lots of parks, enjoy “brown” lake water, and make the most of the many things that Wichita has to do, then you are going to think it is a great place to live and raise a family.
On the other hand if you see limited public transportation, hate to mow large lawns, relatively high insurance rates, no oceans, mountains or eternal summer then you will think what a terrible place to live.
Me, I’m a glass half full kind of person and think Wichita is a great place to live and can find more things to do and ways to volunteer then I have time for.
I have traveled a good amount, I’ve been to 45 of our 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Costa Rica, Panama, and many Caribbean Islands. I enjoy traveling and visting a variety of places. I enjoyed living in Kansas City for 10 years, but Wichita is a great place for me to call home.
I truely believe that life is what you make of it and 80% of happiness is attitude.
Sorry, have to go with the majority..Wichita Sucks, and I’m outta here this summer for just about anywhere else. The job prospects for anyone not part of the “Good Ol’ Boys Network” are practically zilch, most of the people have never been out of the state it seems, and know everything. For a small town, the driving here is ridiculous, and asking any type of technology related question in stores nets you a blank stare. And before you ask, I have a college degree (as does my wife), have lived all over the world, and we both think this is the worst place we have ever been. The people are petty, unfriendly, jealous, xenophobic, and for a town with so many schools, basically dumb.But that’s just my opinion, and since i’m not a Kansas resident I’m sure there are those that will ay “well why don’t you leave?”We are.
Well we’re not ALL dumb RJT.
Some of us just get stuck here.
The rest of your post I agree with.
Cheri:
You got the right idea, you just didn’t go far enough. 100% of life is attitude. Happiness is a choice, not something you seek out. It is something you choose to have. It is not dependant on where you are, it is what you are. If you are looking for happiness to come to you from where you are, or the things you have, or the things to do, you will never be truly happy.
JR, RJT: JR I know; he has no tolerance for anyone who dares to disagree with him. And in Kansas, he’s definitely in a minority. No wonder he’s miserable; it’s a conscious choice. He wallows in it, and it permits him to maintain his air of self-rightousness. RJT: I don’t know you, but you’re welcome to leave. I suspect you’ll be equally miserable anywhere.
my mother used to tell me she would be asked by newcomers to Atlanta “What are people like around here?” She would answer partially with a question: “Gee, let me think about that. What are people like where you are from?” Then, regardless of theis answer she would respond “That’s funny, people here are just like that too!”
I have lived all over the country. I see good things and bad things about Wichita. I try to do what I can to make my hometown a better city; I also try to avail myself of the varied things we have here. I mentioned some things above; I could add things at the Universities/colleges. And, of course, for some things I may travel elsewhere.
Well GMC
I’m not going to let you make this thread about me but…
GMC?
YOUR first paragraph is priceless! Hell you shoulda just posted Dorothy’s last monologue from “The Wizard of Oz”.
The rest?
“JR I know; he has no tolerance for anyone who dares to disagree with him.”
Um…..
I tolerate the heck out of you GMC.
I’m a liberal remember? I’m all about tolerance. It’s just that I get used to using the weapons of my political sparring partners. Intolerance being chief among them.
YOUR assessment of me BETTER describes a large portion of the people of Kansas!
GMC
You make my point more eloquently than any words I could write here. And i’m the intolerant one that cannot stand to be disagreed with?Who’d a thunk a dirty old liberal hippie like me would generate such animosity over what was strictly an opinion?Dude, people don’t like your town. Get used to it.
Wichita, you have got to be kidding me. That is the most backward, unattractive city that I have ever visited. I will not visit the company that I do business with there ever again. I was not religious before I visited but now, I am a firm believer that there is a hell, and it is right there in the middle of the country called Wichita. The drivers, the no-talent do it yourself car commercials and the worlds most unattractive people, both in attitude and appearance, and the wind. I watched a driver do a u-turn in the middle of a four lane expressway. Saw more used car commercials in a 20-minute period than I have in my life elsewhere and was hit on by just about every foul mannered, repulsive middle-aged man that I ran into. Now I am an average sized woman, but would have been considered petite compared to some of the woman that I met in Wichita. Come on now women of Wichita, you have got to have a little more pride in yourselves. No wonder your husbands are trying to pick up women every chance they get. I was approached at the hotel, the gas station, the grocery store, the airport, the rental car counter and even in a restaurant while a man had his family out to dinner with him. Normally at my age and average looks, I would have been flattered. But in Wichita, I was so disgusted by the men and their mean, aggressive, socially retarded attitudes that I couldn’t leave there fast enough. It like visiting a penal colony surrounded by a wasteland of nothing for miles around. I’ll never go back and in fact, I have vowed to use web meeting whenever I have business with Wichita based companies. Talk about repulsive. This homeless man was absolutely correct. If you end up in Wichita, you’ve seen hell and you can’t get any lower. No wonder they have to pay airlines to fly into there.
Visit Wichita - why? Live in Wichita - no, never. If Frank Sinatra visited there, it was because he was doing a charity tour.
People in Wichita whine a lot but at least everyone can afford to buy a home. I can’t believe the cost of homes in Southern California, how many of you can afford to buy an entry level home at $400,000…yes that is correct…not likely very many.
Oh, so you would rather live in an apartment in Southern Calif, they start at about $1200 for the smallest and go straight up from there, no joke!
Commutes…oh my…it can take an hour to go 10 miles sometimes. Most of the time during the day, estimate 2x or 3x the number of miles in minutes to get somewhere to be safe. 60 miles, maybe will take 2 to 3 hours.
Gas…try $2.50 a gallon right now for the cheap grade…how does that sound to you whiners?
I miss the low prices in Kansas, and you should be happy this isn’t happening in Wichita, because it would make you very unhappy.
To the loser RJT, not sure where you are from, but you and people like you need to stay away from the middle of the USA. The coasts are full of smug ass losers that think their over-priced crime-ridden traffic-crazed bad-air places are better than the inline areas…and you know what great…stay away because we don’t need smug ass losers!
I’ve lived in multiple cities in the USA, and everyone of them has good and bad things. Every city has good areas and bad areas, even the big cities on the coasts have some very very big problems, and just aren’t worth it.
Wichita is a gem, and we need to keep the big city scum out of here before they ruin it like they did back on the coasts.
Let’s see, Wichita is one of the few cities left in the US that still has a healthy manufacturing economy. This means, in a very literal sense, you _can_ make it in Wichita.
If you apply yourself, you can get a manufacturing job with decent pay, and you don’t have to have a college degree to do it. That doesn’t seem like a bad thing, at all.
Oh, sure, elitist types who prefer to hang around with the upper crust at the country-club might find Wichita a little less congenial than, say, Rodeo Drive, but for normal, friendly, unpretentious people, Wichita is a place you can call home.
Garrison Keillor had a guest on “Prairie Home Companion” a few years back point out you don’t have to have a “lifestyle” in Wichita. You can just be yourself.
Comfortable like an old shoe.
So, yeah. If you can’t make it in laid-back, friendly Wichita, you probably can’t make it anywhere. I like it.
People who are pretty negative see the world in that way. And you understand why they are such failures in life in general. They blame everything else but themselves.
I’m am one of the biggest cheerleaders for Wichita around, but I will have to admit that there are other cities that are much more attractive and have good amenities. But there are also some cities that are larger than Wichita that are competely butt ugly and have nothing really to do.
Dumps: Houston, Oklahoma City, Indianapolis, Pittsburg, Memphis, Atlantic City (basically all of Jersey is a pithole), Philadelphia, Los Angeles (where they charge you for everything, including Wifi in hotels and other hotspots, which is free everywhere else).
Cities that have it going on: Atlanta, San Diego, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Denver, Charlotte, Nashville and Seattle.
Cities that need more work: Dallas, San Antonio, Tampa, St. Lake City, and Phoniex.
Everything has it’s pluses and minus. For all the cities I have ever been too, Hong Kong by far is the best city on earth. Although I haven’t been to Singapore yet, and I hear that wins over a lot of people. Dubai and Berlin I also hear will stun the underwear off any American.
But as I am a positive optimist, I believe that Wichita will be a much more attractive place and have many ammenities and will become a great American city. I believe it is already, but it does need work. I see the statue in the rock. It just needs some love and work, and art will comeforth.
But it doesn’t come automatically and it sure doesn’t happen when people mope and call it bad names. If you think it deserves it, that’s on you and your opinion. But I’m going to roll up my sleeves and make Wichita a better place.
Hey Ben- we live by Lithia Springs Georgia- not far from 6 Flags off I-20. As for the zoos, I don’t know because I have not been to the Sedgewick County zoo since I was young. Me and my little girl went to the one here to see the Pandas and I was not all that impressed with it after living in Chicago and seeing 2 of the best in the country. But Zoo Atlanta is trying to move out of Grant Park to the Lakewood Fairgrounds. Hopefully it will be bigger and better. I work at the Bellsouth Centre so I am on the road for about 10 minutes to the park and ride and then the subway to Midtown for another 25 minutes. But I have it easy comapred to most folks here. I have a neighbour that works off 285- about 22 miles- and it takes her almost 2 hours to get to work! So bad she is looking for another job!
One good thing is that Airtran does serve Wichita from here which enables me to go there for a reasonable fare. I remember when my aunt passed away and only Delta went to Wichita and the wanted $970 for a round trip! I flew to KCI less than $200 and rented a car!
I feel pity for the poor souls who hate living here so much. It is especially pitiful that you are forced to stay here and are chained to this town you cannot seem to ever leave.
As far as the others that hate it, enjoy your hatred. I happen to like the town I choose to live in, and your viscous attacks will never change that.
Do I like every little thing about it? No, I am a realist, but nor do I hate everything and everyone here.
I cannot understand the venom..why live here if you hate it so much? Nobody is ’stuck’ here…there are plenty of other towns, plenty of other jobs. If you hate it so much, go elsewhere. But…I would bet a month’s salary that with your negative attitude, you would hate anywhere you lived.
Reply to Belle - Penal Colony?? You are actually calling Wichita a penal colony? I resent that entirely. People make mistakes. People have problems and sometimes it puts them on the wrong side of the law. Just because Wichita has a higher crime rate than most cities its size doesn’t mean that it is a penal colony. Sure we have a problem with meth labs but most rural communities do. Our police and law enforcement work hard to keep it under control but please don’t call Wichita a penal colony. Sure we have had our share of serial murderers and we lead the nation in drive by shootings and gang activities, but the new concealed carry law for decent folks will help that. If all of the big cities like LA and Dallas would stop chasing there criminals out of those cities, maybe we wouldn’t have such a big problem with crime, drugs and other problems. Keep your problems in your city and we won’t have to deal with it in Wichita. Wichita - Penal Colony? Maybe but its because of the dregs that leave the other cities.
I don’t care what the nay-sayers proclaim; I LOVE WICHITA.
It’s true that most of our buildings look like giant bales of hay, and our streets are squared (though constantly under construction, ) but guess what? We grow wheat, cows and airplanes here in Kansas.
When’s the last time you had a 12oz. ribeye in Manhattan or Seattle that cost less than $10?
I like the comment from “prarie home companion” … comfortable like an old shoe … just be yourself.
Man … the art museums, the zoo, the space museum, the observatory (doh! the trains!), the hospitals, the very pretty, thick kansas cowgirls, the biggest ball of twine in the world for cyring out loud … the simply never-ending volunteer posts.
To me, bigger and “time before time” cities and oceans and other continents are great places to visit, but I’d rather live HERE.
I LOVE YOU WICHITA!
Okay so maybe ol’ blue eyes wanted to buy a plane or stopped through Wichita,after all he was trying to sell records back umpteen years ago.
I will bet Sammy Davis Jr wasn’t with him on the trip,would have surely ruffled the white sheet brigade at the airport! I am not packing my bags and moving to a house with picket fence on Broadway Avenue quite yet…
I would certainly not call Wichita the “haven” for the stars,nor could I be influenced to believe that Wichita is a true “western” town like maybeTombstone,Cheyenne,El Paso,etc.
The reason that Wichita is described as a “penal” colony has more to do with their officials than the people. I think everyone knows government for the people,by the people,and of the people is just an amusing anecdote in Wichita.
I am glad for the person who has suffered reversals or is homeless that they were fed & sheltered and not jailed,but this is more an outreach of citizens,not atypical of government types in Wichita.
I would gladly order rib eye steak from a midwest company rather than live in Wichita.
There is absolutely no quality of life comparision to living in Seattle or Washington State to living in Wichita. I have lived in both areas and Wichita cannnot compare in any way except cost.
I believe you can also buy cheap land where strip mining,hog lots,or industrial dumping are accomplished…a very apt comparision to Wichita.
sur0131. If you are trying to make reference to racist people in Wichita, you have to remember that Wichita was one of the first cities in the United States to elect a black mayor. It was in 1970.
But that’s alright! But I understand your disgust. Seattle is very nice, although crime is really high, I just had a very good friend just move there from here last week.
But I’m not giving up on Wichita. Seattle was considered an industrial dump back in the 1950’s. But it took visoneers to turn it around in the 1960’s and really took it tell the late 1980’s when they can finally shake off the industrial and dependents on Boeing, for which Seattle was losing population rapidly prior. But people who loved it stuck with it.
I’m sticking with Wichita. If you haven’t been here for a couple of years, you’re missing the growth and expansion that is visable everywhere.
From JR:
“I’m a liberal remember? I’m all about tolerance.”
A large eyeroll and a P-lease. A bigger line of bullshit (excuse the expletive) was never spoken. Read the victriol that is the usual left-wing fodder here, and tell me with a straight face that liberals, at least as represented here, are “all about tolerance.” Good God; what fantasy world do you live in, JR?
As to the first paragraph from “Oz,” as you put it, you can poo-poo it to your heart’s content. Doesn’t make it any less true.
GMC
I chuckle at my singular ability to piss you off!
I said that I and liberals are about tolerance.
I am correct.
This does NOT mean that I or other liberals need quietly suffer stupidity, lies, evil, the intlolerance of others etc. or risk a charge of hypocrisy.
You’re not gonna slide back into whining about the blog again are ya?
But as a freind of mine often says, we are amused and encourage you to try again!
Joe - speaking of mayors - how do you see Brewer’s chances?
He is being supported by heavy weights in our area. Russ Meyers, Bob Knight and a few others.
Unfortunantly our city elections have a very low turnout, and that will bring out the extreme ends of the ideological specturm that turn out to vote.
Mayans is ok. He has a good size warchest and he will get the Hispanic, Republicans and Christian vote.
Brewer will get the Democrat and the Black vote and the few moderates that actually come out to vote too.
Unlike the last city election, the only choice was Mayans and Warren. Both lean towards conservatives, so the Democrats and liberals didn’t really have a good go around that time. But they do with Brewer. Although I wouldn’t call Brewer left-wing. He is pretty pro-business and I like that.
Personally I wouldn’t mind either one. Both are pretty good. But we do need more leadership in our city and Brewer will provide a stronger edge on that point.
We need a Mayor that will jump at opportunity, not afraid to take risk and put a fire under the asses of city maintence to clean up this city, repair our infrastructure and establish better accountablity for public/private partnership projects.
But to answer your question, Brewer has an excellent chance of winning.
Perhaps you are right Joe,I did meet a friendly guy one time in Wichita,I believe he was a Judge at your courthouse. He introduced me to his wife and sister…the problem is it was the same lone woman!
I’m inclined to agree Joe. I supported Mayans last time around but have been disappointed. Not sure who I will go for this time yet.
“I said that I and liberals are about tolerance.
I am correct.”
That’s the best you got - “I am correct?!?!” Saying it does not make it so; though you may convince yourself.
Read this blog - just READ it - and say that with a straight face.
No one is so easily fooled as those who fool themselves.