Topeka, KS

After a quick stop in Wichita, we drove up to Topeka, KS.

Our ultra cheap hotel, at $45, was swarming with cops. N asked one what was going on, but in a typical fashion he evaded a direct answer (nothing to worry about, ma'am). Only after some serious evesdropping was she able to determine that they had an arrest warrant for someone parked at the hotel, and they were waiting for the person to return. The receptionist, from behind glass appeared surprised to see us checking into that hotel, and gave us a room on the third floor, away from everyone else. She encouraged us to park in sight of the room and watch our car carefully. The bottom floor was populated by a shirtless bearded guy and his buddy, who reminded me of characters from the TV show cops.

When reading in bed a small cockroach appeared, and after a quick lady scream, I composed myself and flicked it (N was looking at me cooley the whole time). The roach landed in the working airconditioner, right in the vent. N and I just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders.

So we slept, checked out and drove to see the city center, and this is what first greeted us.





Huh? What in the world is this? I mean I *get* it that they hate Obama, and gay people, and perhaps America itself, but what is all this kid eating stuff. Is this just about getting attention, or is there a deep theological explanation that I am missing?

Oddly, Googling "you eat your kids" turns out to quite informative, leading you pretty quickly to the Westboro Baptist Church. I still have no idea what it means, but I know that my interest in digging deeper into this is gone. And I know that I kind of mildly want to get out of Topeka as soon as possible.