What's a real Kansan?

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, May 27, 2009

One of the issues we have explored here over the years is this: What is a Kansan?

We're not exactly like people on the East Coast or the West Coast or the people in Lawrence.

Living in Kansas -- the real Kansas -- is an acquired taste. Some never acquire it. They don't stay.

But for those of us who stay and either thrive or cope, one difference is our attitude toward the weather. I still say a good slogan for the state would be: We're Kansans. We like all kinds of weather.

I have been reading a little book called "The Humor of the American Cowboy," written in 1958 by Stan Hoig and published by the University of Nebraska Press.

These stories aren't necessarily about Kansas or Kansans, but a lot of them sure seem to be.

Take this anecdote for an example:

"Another cowboy on a very hot day decided to go for a swim. When he had shucked his clothes, he walked to the edge of a cliff overlooking a stream and dove in. Just as he jumped, a drought dried up the stream. But he was in luck, for a sudden flash flood roared down the dry creek bed.

"The cowboy landed safely in the water, but, by the time he came up for air, a norther had swept in and frozen the surface into solid ice. He surely would have drowned had not the sun made a quick appearance and evaporated the stream dry again. As it was, all the cowboy got out of it was a bad sunburn before he could get his clothes back on again."

That speaks more about the western culture we third and fourth generation Kansans came from than it does about the weather. We love humor and stretching the truth to achieve it.

We also treasure the grasslands, hills and streams that were here long before cows and cowboys. We are fascinated by the American bison, for example.

Real Kansans know that is the proper name for what most people call a "buffalo."

Susan Dillinger, an instructor of special education, counseling and student affairs at K-State, and her husband, Ed, have been raising bison on a ranch in Pottawatomie County for 15 years. Thanks to a news release from K-State about the Dillingers, I discovered some things about the bison:

- Bison and buffalo are no longer endangered.

- Bison meat is the leanest red meat around.

- Bison are one of three animals in the world that aren't afraid of humans. The other two are mountain lions and grizzly bears.

- Bison aren't as docile as cattle. "If you try to push them, they push back," Dillinger said. "There's no negotiating with them."

Mike Hall can be reached at (785) 295-1209 or mike.hall@cjonline.com.