Kansas City

United States Pop-up #7

The night out of Williamsburg was bad, as in scary and restless. Right after I had finished watching 2 episodes of Bebop and reading 2 chapters off The Terminal List, I lied down and fell asleep for a mere 20 minutes.

I’m unsure if it was the rain echoing off the roof of my car or the lights of the loud sedan shining through the cracks in my windows. Either way I woke up. Being in the middle of nowhere, and being in Missouri, I was reasonably afraid of sketchy people. Right as I saw this sedan slowly drive past the site where I was camped I remembered a similar vehicle that had pulled off the highway when I did 3 hours earlier but had disappeared. This got me thinking that it was a killer or trafficker coming to pick me up. In hindsight, I realize that I shouldn’t of been this paranoid considering I was at a public and free “campsite” only a few miles away from a major highway, but it was in such a small town and such a strange series of events that I became worried and my heart started racing. I contemplated driving my car out of my spot and checking who had driven their sedan up the long gravel path and done a few loops around the site before backing into the path I had parked, but I didn’t want to rearrange my reflective panels and turn on the car. Instead I got on top of my car with a flashlight and surveilled the surrounding area.

It was raining which added to the drama of the scene, but I didn’t see the sedan parked where I thought it had parked, so I decided that it was just a late night traveler who wanted a quiet landscape to sleep in for the night. I got back in my car, and tried to go back to bed with little success. By 7am, I was confident in my decision, since I hadn’t been approached by anyone yet. By 9am I was more than confident, and had gotten just enough sleep to function for the day. I got up slowly, reorganized my car, took some photos and videos, made some sausage and potatoes, and got back on the road.

The drive to Kansas City was only 2 and a half hours, but due to the previously restless night and even slower morning, I didn’t arrive at my Cousin Elena’s house until 5pm. It was great to see her! We went to get groceries to make a chicken curry. It was alright, but I overcooked the chicken and bok choy. We then talked for a couple of hours, and eventually went to bed.

My welcoming into each city have all been wonderful :) The next day I said bye to Elena and did a pop-up on 18th street near 2 vintage stores, a handmade lingerie store, and a dressmaker. There was so little foot traffic that I didn’t bother showing off the clothes, but I got out my machines and sign so that people who came by and were interested may ask.

This technique worked out well, because a journalist named Evan walked by and was intrigued by my setup. We both took the time for an interview and after around 30 minutes he set off and I packed up soon after. I went down to the Kansas City Country Club to join some family members in celebrating my cousin Micheals 35th birthday. It was very nice to see a lot of family and wish Micheal a happy birthday.

The food was a plus, and I also got some good suggestions for setting up my next pop-up. I then went out with my Uncle Keith to get groceries. I was staying with him and my Aunt Margi for 2 nights and they wanted to make sure we had good options for breakfast. We got pancake mix, bananas, potatoes, and sausage. The next day I set up outside the restaurant Jalapeño’s in Brookside. After I set up, some Jalapeños workers came out, I’m guessing to make sure I wasn’t doing anything sketchy, and seemed to be okay with me working there. The weather was nice and the foot traffic was sufficient.

After nearly an hour in this location, a security guard told me to leave. I pressured him on this and he said that it was okay if I had permission from the owner of Jalapeños. The owner was the guy who I thought was a worker, but the security guards boss pressured him into kicking me out of the area. The owner felt bad, and recommended a parking lot (which I don’t think he realized was under construction and incredibly quiet), and also made me some tacos. I think being kicked out was worth the tacos because I was pretty hungry.

I didn’t go to that lame parking lot, and instead went to Westport outside 2 bars. Down the street there were some vintage clothing stores so I felt good about this location, but the police didn’t agree. 2 officers approached me right after I set up and after a little back and forth they told me to leave their district. I didn’t. Before the officers came back, I had many people come up and check out my clothes and follow the Instagram. I also finished a blue cami top.

At 5:30, an hour earlier than my dinner plans with Elena and her friend Mia, the cops returned and were happy to see me, because I made their lives a little more interesting. They forced me to leave, and stood there and watched as I packed up. When I asked if I could take a picture of them standing there they said no, which I thought was hilarious since they surely know that I’m rightful to take a photo of video of any public official on duty. I ended up taking the picture anyway which prompted them to move out of my personal area and jot down some notes.

I ended up just sitting in my car and writing while waiting for it to be time for dinner. We had Thai food and enjoyed each others company while developing new connections. After dinner I went to Elena’s house to pick up my book (of course I forgot it) and print veggies onto 2 cami sets that she wanted to buy. This took a while, but I’m happy with the final product.

Which pairing do you think is the best?

I also gave her the comfy blue top I finished that day, and I’m going to send her a pair of the mint briefs with a different bow. I got back to Margi and Keith’s late that night and we had a late night convo before going to bed. In the morning I got up and was surprised that Elana had joined me and Keith for breakfast since Margi wasn’t a morning person. We made sausage, banana chocolate pancakes, and potatoes. Elena just watched.

Breakfast was good and I spent a solid hour packing and getting out the door. Said goodbye to the KC crew and headed for Oklahoma City. I got there easy and went to dinner at a nicer Korean place than I would usually go, a celebration for my success in Kansas. I called my friend Kunlin, and we talked about life. I then nodded off in my room, dreaming of something.  

See you, 

-RK