The K.C. Gathering - A Real Fiery Affair

For anyone who was unable to attend the Urban Gathering in Kansas City you missed a good time. Several LBers from the around K.C. along with a few of us from Mid-MO converged on Loose Park near the heart of Kansas City of Saturday. The morning greeted us with true fall weather and was a bit chilly until the sun made its way from behind the clouds.

There was plenty of good food and great stories to go around. Over 20 temporary boxes were planted just for the event so there was plenty of finding and stamping to go around. There were so many boxes even I did not have time to find them all. And for those of you who think urban boxing not comparable to a walk in the woods, do I have a story for you for we had quite an exciting time on one hunt in particular.

McMonkey Mom and I were hunting a single box hidden right at one corner of the park. We were looking over one of Lnd-Crzr's wonderful picture renditions trying to determine exactly where the arrow was pointing when I notices a truck turning the corner shooting what appeared to be flames out from under it. Now being used to the city, I expected the car to be souped up with some special flame shooting exhaust so I nudged McMonkey Mom with my elbow so she could take a look. As the truck cornered and came closer, it became apparent to our horror that this car was not rigged to produce these flames but was rather spewing gas directly from the engine and leaving behind a fiery trail in its wake.

As you can imagine, we were both somewhat taken aback at first, but after a second I was able to yell "HEY MAN, YOU CAR IS ON FIRE!" (A definite first, and hopefully last for any gatherings). Luckily they heard me and pulled over very quickly and ran from the car. They looked dressed to the nines (perhaps for one of the many weddings being held in the gorgeous park). The fire department was quickly called in and dispatched the flames soon enough, but Lnd-Crzr who didn't see it all unfold quickly came rushing down to make sure that everyone had made it out of the car safely, a true sign of his selfless commitment and rescue training. Just another reason, we are lucky to have him in our midst. As the fire was being put we were even able to use the distraction to obtain the box of choice. (Afterall remember the LB credo, neither snow, nor rain , nor gloom of night, nor flaming vehicles shall keep a boxer from their targeted letterbox.)

All in all it was a good time. I had to leave early but I hear the gang hit the Crown Center area and had even more good food and fun including dinner by train.

For all of you who contributed boxes, thanks so much for making this event a success. I have returned with them all, so please contact me to arrange a drop off. We had so many contributions (including an 11 box series that Lnd-Crzr just had lying around his house) that a few of the larger boxes did not even get hidden due to the nature of the park. Thanks again to everyone who helped out and I hope to see some of you next week in St. Louis. Hopefully there will be nothing on fire this weekend.

My camera batteries were dead so I didn't get any pictures, but if anyone would like to post a link to theirs that would be great.

Thanks,
ahistory