First Impressions
By Lana Bennett
The first time I ever entered Wichita was after a long trip from my home state of California. I was rather tired but wanted to make it to my destination of Big Springs, Kansas just outside of Topeka, before I stopped for the day. Upon arriving at the ticket booth of the Turnpike I asked the clerk something I can no longer recall about Wichita. Her response, however, I do remember. She said with a combination of disgust with me and pride about her town, “Why Wichita is the largest city in the state of Kansas!” When I looked around all I could see was country, not a gas station, store or house in sight. So I said, “Well, I am from the Los Angeles area and I guess for a city, I just expected something different,” and drove on. I had no idea at that moment that within a year I would be living in Wichita. This was 1969 and it took me a long time to truly recover from the culture shock for a variety of reasons. Thankfully, over the years both of us have changed. Now it is easy for me to find tacos and Asian food in Wichita and I am actually thankful to be able to get myself to the country without too much trouble!
