OK KCSJ and WWI buffs, kick the knowledge ...

WWI also inspired one of my favorite quotes of all time. The King of Belgium (Leopold X?), on the eve of the German invasion, had to make the decision to surrender or throw his tiny army against the German juggernaut. His response:
"If we are to be crushed, then let us be crushed gloriously."

 

One of the few other downers about the WWI Museum was that there was nary a book on the Battle Of Verdun.

There were TONS on the Somme and Ypres. I suppose this stands to reason given that there are more English language tomes on English and American-fought battles.

 

Albert I. He was also quite literally his nation's commander-in-chief, personally leading Belgian troops into battle. His queen was a nurse at the front, and the heir to the throne was only 14 at the time of his enlistment as a private.

 

Thanks. I totally drew a blank on the name.

 

Alistaire Horne's "The Price of Glory" is a good one on Verdun.

 

Same with me. If anything, I might have decided to take a bathroom break and end up going on a little stroll behind the lines.

You actually had some generals wanting to keep fighting until the last minute because they thought it would look good on their records.

Another crazy thing in the book. The German cabinet actually suggested to Kaiser Wilhelm, who considered it, to personally take a few troops to the front line and charge the Allies in the hopes that they would be machine-gunned and die in the war. They thought it would be an honorable way for the Kaiser to die, instead of abdicating.

Image finding out your loved one died so the Kaiser could go on a suicide mission?

 

Please, Mr. Kaiser - I don't wanna go!!! ;D

 

I visited KC with a group from the local art center to see a private tour and the KC Art Center. Since I opted to drive alone, I went to see the Liberty Memorial and take some pics of downtown.

The Liberty museum wasn't open, but I walked around.

I loved it. This spring, when I'm able to, I want to see the Negro League Museum, and once and for all decide which BBQ is better: Gates' or Arthur Bryant's.

 

Both are good, Jackstack and LC's are better

 

They both suck.

Kansas City is a cool place, I dig the hell out of it, but K.C. style BBQ sucks. I know that's blasphemous, but southern-style or St. Louis-style BBQ kicks K.C. BBQ all to hell.

 

For those who can't afford the trip to Verdun, this is a fantastic book (read it in college for a World War I survey course I took):

http://www.amazon.com/Price-Glory-Verdun-1916/dp/0140170413

Verdun was also the subject of a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" episode I saw about 10 years ago (the early 2000s version, not the 1980s Jack Palance version). According to the segment, Verdun was/is the smallest town in the world with a full-time bomb squad, and many large tract farmers still had to farm by remote control, lest their tractor tunnel under some unexploded ordinance ...

EDIT: Finishthehat mentioned the same book (but I provided a link!).

 

Those are best known nationally, but if you want the best KC bbq, go to Oklahoma Joe's. The original is based in a gas station downtown, and there's one out in the suburbs, but OK Joes is, by far, the best.