The Current Online

WHAT WAS I THINKING? A TRIP TO THE TATTOO PARLOR

November 21, 2003

The place was Artistic Tattoos, just down the road from Kansas City International Raceway on Old Noland Road. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and I was talking to the tattoo artist who was going to be working on me. His name is Jimmy, and I have known him for close to 20 years. We even went to church together when were little kids. I found it funny that a guy I went to church with was now my tattoo artist.

We sat and talked for a couple minutes about what I wanted to get tattooed on my arm. It was interesting talking about a tattoo I was helping design, because when I went to get my first tattoo, I had a picture of what I wanted to get. I followed Jimmy back to the room where he does his tattoos, which was just up the stairs from the entrance of the building. The room is just pictures of tattoos that Jimmy has designed and it made me pretty comfortable, considering what he was getting ready to do to my arm. For some reason, he has golf clubs on the ceiling, which I am still trying to figure out. Jimmy got the ink and gel ready, and then he pulled out a green sharpie. I immediately started thinking, “Is he going to autograph my arm like Terrell Owens did on that football?” No, he was just drawing the design on my arm.

After he was all done drawing the design I had come up with, Jimmy dipped the needle in the ink asked me if I was ready. I said yes and he started my new tattoo.

After 45 minutes, Jimmy was done with the outline and during this time I was thinking two things: One was, “What did I do to deserve all this pain?” The other was what I’m sure a lot of people think when they get a tattoo, “What are my parents going to say?”

Another 45 minutes passed by and Jimmy had finished going over the outline of my new Tribal lattoo twice. I went to go look in the mirror and was very pleased.

I got the ink cleaned off my arm, which was very painful by itself because of how sensitive my arm is. Jimmy put on the bandage.

Then, the nervous part … going home to face the parents.

Of course, I got the reaction I was expecting. My mother was disappointed that I got another tattoo, but she helped me clean it off. My father just said, “Hey, it’s your arm and your waste of money.” And he kept trying to hit my tattoo.

And so what I was really thinking the entire time I was getting my tattoo was not what my parents were going to say, because I don’t care what they thought. What was really going through my mind was, “What is my next tattoo going to be?”

ARMED, BUT NOT DANGEROUS

October 31, 2003

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by Chad Ganson

Lakers’ pitcher Matt Kelly has been playing for Longview for the past two years. He is currently on scholarship and according to him, that is a big perk.

Some people might wonder, “Why play baseball for a community college.” According to Kelly, “It’s a good way to help you and get you ready for baseball if you decide to transfer to a four-year college.”

And then there is the question of maybe someday playing in the Major Leagues.

“The pro level is a shaky question,” Kelly said. “Of course it is everyone’s dream who plays baseball to make it to the pro level, someday win the first game they play in and for a few, win the World Series, but you just never know until that time comes.”

According to Lakers’ coach Gary Haarmann, Kelly was 7-2 as starting pitcher this season.

“He was a key player in our pitching staff,” said Haarmann. “Matt was a nice player to have on our team and a good leader in our pitching staff.”

Pitching coach Chad Wilkinson said, “He excepted the leadership role in our pitching staff. He was a good player and a good leader to have on our team.”

So if you ask the coaches, Matt Kelly is exactly the kind of leader you need on your baseball team.

Parking lots from hell

September 19, 2003

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Student parking on campus is worse than ever

by CHAD GANSON

Longview has started another school year and it is facing a problem it has never faced before. According to registrar Kathy Hale, there are 6,788 students at Longview, a substantial increase, but this is not the problem being discussed.

The problem facing Longview Community College is parking. According to Security Manager Lyle Koch, there are a total of only 1,834 parking spots in the seven parking lots.

During the first week of classes, cars were double parked, cars were parked on the grass and in every available space, whether it was for parking or not. First-year student Adam McKay, who never had to walk from one part of a campus to another, said, “It was nuts out there. I’ve never seen a school parking lot like this.” Student Brandon Bell described it as “kind of cluttered, but not that bad.”

“It’s always hectic when school starts,” said Janet Cline, dean of student development and facilities. Anticipating the chaos, Longview matched it by borrowing parking behind the Rec Center from Jackson County Parks and Recreation. Signs directing students to the newest overflow spaces were in place by the end of the very first day of school.

According to Koch, the many parking tickets that have been written can range from $25 per parking ticket to $50 per unauthorized parking in disabled parking spots. Failure to pay will result in restriction of grades, enrollment and transcripts.

Parking woes have been complicated by the traffic tie-ups at the intersection of Third and View High. Gale Communities’ construction project on the southeast corner of the intersection has diverted traffic from other streets into the intersection, while adding numerous heavy equipment vehicles and semi-trucks to the mix.

Lee’s Summit police had pledged to contribute a traffic officer, according to an e-mail from college president Fred Grogan, but no officers appeared during the first week of classes. The LSPD is currently contributing a few hours per week of traffic direction, but tie-ups remain a problem. On Friday, Sep. 12, the intersection was jammed for approximately 40 minutes.

“We don’t have an insufficient quantity of parking but we do have insufficient quantity of convient parking,” said Cline. “It takes an estimated four to five minutes to walk [to a classroom] from the Rec Center.”