Although it may have started with covered stomachs and arms, the women and men who participate wear your typical exercise clothing, while Neferet, their instructor, wears a flowing pant and shirt set that does show her midriff. Inside the studio with hardwood floors and flowing curtains, everyone is full of smiles and confidence. One student, Sara Patry, has practiced other forms of dance over the years and realized there was a big difference between the two.

“I don’t feel as self-conscious here as I do in other classes,” said Patry.

Neferet makes sure every student learns the very basic moves and practices them regularly in order to protect their bodies. Once students have the foundation, they can take it to the level in a full expression of art and freedom, but even during an introductory class, students come away empowered. Tania Hickman of Topeka said of her first class, “It’s nothing like I expected. Here it’s so free and open.”

Belly dancing, like the backgrounds of those who participate, is wide and varied. It contains a sense of empowerment, celebration, culture, costuming, spirituality and artistic expression. It’s difficult to discuss belly dancing without delving into its rich history and the many contributing traditions that fuse together in the art form.

Researching the term “belly dance” brings up all sorts of information on birthing, fertility, and coming-of-age rituals, said Neferet.

“What we are not sure of is whether the belly dance came first or the rituals came first.”

But this is not only a dance for women.

“My group, Tara’s Grace, has two men and about five or six women,” said Neferet.

There are two main styles of belly dance, Tribal Style and American Cabaret Style. The style most of us think of when it comes to belly dance is American Cabaret Style, a derivative of the American film industry’s glamorized version of the dance.

A woman named Little Egypt, said Nefert, brought the dance to America and called it the Dance of the Orient. It was picked up by the film industry and that fantasy took hold and other cultures absorbed it back into their own.

“The costumes that we see now in other cultures, the two piece top and skirt set and the richly decorated belt and bra top, come from the American Film industry,” said Neferet.

“For tribal style,” she continued, “the movements are more geared toward dance for the self, it’s more grounded, it’s more earthy. The tribal style, in and of itself, deals more with organic materials. The costumes are made probably from more every day type of materials rather than Las Vegas costume materials.”

No matter what your preference for style, belly dance can offer a lot to the community and the individual.

“My personal push for belly dance is that it’s a healing dance,” said Neferet. “In our everyday American lives, we usually just go for the linear, back and forth movement. We don’t think about side to side movements. We don’t think about circular movements. Belly dance brings us back to utilizing our core muscular structure, our skeletal system, our ligaments and our tendons—everything—for what they’re meant to be used for, and that’s artistic expression and spiritual expression.”

It’s a healing and beauty Neferet’s students pick up on right away.

“If belly dancing makes you this happy, I want it for the rest of my life,” said Katrina Frederiksen of Mayetta, KS. “This is the happiest hour of my day.”

The art form is mesmerizing to audiences.

Neferet quoted one of her favorite instructors: “Belly dance is not only healing for the dancers, but also for those who watch the dance.”

Tara’s Grace is located at 1005 SW 10th Ave in Topeka. A new session of class will start in early August. You can learn more by calling Neferet at 816.288.4635 or visiting them online at www.tarasgrace.org

[ seveneightfive July 15 – Aug 31 | by Macie Smith | photos by Colin MacMillan / Nathan Ham Photography]

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I met with one of the owners of the store, Dustin Dean, and noticed that the passion he has for this business is so evident, it seems to flow through him as he speaks. In fact, he’s so excited about what he does it’s infectious to everyone around him, whether you’ve been a fan of comic books your entire life or never even picked up a copy of Archie. Dean believes that we are living in the Golden Age of comic book writing and believes that the writing styles can even be compared to some of the great novels, stating,

“It’s not just about guys in tights beating up criminally insane people anymore. There are love stories, stories that adults would enjoy and social stories that allow individuals to broaden their horizons and experience a world they wouldn’t have a chance to understand any other way. It’s not just the funny pages anymore. This is actual literature.”

However, comics are not the only thing Gatekeeper Hobbies has to offer. Role-playing games such as Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons are also a popular draw to the business. Typically, a role-playing group is four or five people who are already good friends.

Gatekeeper Hobbies owner Dustin Dean stands with a rack of comics.

“It’s always been more about getting together with my friends than playing the game. I met my best friend here at the store. In fact, all of my closest friends have had some connection to the store at some point. The friendships you build here really are sustainable,” said Dean.

But don’t worry for a second if you’re new in town, the staff at Gatekeeper will put you on a list and help you find a group to play with.

The friendship behind the doors of Gatekeeper Hobbies is evident. The positive attitudes of both the staff and the patrons give the store a warm, “make yourself at home” vibe. Dean said that this is the atmosphere that he and the other owners were hoping for, saying, “While we sell things and we are a retail location, we try to build an entertainment place for people to come to. Like a coffee shop, we want you to come in and hang out and talk shop with us. We want people to come here and experience a place to hang out that’s not a bar and that’s not destructive. We want everyone to feel welcome, and view Gatekeeper Hobbies as an entertainment venue on top of just being a retail store, so we go out of our way to try to include people and encourage people to hang out here. The store is much more than just a store, it’s a destination.”

The kindness, friendship and ambition to provide a safe and fun place for both kids and adults to hang out makes Gatekeeper Hobbies a truly unique and spectacular business. As Stan Lee once said; “While no one is expected to leap tall buildings in a single bound, our aspiring heroes will be tested on their courage, integrity, self-sacrifice, compassion and resourcefulness—the stuff of all true superheroes.”

[ seveneightfive July 15 – Aug 31 | Kristen Veverka | photos by EJ Drake]

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But first things first: a yarn store! A local sewing shop! A Greek restaurant?

The storefronts at 5th and Washburn have been targeted by Karen Hiller of Central Topeka Turnaround Team, plus a few dozen interested Topekans who want to see the mostly-abandoned shopping center, well, turned around.  The revitalization efforts will focus on what is affectionately referred to as The Fiber Arts District.

“So often one area is built up – like Wanamaker – only to bring down another area,” Karen pointed out.  “What we discussed for this area is creating an original set of businesses – what is it that we don’t have in Topeka?”

The team hopes to draw in prospective business owners – fabric and sewing shops, yarn stores, and other craft-centered vendors. These are the kinds of businesses that crafty Topekans already frequent, but they’re handing over their money to corporate businesses or driving to other cities for supplies.

“Everywhere I’ve ever lived has had a local yarn shop, but I moved to the capital city and there’s just nothing here,” Elaine Becker pouted. “I’m stuck driving to Wamego for good yarn.”

It will be a while before these crafting-excursions can be eliminated – the project is still somewhat in a conceptual stage.

“We wanted to create a theme that will fill up the spaces but still reflect the nearby neighborhoods of Kenwood and Potwin,” said Karen.

The fiber arts shopping strip would ideally be a resource for Topeka crafters to find all of their supplies from local vendors, drink a latte and pick up some organic bananas (from the already well-established Topeka Natural Foods Co-op) – and all within walking distance.

It’s a tall order, but, as one man pointed out, “Lawrence wasn’t always an arts town.”

There is a lot of support behind the movement.  Each of the three-dozen attendees who met in one of the abandoned stores last month added their voices to an excited blend of hope and determination.  These members included interested inhabitants of the nearby neighborhoods of Potwin and Kenwood, those looking to open or frequent a business, and several very enthusiastic people in favor of opening a Greek restaurant.

“There’s no Greek restaurant in Topeka,” one man pointed out wistfully.  “I just want a gyro.”

First on the agenda is reworking a confusing intersection to make it safe for driving, transit, biking, and walking – as well as making it eye-catching.  Next, revamping those five empty, cobwebbed shops into a bustling arts district.

Those interested in getting involved, attending meetings or keeping in-the-know can contact Karen Hiller to join the email list (khill@cox.net).

[ seveneightfive July 15 – Aug 31 | Melissa Sewell | photos by Brie Martin
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Dinner for Schmucks is a remake of a 1998 French film called The Dinner Game. Thanks to seeing the original, I was unable to really sit and enjoy this film. The movie follows Tim (Rudd) who is trying to get to the top of his company that deals with money and assets. He gets his foot in the door when he introduces a lamp made from a deactivated bomb. His boss invites him to a special dinner on the weekend, but the catch is he has to invite a special person to come with him. Not just any ordinary person will do; he needs an idiot or schmuck. By chance, Tim is driving and hits Barry (Carell), who is trying to save a dead rat from getting run over. He’s saving this dead rat because his hobby is dressing up dead rats and putting them into famous scenes from history like the Wright Brothers’ first flight or Benjamin Franklin flying his kite. That part is actually pretty amusing, seeing all the famous scenes he puts his rats in—very good stuff. Tim invites Barry to the dinner and, of course, Barry agrees to go. The night before the dinner, however, Barry comes over to Tim’s house mistaking the dinner for that night and wreaks havoc on Tim’s life in a matter of a couple hours. The movie is right on with the remake minus the dinner part, because in the original, they never made it to the dinner. Some faces you might recognize in the film are Zach Galifianakis, who plays Barry’s boss who thinks he has the ability to control minds; Bruce Greenwood, who plays Tim’s boss; and Ron Livingston, who is trying to get the prize for best idiot at the dinner party.

If I could go back in time and not watch Dinner Game so i could enjoy this film a little more, it’d be nice, because I felt I would have laughed a little more. It’s hard—in my little hobby, with how many films I see—not to judge new films because they are remakes, and I compare it to the original when I know I shouldn’t, but I do—I’m a creature of habit. There were some dry spots in the movie, but it was funny overall, and I would suggest watching Dinner Game after you see this film, (though I know you might not, because it’s all in subtitles, but it is worth it). It was weird seeing how they translated some things from the old to the new, and they did it well. Good job by director Jay Roach for filling in the spots I wish they would have touched on in Dinner Game.

7.5 outta 10 wahoos

Nick Leach is seveneightfive’s resident movie expert. Check out his blog to follow along on his magical tour through the 151 Greatest Movies You’ve Never Seen.

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Ice & Olives 
The Lakeside Market

Hours: Mon – Sat 10 am – 7:30 pm / Sunday 10 am – 5pm
3627 SE 29^th St, Suite 105
Shops at Thunderbird Square
215.8460
www.iceandolives.com

“Business box lunch done right,” is right.  Ice & Olives is competing for my heart with their simple, delicious lunches that impress my co-workers when I  have to order lunch for the office.  Their individual box lunch plan allows each person to order their own sandwich off the menu with a side choice.  The meal is packaged individually in recyclable hard plastic containers with clear tops (and even the person’s name).  The sandwich is closed with an olive, a little touch that means so much to me, and complete with a pickle spear and cookie.  Other lunch options include the Variety Pack Box Lunches for a mix-and-match lunch and a “Build Your Own” sandwich tray.

I’ve ordered several times from Ice & Olives and have gone the Variety Pack Box Lunches each time.  This allows you to order a mix and match of sandwiches, variety lunch salads or even the soup and salad option.  Trying to please a group without individual orders can be tricky so I have a system down that has yet to fail which includes a mix of these three sandwiches:

Ciabatta Hotta: Cajun turkey and provolone on Ciabatta loaf.  This huge sandwich is garnished with leaf lettuce (thank you for not using iceberg) red onion and Ice & Olives’ secret sauce.

“A two fisted version of their Rocket in a Rapper,” this sandwich is amazing.  It’s girlie enough in flavors to please and large enough for the men to dig.

Moon Over Mihammy: Rosemary and sundried tomato curried ham and aged Swiss on marbled rye.  Again, garnished with leaf lettuce and Ice & Olives’ secret sauce (I need to find out if I can by that bottle by the bottle, gallon bottle – it’s so good).

“You like to slamma da hamm?  You’ll howl at the moon with the humdinger,” says their menu.

Tomato Basil Veggie Wrap: Perfect for my co-workers who are counting points, I thought I overheard that this was only a point or two for Weight Watcher people…  Cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, black olives and red onions in a high fiber 10-inch tomato basil tortilla wrap.  It’s garnished with sweet roasted red peppers, salad olives and again that secret dressing – which makes this vegetarian wrap anything but dry and bland.  It’s the same ingredients as their traditional vegetarian sandwich but with half of the bread for those watching their middle.

The menu boasts “Get half your daily fiber (with this sandwich).  Eat the napkin and get the other half. What a deal.”

Time [delivery]: On time, and owner Barry has delivered each time – always like to feel special

Avg. cost per person:   $6.75 (without beverage).  Order eight or more sandwiches and they are around $6 each and delivery is free (for order $50 or more)

Stomach report:   Sandwiches with a kick – a kick of good meats and cheeses (what do you expect from an artisan cheese deli that also slices Boar’s Head meat?) that also kick in some fresh ingredients for a healthy lunch alternative that doesn’t break the bank or your backside.

Leftovers: None – but could eat another sandwich for dinner.

Is there a return visit / order: Done.  Ordering again and again for meetings. Haven’t made it to the store for lunch yet, but would like to and would try their Cuban Panini (doesn’t travel well, they say) and skip next door for a latte at the Java Bar.

Seen + Noted items: Shop in the store while you wait for lunch and then enjoy their Coffee bar next door. Liquor store on other side, just in case you’re blowing off your Friday afternoon to sit by the pool.  Inexpensive lunch option with delivery, perfect for lunch / corporate meetings.  On the weekend, you can call and they will make you up a picnic basket, perfect lunch option for the lake.

If I could change on thing or had a suggestion: They would have several locations around the city.  Maybe next door to every Subway, so I could get sandwiches from them daily.

Box Lunch Menu

[photo provided by Ice & Olives menu]

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I approached a chatty group of ladies at my mother-in-law’s place of work, the St. Francis Mission Woods Clinic, where I had heard nurses and transcriptionists gabbing about the performances they’d seen while re-upping my insurance info. I corralled them into the break room over coffee and asked them, “Are you fans of TPAC?”

“Yes!” was the cacophonous answer from the five middle-aged women (they’re going to kill me for calling them middle-aged). They carried on about the various shows they had seen. Seinfeld, Simon and Garfunkel, Jesus Christ Superstar, Kansas, Mannheim Steamroller, the Oak Ridge Boys, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Barry Manilow. That’s just a few from the annals of TPAC history. The most recent success was Willie Nelson, who played this past April. These are big names and big shows. LeeAnn Woltkamp loves attending the shows at TPAC. She says it’s a refined place to take in a performance.

Self-professed fans of TPAC, the ladies of St. Francis Mission Woods Clinic

“With Mannheim Steamroller, it’s the kind of music that you sit there and you say, ‘ooh,’ and you’re in awe, and you’re sitting in comfortable chairs, you’re supposed to do that,” LeeAnn says.

“In other words, you’re saying, it’s not the place for a rock n’ roll show,” answers Terri Geiken, fellow employee. “But I wish it could be a place for rock n’ roll shows.”
“Well, the ushers are there in their suits. You’re not necessarily encouraged to get up on your feet. It typically is an older audience,” LeeAnn replies.

“It gives it the vibe,” says Terri. “It’s the unwritten rules. Don’t stand up, God forbid.”

So, yes, the ladies are fans, but there is a lot they’d like to see at TPAC that it’s currently not offering.

The programming is heavy on the country and those sit down and be awed-types of shows. Terri thinks they should expand their horizons, and although she is a country fan herself, she’s not into the “old country” that TPAC routinely offers. She goes to Sprint Center in Kansas City four or five times a year for the younger, top 40 country performers and the rock shows. She loves concerts, and says that she’d stick around town if the theater offered younger acts and some rock shows once in awhile. She, like all the others in the break room at Mission Woods, only attends one or two TPAC performances a year.

“I’d like to see up-and-coming performers,” she admits.

Terri and the others, and anyone who has bought an eTicket for a TPAC show or signs up, gets a newsletter with the performances and schedule for the season. Terri reiterates that she’s usually not impressed.

The group named off some of the performers they’d like to see in Topeka: Sting, Tom Petty, Donny Osmond (that was my mother-in-law’s pick, of course, uttered with a sigh and a batting of the eyelashes), the Zac Brown Band (“I would DIE to see them at TPAC,” says Terri), and a busy doctor even poked her head in the break room to chime in with “Pat Benetar” before clutching her clipboard to her chest and bustling out again.

So, why are these kinds of performers not making it to the TPAC stage? The majority of its performers tend to be country legends. The younger rock bands that Terri pines for aren’t there. There must be something intentional along the lines of TPAC’s booking procedure that informs the decision to book the performers that it does.

Barbara Wiggins, executive director at TPAC and Erin Aldridge, marketing manager, were happy to answer my questions under the expansive, acoustically outfitted ceiling of the Georgia Neese Gray Theatre.

“We’d love to have a rock n’ roll band in here that’s hip and new, but we don’t have a mosh pit, and people like to mosh at those kinds of things,” states Erin.

Barbara Wiggins and Erin Aldridge

The vibe that LeeAnn got from the theater wasn’t just from the impeccably dressed ushers. The management is booking away from the heavy rock stuff. Their booking decisions are based on in-house market research and the shows that are offered by up to seven regional and national promoters. But most importantly, the music performances are chosen based on cost. TPAC can’t afford to bring the huge performers that the ladies mentioned because of their performance fees, and the ticket sales would have to at least cover the cost of bringing the event to the theater. Sting would cost a hefty $125,000. Tom Petty: at least 75. They are out of the theater’s range. Willie Nelson was booked in at roughly $50G. In Willie’s case, Barbara was able to get a deal.

“I’ve worked in this industry for 15 1/2 years and a lot of the things we’re able to do is because I am able to reach back into my past experiences with past companies, promoters and agents and work deals based on those relationships,” she says.

Barbara does the booking at TPAC along with “a lot of support” from her event services manager, who is also in charge of the budgets.

“The reason it’s constrained by the budget is because of the market that we are in. This isn’t a market where regardless of what you put on sale people are going to come and support it,” she says. “This is a market that you have to bring in things specific in nature that people will support.”

And what do Topekans want, based on TPAC’s market research?

“People are responding to country,” Barbara says.

“We have found our niche in the older country genre. It’s proven itself over and over again, regardless of the artist,” Erin says.

Sometimes, Barbara takes a risk by booking an act like the rock band Staind in 2006. She saw that they were touring in the region, called an old friend and got a three-band act with Staind headlining to play at TPAC. The show bombed.

“I think we sold 1,300 tickets,” Barbara remembers. “People wouldn’t support it.”

“Right now the baby boomers are spending their discretionary dollars,” says Erin.

And baby boomers in Topeka and the surrounding area, according to TPAC’s research, are country lovers. They’re coming out in droves for names like the Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard and Kenny Rogers. They’re attending in numbers that make a show pay for itself.

“If the event is able to cover its costs, then it’s successful as far as I’m concerned,” says Barbara.

Me and the photographer on assignment, EJ Drake, asked about our top genres. Could I see someone like jazz great Sonny Rollins, who toured a few years back, on the TPAC stage?

“Not jazz,” says Barbara. “Regardless of what people tell you, this isn’t a jazz market. People won’t support large-scale jazz performances.”

EJ wanted to know about Hip-Hop and R&B.

“There really isn’t a way to market them to this community,” Barbara says.

With the Fall season at TPAC about to commence with the comedy stylings of Ron “Tater Salad” White on August 20, there will be thousands of Topekans who feel that TPAC has their interests in mind. They’ll head downtown for a performance, sit in the comfortable chairs, perhaps assisted by a well-dressed usher, and be blown away by the acts that Barbara Wiggins and Erin Aldridge have worked so hard, and under so many constraints, to bring to fruition.

But for those Topekans who look at the season’s offerings and don’t find something that piques their interest, the entertainment will have to be found at one of the small local venues, the occasional concert at the Expocentre or at the big amphitheaters in Wichita or KC. Not everyone fits into the TPAC market. TPAC has its niche, and it’s ultimately up to every Topeka music-lover to find that place where they fit in, too.

[ seveneightfive June 15 - July 31 | Leah Sewell | EJ Drake ]
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It’s not embellishment, hyperbole or overstatement of any kind to say that you won’t get a root beer float like Bobo’s anywhere else in the world. The root beer is made at the restaurant, the ice cream is produced on-site, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to hear about elves in the very back crafting the tall, frosty glasses they’re served in. It is, quite literally, the only place you can find this particular float.

Its uniqueness wouldn’t matter one bit if the float didn’t taste like the nectar of heaven itself. The ice cream, which you’d normally find coupled with their famously amazing apple pie, provides just the right smoothness to complement the bite of the spices in the root beer. I actually often find myself ordering the root beer alone, sans ice cream, when I stop in for a burger, as it’s a very sweet and refreshing version of the drink. But when that old Topeka heat and humidity start climbing higher and higher through the summer months, reminding me of the extra pounds and body aches that have shuffled in over the years, I start to crave that cool, creamy counter concoction and wander on inside. It tastes like summer, like childhood, like happiness.

[ seveneightfive June 15 - July 31 | Lyle Vaughn | photo by Lyle Vaughn ]
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Patti Whitworth is a self professed KJ/DJ who works two or three nights a week spinning discs and singing at several night spots in Topeka and Scranton.

Patti’s love for karaoke took root when her father brought home a karaoke machine, and he would sing at home or sometimes go out and perform publicly taking his discs and love for singing with him. After he passed away, she inherited her father’s machine and discs. Patti loathed karaoke at first, and “thought it was silly.” But after going out a few times and checking out the scene, love soon won out over hate and Patti became a full blown karaoke junkie.

Patti was satisfied for the most part just going out and singing at various clubs until 2006, when the owner of RC Saloon in Scranton offered her a job doing karaoke. She jumped at the chance and now DJ’s at three different Topeka nightspots, as well as the original gig in Scranton.

Patti has spent a lot of evenings doing karaoke since that first one five years ago, but one of her most memorable events came just recently. A lady, whose nephew had just gotten back from Afghanistan, came up to Patti and asked if she could recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Patti put “America the Beautiful,” sung by the great Ray Charles on in the background.

As she began speaking, putting her hand over her heart, all the people in the audience stood up and “took their hats off their head, put their hands over their heart and said it with her.” Surely an experience like that would be hard to forget.

As far as the local community of musicians is concerned, Patti senses nothing but support. Band members have been known to drop into her shows from time to time, notably DJ Jost of Hammerjunk and Steamroller and Dave Barnes of Simply Driven. Likewise, Patti proclaims she likes to go out and support the bands whenever she isn’t working.

Believing what she does makes a difference in people’s lives, Patti is out there three nights a week spinning discs and offering a microphone to anybody who wants to come up and sing their favorite song. Be it Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon, Shania Twain or even Barry Manilow, Patti will go out of her way to provide the “songs that make the whole world sing.”

Tuesdays – The Dugout-17th and Fairlawn
Fridays- The Dugout or RC Saloon, Scranton-check the schedule
Wednesdays – Jax, 555 SW 39th behind Wal-Mart
Saturdays- Victoria’s 5011 S. Topeka Ave.

Robin Cremer, still one of the new kids on the seveneightfive block, tried Karaoke once, but was asked to stop singing due to religious reasons. The actual request went something like, “for the love of God, stop singing,” so Robin heeded the call.

[ July 2010 | Robin Cremer | photo contributed ]
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I know I haven’t posted anything in awhile. Don’t think I haven’t been working on things. I certainly have been. I realized a few weeks ago that I had been neglecting something very important in my life: poetry. Poetry used to be the only kind of writing I did and over the years I have found several other outlets for my creativity. But poetry has always been what I do best, what makes me happiest. The past three weeks I feel like I have been joyously reunited with an old friend.

In 2006, Coal City Press in Lawrence, Kansas, published my first book of poetry, “voyeur poems.” At that time, I had no draw to write journalistically at all and blogs were few and far between. When Leah came into my life, so did a new kind of support for my writing which led to my confidence in a new style of writing. When seveneightfive magazine came around, not only could Leah and I share our writing with fellow Topekans, but I had the opportunity to become poetry editor and share the work of other poets in the community with our readers. This was the beginning of my neglect for poetry, in a way. I was so involved with getting others’ poems out for people to read and writing stories for seveneightfive that my poetry started to disappear from my priority list. Not to mention my other duties with two children, my job with the railroad, the conception, execution and promotion of the documentary film “Porubsky’s – Transcendent Deli,” and, among other things, the arrival of this blog. I had a lot on my list. I still do but I am starting to prioritize a little differently.

Last issue, I handed over the poetry editor position to the capable hands of Dennis Etzel Jr. and assumed an interim managing editor position for a short time. Ande Davis has since returned to the managing editor position so I am now a writer/photographer for seveneightfive. Also, a few weeks ago, GIZMO Pictures and myself completed a final additional scene for the documentary, a hot pickle-eating contest featuring the firefighters of Topeka Fire Station no.3. Even though there is still editing to do, that was the last big piece toward the final cut of the movie. Leah and I finished the design of an international literature journal, Coal City Review, as well. Poetry slipped into the places in my mind and creativity that had previously been occupied by all these things. I have written and edited over a dozen new poems since. Talk about opening the floodgates.

I realized the importance of this poetic overflow on my way to Kansas City to work the other morning. I was heading East on I-70 and there was a storm moving in from the north with the sun rising behind the rolling-thunder clouds. The sun lit the dark clouds electric and they were colored in bloom like a deep space nebula.

deep space nebula

My first thought was to grab my phone, take a photo and share it with everyone on Facebook, but I stopped. I know it is not safe to do all that while driving, but that wasn’t the reason. I wanted to keep it for me. I wanted to keep the vision of this sunrise special to me, and me alone. I took a deep breath and watched the rising unfold in Technicolor. I realized how much I had been sharing and how little I was exclusively holding onto and fully appreciating. It was like a moment after writing a poem: that moment where it belongs to me, unedited and original. An honest expression.

I enjoy writing this blog and even more that people gain enjoyment from it. Satisfactual will not end and neither will my involvement with seveneightfive. It will be trimmed down, though. This blog probably won’t happen every week, but it will happen. My main focus, besides finishing some current collaborations I am still working on, will be seeking publication for a completed manuscript of sonnets and to finish writing a third book of poetry. So, if you ever wonder why it has been a couple weeks and why the heck isn’t Matt working on stuff, know that I am. I am working on other things that I will be happy to share with you when it is ready. I hope you all will be there to share it with me when the time comes.

Matt Porubsky is not a licensed therapist, statistician, historian or medical professional. But he is the 2009 Distinguished Kansan of the Year in arts and entertainment. Take that! Most of the time he just makes stuff up. But all of these stories are based on actual events.

[ July 2010 | Matt Porubsky | photos by Kevin Rabas / contributed ]
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La Rocca’s Pizza

“American-Italian food at its Finest”
Featuring: Pizza, Pasta, Subs and Salads

La Rocca’s is nestled in the shops located at 21st and Urish, next to Tailgators. Seating around 45 people, the smaller restaurant doesn’t feel crowded with booths aligning the North wall, four-tops on the South and two high-top tables by the counter. The efficiency of the method – order at the counter and they’ll deliver your food to you – worked well as we entered this lunch spot.

Ordering to share, the only way to try new restaurants IMHO, we got Lunch Special #1: Any sandwich with two garlic rolls for $6 and Lunch Special #3: 6’’ Personal pizza with up to three toppings and house salad. We both added on a soda for $1 – and got them in to-go cups for a continued caffeine fix back at the office.

Seated in our booth, our salad quickly arrived. It was the perfect side salad proportion but I was quickly disappointed with the non-exciting iceberg base.  Its saving graces were the fresh cucumbers, black olives, grape tomatoes and generous amount of feta cheese on top.  It worked.  Next came our two garlic rolls, which were more like Thanksgiving day rolls drenched in garlic butter and rolled in parmesan cheese.  I loved them. The rest of the table thought there were just okay – which just means more for me.

Next came our personal pizza with pepperoni, ham and sausage.  The crust is a hybrid of traditional and deep dish walls with a flakiness and homemade touch that made it phenomenal. The diced ham was a hit for us, and being pretty particular about my sauce-to-toppings ratio on pizza, this one hit the mark.

“This is [insert expletive] good,” said a lunch companion after taking a bite of the pizza.

The sandwich was a 6’’ submarine-style filled with ham, cheese, salami and topped with the perfect ratio of lettuce, tomatoes tossed in oregano, onions, Italian dressing and seasoning.

A person who I presumed was the owner stopped by our table to make sure we enjoyed our lunch and to see if we needed anything else.  I’m partial to knowing that my lunch came from the owner’s creation, kitchen and heart.  Bonus for me.

We took a to-go menu and planned our return visit, when we will have the LaRocca’s Italian Salad and the Chicago Style Italian Link Sausage, and went back to the daily grind – at least it was Friday.

Time [from entering to exiting]: 35 minutes
Avg. cost per person: $7.50
Stomach report: Delish and full (but not too full)
Leftovers: No
Is there a return visit / order: Yes. Looking forward to ordering the LaRocca’s Italian Salad (Italian style chef salad) and a large create-your-own pizza for carryout dinner sometime for the family
Seen + Noted items: Clean, friendly staff, quick, good lunch portions
If I could change one thing or had a suggestion: Delivery

Hours: Tues – Sat 11 am – 9 pm / Sunday noon – 6 pm
 / Closed on Mondays
2025 SW Urish Suite 107   P: 
861.7141
www.laroccaspizza.net

[photos provided by La Rocca's via website]

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