7/8/2002
Driving through downtown Kansas City yesterday approached the surreal on a level one might expect in happening upon a ghost town. Granted, it was a Sunday evening around 7 p.m., but there was almost no one anywhere. Parking lots were empty and few cars were parked on the streets. There must have been no less than four streets we saw that were totally empty. With the exception of one bus stop, seeing more than one person walking on a block simply didn’t happen and most blocks had no one in the streets at all. Eventually we found a more cultural area, yet almost no one was on the streets there either. After asking a couple of people where to get good barbecue, we were eventually directed to gates on 12th St.
Definitely a local spot, many of Gates’ customers were black folks. One woman pulled up in a cab with her two young sons, came into Gates while the cabbie waited outside, and picked up her order. Her younger son held the large plastic-wrapped platter above his head like a trophy as the three marched back to the cab and drove off.
