Kansas City Has Its Very Own Superman

Michael Wheeler Runs For Peace

It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's Superman - right here in Kansas City!

Actually, who you are seeing flying through the streets of Kansas City is Michael Wheeler, a local man who loves to run and spread a message of peace.  "I'm running for the Lord and sharing his goodness with others," he says.

Wheeler was born in Oklahoma, but he moved to Kansas City as a four-year-old boy.  He discovered his skill for running one day when he was being bullied and took off to escape the violence.  

At nineteen, he was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam.    It was during this time that he became addicted to drugs and his life took a dark turn.

Things changed, however, when he met a minister who prayed for him.  For Wheeler, this was the beginning of a permanent change in his life.  He became a man of God and has been drug free for more than forty years.  

Still, his life path has not been easy.  Shortly after his sister was brutally murdered, Wheeler, who was now a preacher himself, became involved with community leader Alvin Brooks and his anticrime group.  

One day in the late '80s, when the group was marching on a drug house across the street from where Wheeler grew up, one of the dealers came out of the house and beat him with a 2x4 board.  


Wheeler was seriously injured, but after his recovery, he was able to meet with President George H.W. Bush about community antidrug and anticrime efforts when Bush visited Kansas City in 1990.

Today, Wheeler is 63 years old and shows no signs of slowing down.  He has run more 200,000 miles and has taken part in more than 130 marathons across the country - including the Boston Marathon.

Recently, he ran "unofficially" in Kansas City's Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure marathon and came in second place.  You will also see him running regularly through the Plaza/Midtown area, downtown, or even in the parking lot of Arrowhead Stadium on game days.

Although he has only been wearing the Superman costume for about four years, his mission has always been the same - "I love to put a smile on people's faces, entertain, and inspire," says Wheeler.

As for what is next for Kansas City's very own Superman, he is planning a "Super Run For Peace," between Kansas City and St. Louis - based on the events that have taken place in Ferguson, MO, since the police shooting of Michael Brown.  

Wheeler estimates that the run will take about four days and hopes that others will join him in his mission to bring people together and create a better world.

Good luck Superman, and may your mission for peace be successful!

Kansas City Preschoolers Blast Into "Outer Space" With Dino O'Dell

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KC Musician Kevin Dolan (aka Dino O'Dell)

Say the name “Dino O’Dell” to any four-year-old in Kansas City, and they are likely to start singing The Pizza Polka, Puddle Jumper or one of many other fun songs created by the talented Kansas City children’s musician. 

Now, with the release of his third CD, Outer Space, kids will be “over the moon” for his twelve new, original songs including the western swing feel of Flapjacks, the fun and fast-paced Sugar Breakfast Cereal, and the CD’s title song, the cosmic-sounding Outer Space, which is about a “little green man.”

As for parents, they will enjoy Dino’s new CD because it “tricks kids into learning” with catchy reggae-sounding songs like Around The World, which also includes Kansas City favorite Brother John on the track, and Colors of the Rainbow, which is an engaging way for youngsters to practice colors.

Dino (short for Dinosaur) O’Dell is actually the “alter ego” of talented musician, songwriter, actor and teacher Kevin Dolan who won the “Best Children’s Music” award from The Pitch in 2010.  He and his band, The T-Rex All-Stars, have been entertaining area kids for ten years.

As a youngster in Seattle, it didn’t seem likely that Kevin would grow up to be a musician.  He didn’t come from a musical family, and he wasn’t a particularly good singer.  What Kevin did have, though, was a love for music (especially Joni Mitchell), and a desire to learn.

Kevin playing the mandolin

At the University of California – Santa Cruz, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music, improved his singing voice and perfected his guitar, banjo, and mandolin skills.  He also worked at the Youth Theatre Northwest in Seattle and spent two years in Japan teaching at the Boston English Academy. 

After Japan, he returned to Seattle where he taught preschool and played in local bands until one day he made the fateful decision to visit a friend in Kansas City and decided to stay.  

As Dino O’Dell, Kevin plays numerous shows throughout the metro and nearby states.  Just last month he collaborated with the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art where he performed his show, “Around The World With Dino O’Dell” as part of their The Map as Art exhibit.  He was also the “preschool rock star entertainment” at several area library Dr. Seuss parties.   

Even more exciting for Kevin, though, is that later this year, he plans on creating his first Dino O'Dell video.

If you haven’t had a chance to take your kids, grandkids, preschool class or daycare group to see this treasured Kansas City musician, there are several “Dino O’Dell” appearances coming up.  I encourage you to go.  The kids will have a “blast” and so will you. 

Upcoming Dino O'Dell Events

May 3

LOL Family Fun Zone

3:00 p.m.

Lawrence, KS

May 18

Record Bar

5-8 p.m. (Dino's time TBA)

This is a benefit for Camp Encourage which helps autistic youth

May 25

Jiggle Jam Family Music Festival

4:45 p.m.

Crown Center

Kansas City, MO

May 26

Jiggle Jam Family Music Festival

12:45 p.m.

Crown Center

Kansas City, MO

Dino O'Dell and the T-Rex All Stars

Learn more about  Kevin and Dino

Order a copy of Dino’s new CD Outer Space.

Listen to a clip of Dino O'Dell's Itty Bitty Monsters

View Dino O'Dell's  TV Appearances  

A New Collection of Short Stories Brings Out The Darker Side of Kansas City

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If you’re a fan of shadowy crime fiction, local authors, and well-written literature, then Kansas City Noir is a book you’ll definitely want to add to your reading list.

Just published in October as part of a noir series by Akashic Books and edited by Steve Paul, senior writer and arts editor for the Kansas City Star newspaper, Kansas City Noir is an anthology of 14 new stories by some of this area’s fiction masters.

Contributors include Daniel Woodrell, the seasoned author of Winter’s Bone and several other novels, Mitch Brian, a screenwriting and film studies professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City, and Nadia Pflaum, a former reporter for The Pitch newspaper who now works as an investigator for the Midwest Innocence Project.

With such an eclectic group of talent, the variety of stories and writing styles showcased in Kansas City Noir is exceptional.  Even better, the collection does not have the regurgitated feel of  “typical noir.”  Instead, each piece, with its specific setting and distinctly twisted characters, leaves its own unique gritty impression on the reader.

Some stories, such as Grace Suh’s Mission Hills Confidential, have a very suburban vibe while other selections, like Nadia Pflaum’s Charlie Price’s Last Supper, have a more urban feeling.  Each selection offers an edgy cast of characters, ranging from children of serial killers to police officers in turmoil, and as for subject matter, everything from missing persons to arson is explored.

Picking any standouts from Kansas City Noir would be hard because every tale is so deliciously disturbing and cynical.  Nancy Pickard’s Lightbulb does a great job of examining remorse and retaliation.  Linda Rodriguez and Catherine Browder add strong character conflict to the mix, and Andrés Rodríguez blows a smoky cloud of Kansas City history our way in Milton’s Tap Room.

Although Kansas City Noir barely tops 200 pages and is conveniently organized into three distinct sections (Heartland, Crazy Little Women and Smoke and Mirrors), it is not necessarily a fast read.  Additionally, if you are the type of person who prefers light mysteries and tidy endings, don’t expect that in this compilation.

Kansas City Noir is more of a book that makes you ponder.  After finishing a selection, you find yourself wondering,  “What would I do in that situation,” or  “Would I ever take things that far.”  In fact, Kansas City Noir’s hook is that it intriguingly gets you to spend as much time thinking about stories as you do reading them.

If you’re interested in discovering some talented area authors, exploring the murky noir genre, and want to enjoy some well-crafted fiction, Kansas City Noir is an anthology worth checking out.

Becoming An Artist One Stitch At A Time

Kansas City native, self-professed cat lover and Midtown resident Julie Tenenbaum has never seen herself as an artist, but over the past year, that is exactly how others have begun to view her. 

Julie is the creator of  “Benny Cat,” a wonderful, whimsical, embroidered cat who seems to be popping up on coffee shop walls and in venues all over town.

The Benny Cat Inspiration

Benny was “born” a few years ago when Julie was learning to embroider.  She was wondering about what to make and remembered a pottery piece with an adorable cat face she had seen at Urban Mining Homewares.  She pulled out a simple drawing she had made of the cat, put her hands and creative spirit in gear, and before she realized it, Benny had entered the world. 

Since then, Benny has blossomed and developed a unique feline personality all his own.  According to Julie, “Benny is intelligent, fearless and full of adventure.  He will go places no other cats would dare to go.”

Baker Benny

Benny is also quite a chameleon in his appearance.  Sometimes he is purple or pink.  At times he has stripes, and he may or may not have whiskers.  “You never know with Benny,” says Julie.

Benny’s environment often changes as well.  He may pop up in a trash can, in a bowling alley, in the rain, in a chair reading a book or just about anywhere else you could imagine.  He’s a very mobile and versatile cat.

The whole “Benny movement” has been quite surprising for Julie who, when she isn’t creating new artwork, owns and runs a secretarial service, is a yoga enthusiast who taught the exercise technique to beginners for 12 years and holds a B.A. in psychology from Washington University. 

To satisfy her creative streak, Julie has always enjoyed sewing and has gone through phases of knitting, crocheting, drawing and painting small wooden objects and Altoid_® boxes.    

Something about embroidering and Benny Cat, however, grabbed Julie’s inner artist, and she has never looked back.  From a beginning sketch to matting and framing, Julie enjoys the entire creative process, even when tackling large, detailed pieces, which can take up to two months to complete.

Benny In The Bathroom

Julie and Benny’s first public show was in November 2011 at the St. James Lutheran Church in North Kansas City.  Since then Benny has found a permanent display home at The Rainbow Pet Hospital and can also be seen this month at One More Cup, a coffee house in Waldo. 

So what’s next for Julie and Benny?  Julie is busy checking into licensing and merchandising Benny along with expanding her artistic side while Benny is busy exploring life and making people smile.   Together, they want to see as much of the world and meet as many nice folks as possible.

If you would like to learn more about Julie, Benny pieces for sale and other additional information, visit Julie’s website at catstitchstudio.com. 

In the near future, there will also be a “Benny Cat at CatStitch Studio” page on Facebook where you will be able to “like” Benny.

Benny and the Buddha

A Different Kind of Adult Entertainment In Kansas CIty

Paul Mesner with two of his puppets

Paul Mesner Puppets Offers Kansas City Adults A Funny and Different Kind of Entertainment

Since I work at a local library, I often get to meet the talented and interesting folks who do programs for our patrons.  

Last week, I met Paul Mesner of Paul Mesner Puppets when he did a hilarious and nontraditional rendition of Little Red Riding Hood at our branch.  Both kids and grown-ups laughed hysterically at the silly and clever play.  

In speaking with Paul Mesner before and after the program, I learned that he has been working with puppets professionally for 35 years, has traveled throughout Europe with his puppet programs, and the best thing of all -  I discovered that this man is not only talented, he is really, really funny.

I asked him, only half-jokingly, if he had ever considered stand-up comedy.  He chuckled and said no, but that besides doing puppets shows for kids, he does puppet shows for adults.

"What?" I asked, somewhat confused because I had never heard of him doing any programs for adults.

"In fact," he grinned, "We have an adult puppet slam coming up next month." 

"Tell me more."  I badgered him curiously for further details.

He followed up by saying that approximately every three to four months he has one of these events in his theater at 1006 E Linwood Blvd.   The next one was going to be on August 17 and 18 at 8:00 p.m., have 8-12 bits and feature 4-5 different performers.

"However," he warned, "It is definitely an adult show with adult themes.  It is naughty, hilarious, and everyone has a great time."

He hooked me.  I was intrigued and am always up for a new adventure - so in other words, I'm going to go to the puppet slam, and I plan on having an evening of complete fun and entertainment.

If you are looking for something different to do, wanting to have a fun experience, and could use a little adult humor in your life, this is your chance too.  Tickets are only $10 each and are available by calling the central ticket office at 816-235-6222.

For more information, you can also contact Paul Mesner Puppets at 816-756-3500, or visit his website at Paulmesnerpuppets.org.

You might also be interested in knowing that Paul Mesner Puppets has an entire season of puppet shows scheduled for all ages - which even includes The Nativity, a holiday show in December featuring seven-foot puppets who move through the aisles of Grace & Holy Trinity Cathedral (13th & Broadway) to music and chorale accompaniment.

After meeting Paul Mesner last week, I am convinced that he is a vibrant and integral part of the creative core of Kansas City.  If you get a chance to experience one of his shows, my advice is - you should go.