Let’s talk about Kansas City’s inferiority complex…
We all know KC’S a great placed to live with the amenities and comforts of a major metropolitan area sans the big city headaches of traffic and crime.
Still everybody who’s anybody – from politicians to business bigwigs to members of the local media – insist on blowing things out of proportion to convince people we’re not just a bunch of flyover losers.
You know the drill.
We claim we draw 300,000 people were at the Plaza Lighting Ceremony when only 20,000 or so showed up. That the Kansas City Royals’ World Series celebration drew 800,000 as opposed to the approximately 150,000 who were actually there.
The latest bit of bombast: Star editor Mike Fannin’s over-the-top eulogy to former columnist Charles Gusewelle.
“Kansas City journalism has lost one of its greatest voices,” Fannin wrote. “We lived vicariously through his columns and travels. He was our Hemingway, and his work is there to be discovered by generations of new fans. We will never forget him or his beautiful words.”
Hold it right there…
Likening schmaltz meister Gusewelle to Nobel Prize winning novelist Ernest Hemingway?
Talk about over the top.
I mean they both did work at the Star – Hemingway for however many months and Gueswelle forever…
Seriously though, Gusewelle was an eccentric octogenarian who had a way with words when it came to the craft of writing. What he didn’t have was much of interest or significance to say about anything much outside of pets and about the simple or cranky things in life in and around Kansas City.
Check it.
“That’s ridiculous hyperbole,” quips local businessman and KCC columnist Dwight Sutherland. “ Ernest Hemingway is Kansas City’s Ernest Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway put Kansas City on the map as far as literature is concerned.
“Gusewelle was a good writer but he was very politically correct and preachy and he got more and more strident as time went on. On a scale of one to ten compared to Hemingway, Gusewelle was a two at best. And that’s being generous.”
As for the myth of Gusewelle being the world’s nicest guy…
Maybe in his writings, but that was hardly the case in my observations of 16 years in the Star newsroom.
The Gusewelle I and others there knew was a distant, cranky, aloof oldster who groused relentlessly about having to use a computer instead of a typewriter. And word on the street was his upscale neighbors off Ward Parkway in KCMO were fed up with him not keeping up with his basic lawn care.
“He was pretty arrogant,” adds a Star editor. who worked with Gusewelle for more than 30 years. “I never warmed up to the guy. He just seemed like the kind of guy who was in his own world. He had a very special talent, there’s no doubt about that, but the whole time I was there I never had a single conversation with the guy. He gave people the feeling that he just didn’t want to make time for you. Like who are you, I’m Gusewelle.
“And I wasn’t a big fan of his writing. I didn’t get into all that stuff about dogs and cats and trips to France and into the woods.”
Did Sutherland ever cry when he read Gusewelle’s Rufus the dog tearjerker?
“No but I cried when he was so boring and strident with his politics. I didn’t want to hear his opinions on Dick Cheney anymore than I want to hear Kanye West’s opinions on Donald Trump. And I was enraged when he got on George W Bush for being a war criminal. I read Gusewelle because my wife liked him and I went along with it.”
Not that Gusewelle didn’t have his share of (mostly older) fans…
“I was bummed and I’m still bummed that he died,” says one longtime Star reader. “I’ve got a couple of his books and you know, it was good, down home stuff – he always used to find the good in everything.”
As for Fannin’s characterization of Gusewelle as the second coming of Hemingway…
“That’s like saying Donald Trump is like George Washington. If Gusewelle was Fannin’s idea of Hemingway, I doubt he read much Hemingway. Gusewelle was a place to go and relax, where you didn’t have to think much. With Hemingway there was always some other message or symbolism that he was trying to get across. He was a much deeper writer and more political.”
“No way, Gusewelle never got to that depth,” the Star editor adds. “He never tried to do any serious writing. He might have resembled Hemingway with his beard and some of his outdoorsy stuff, but that’s as far as it goes.”
My funniest Gusewelle tale was when he wrote a column in 1996 making fun of the way Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre spelled his name.
“It would be extremely helpful if, before the name of the Green Bay quarterback becomes a household word, he would be good enough to explain why he pronounces it as he does,” the column began. “Bret Favre is a talented young man with a strong arm and great nimbleness afoot, but that does not entitle him to play fast and free with phonetics. (Because) there is no way under heaven that F-a-v-r-e can be pronounced Farve.”
Just one problem.
Caught up in the merriment of his tongue-in-cheek dissing, Gusewelle messed up and misspelled Favre’s name.
Allow me to explain…
In Kansas City Star and Print Journalism Land, misspelling a name in print was and remains a cardinal sin. In this particular case though, it was really embarrassing.
However Gusewelle would have nothing to do with eating a printed correction. That despite some undoubtedly serious editorial discussions on the matter.
And somehow or another he dodged the bullet and to this day, Gusewelle’s column online has the correct spelling with no correction.
Go figure…
Geee-Zuz, HC. Don’t let the body get cold or anything.
KCConfidential. Keeping it classy.
…and real.
History needs to be kept accurate, not blown out of proportion.
Likening a local writer who wrote about pets, vacations, yard work and family life primarily to an immense, historical figure was beyond merely over-the-top.
You disagree?
Disagree with making sure a eulogy uses no hyperbole, glowing accolades or some over-the-top embellishments regarding the life and times of the departed? In the interest of “keeping history accurate”, I guess not. I mean, that’s what is important when remembering a dear, departed friend/family member. Make it accurate! It’s apparently important. Those paying their respects WILL be fact checking. Gawd.
You are correct, Jim…
When it comes to friends, family all bets are on.
However when it comes to high profile public figures and purportedly responsible members of the news media are reporting, dead on accuracy doesn’t just count. It’s indispensable. .
I was a fan of William Least Heat Moon’s two books, Blue Highways and River Horse. The latter was the chronicle of Moon going coast to coast by water.
He spoke of the stretch of river between STL and KC being the most dangerous and made mention of a KC STAR writer joining him on two parts of that journey between the two sides of our state. Given Gusevelle’s penchant for into the woods style adventure, I always assumed it was him.
One night I walked into Barnes & Noble on the Plaza, and there’s Gus doing a book signing with one person in line. I guessed that was the best chance to solve the riddle of the unidentified Star writer…
So I approached the rather grumpy looking gentleman and said, “Could I ask you your strange question of the evening?” to which he replied, “…proceed,” which I found odd.
I then relayed the story, as I wrote it above, then asked, “Was that you?”
He bristled and said, “NO SIR, I have NO USE for William Least Heat Moon!”
I found that odd and felt compelled to ask why?
In a very stern, monotone voice he said, “WILLIAM LEAST HEAT MOON! By his name alone, what do you assume his ethnic background to be?”
I replied, “Well, he’s an Native American Indian..”
That was immediately met with a more emphatic, “NO, he IS NOT! His father was a Boy Scout leader and that was Mr Moons nickname in Boy Scouts! He’s NOT an INDIAN!”
I left thinking…he’s not a very happy guy….
I just recalled that not that long ago Guswelle put out an appeal for his fans to send him money. He said he was working on a book and would appreciate some help in the meantime from his fans in meeting his expenses. Does anybody else remember this strange episode? Have you ever heard of an author doing this?
Sounds like kickstarter or gofundme or some of those other websites. CW was just ahead of the curve.
And Jesus, Hearne, you really think it’s important to mention that Gusewelle might not have had the best looking yard? I didn’t realize that a poorly kept lawn meant one was an a$$hole.
I hope that’s the worst thing someone can say about me when I die…ya know, Phaedrus was a nice enough dude, but did you ever see his yard? What a f$&!ing disgrace…I hope he rots in hell.
lol…. this gives me great hope that the condition of my backyard is annoying my asshole neighbor beyond belief, maybe even keeping him up at night!
Go for it miket…
Not that his yard was poorly maintained, P…
Just a snapshot of an otherwise successful, well paid local celebrity who was at odds with his upscale neighbors over something as petty as maintaining his property in accordance with the accepted practices of his neighborhood.
Weird, quirky…in a lame way. And in contrast to the image of being the world’s most kindly guy.
Interesting story, Paul…
Which speaks to Gusewelle’s reputation in the newsroom among those who worked with and or knew him. Undoubtedly he had his friends, but he did not come across as some super nice, kindly guy to many…outside of his writing.
Gusewelle’s writing never moved me. I’d read half of one of his pieces and stop. It doesn’t matter to me what Fannin thought of him. I will say this … he certainly did look like Hemingway. However, I have a feeling if he’d written like Hemingway, he’d have been fired by the Star long ago … just my take.
That is very true. The Star has no room for writers, just fools to scream from the rooftops
This column was unnecessary.
So what if Mr. Gusewelle was prickly or aloof? So what if he lacked lawn care skills?
And regarding your comment, Hearne, that history needs to be kept accurate. Are we to assume that all your posts are accurate? When I read your posts regarding the Star and/or its employees, the opinions almost always seem tainted by the way they treated you. I guess that’s your prerogative, but it overshadows what could be some very good writing.
I’m a long-time follower of this blog, but sometimes it seems as if you and a few others want to be the cool kids on the playground; standing off to the side, pointing and laughing at everything you think is wrong with everyone else.
So there you go. Feel free to stand off to the side of the playground and make fun of this post. I can take it, and at least I’m still alive to answer for myself.
Thanks Paul, glad you’re still alive (hopefully) for me to take you to task here now!
My reporting on Star individuals has little to nothing to do with the way they treated me. It may surprise you to know that I got along quite well with just about everybody at 18th and Grand with rare exception.
Including editor Mike Fannin!
That said, you theory completely falls apart where Gusewelle is concerned since he was long gone by the time I arrived and I barely can remember catching however few glimpses of him in my 16 years there.
My reporting on Gusewelle is based solely on reporting, not personal encounters
I read his columns over the years now and again. I thought they were a nice read and a decent distraction.
The fact that so many found him a bit tetchy fits right in with his “eminence grise” look.
“Get off of my un-mowed lawn!!!!!”
🙂
even better!
Seriously, Hearne….bad taste, at least respect the fact that he had a long career. I may not have loved every single column that he wrote, but, dude, give the guy some respect. This was not necessary at all.
He did indeed have a long career, KCKT…
And for that he was handsomely rewarded by the Star tribute.
Just setting the record straight on Hemingway and the flip side of the standard issue hyperbole that so many Kansas Citians indulge themselves in.
Just keeping it real.
Check out Paul Wilson’s anecdote
Put me in the camp that never understood the beloved status of C.W. Gusewelle. I always attributed it to accomplishments that must have occurred long ago and before I became aware of him. It’s sad that he has died, and it seems that he lived a full life (I don’t think the Star published his age–one last indulgence granted), but the newspaper’s response to his passing did seem to be overkill.
My first encounters with his writing were when he was writing his column from Paris. Here I was, looking for a way to learn about all things KC by reading the local newspaper’s most noted columnist, and he’s writing about Paris, France! And not even anything interesting about Paris, but the equivalent of picking lint from his navel while he was wearing a beret. I always thought the Star must have sent him to Paris to see if KC really had more boulevards, and Charles just took his sweet time tallying the count.
His nostalgic musings through the years about newsroom camaraderie and the salad days of journalism rang hollow to those who saw first-hand his aloof, untouchable presence at the Star and his grumpy complaints about computers supplanting Smith Corona and cigarette bans that were quashing the affectations that defined his writer persona.
He could craft a nice turn of phrase, but too often it was in the service of having nothing to say. RIP C.W.
Very well said, Harwood…
But he did bring simple joys to many…even if the man behind those artful words was not exactly the kindly he posed as
I knew Hemingway. I was a friend of Hemingway. Gusewelle, You’re no Hemingway.
I was not a reader, I found his stuff cloying but I do recognize he touched a sweet spot in many of his readers. Well, he was surely a friend of The Star in death. It gave the content-free publication something to fuss about for a few days. Now that he’s been laid to rest, what will they do?
What indeed, Bob K