Ben Edsall

My grand kids call me Pop, out of pure, unadulterated pretension I did a vanity Google on "pop" I found something really interesting.

When I moved to Missouri from upstate New York in 1973 I was shocked at the cultural differences, one of which was the pop vs soda wars. I had never heard of soda (or sodie as it was pronounced in Hallsville, MO).

So I was really confused. This was only part of the quandary, I remember one night I answered the phone and a lady said... "You're brother's gone off in a Holler"! I yelled to Mom, "Mom, some lady say;s Ray's yelling about something"! Having no idea that a holler in Missouri was a ditch.

My sister-in-law being from Missouri called those weeds at the side of the road "Shoo Make", we had always called is "soo-mac".

Boy, did I have a lot to learn. I thought shoe make was something a cobbler did.

Then came soda, or sodie! I had no idea what the heck that was. I drank pop!

So I found this website, seems some university is doing a study on the dialect differences pertaining to soda vs pop.

I found it rather fascinating. http://popvssoda.com:2998/

Pretty fascinating!

Seems as they put it Pop is cooler! Or those in the north say pop more that soda, or sodie as they said in Hallsville, MO.

When I was 18 I moved to New Orleans,at that time the drinking age was 18 but the first drink I ordered in a tavern was club soda and limes.... The bartender said, you must be from New York!

I guess you take your history with you. You can even vote online http://popvssoda.com:2998/

Kansas City Real Estate

I never cease to be amazed at the number of people I meet who have never been on a canoe trip. I understand if you are a native of New York or some other northern state but if you're from the Midwest and haven't been on a float trip, you are really missing out!

So what is a float trip? For most it is a short vacation, usually involving some camping interspersed with sitting in a canoe for long periods of time.

why the heck would you want to do that? Well it is usually accompanied by a plethora of adult beverages and some fun loving red-necks!

As you can see from the photo my wife even let me bring my girlfriend. Notice most of the people in the photo have some kind of a drink in hand.

The purpose of a float trip is to leave everything else behind, forget your troubles and worries and just relax!

Proper float trip etiquette should be observed, take some Mardis Gras Beads with you to reward those who are willing to display their goods!

Be prepared to share some of your adult beverages with other floaters.

Take along some food supplies as the alcohol Will undoubtedly make you hungry. Secure your cooler and supplies to the canoe, in case of the event of overturning your canoe. Overturning a canoe is not an option it usually happens when you really don't want it to.

Be prepared, others in your party may seek to overturn your canoe!

Take along some artillery, squirt guns, Super Soakers, even a cup to scoop up water and throw it on someone else can be a plus.

Keeping in mind the temperatures are usually in the upper 90's or even the 100's, ice is critical. Dry ice is Ideal. If you place dry ice on top of the items in the cooler you will freeze everything below it. If you place dry ice in the bottom of the cooler the wet ice will last longer and your beer will be cold.

ICE BOMBS, Ice bombs are a lot of fun and can provide a great entertainment source on a float trip. Using a plastic beverage bottle, place a small amount of dry ice in the bottom of the bottle, add a small amount of water; screw on the cap and throw the damn thing as far as you can.

As the dry ice expands the bottle will eventually explode, making a really loud noise and providing a lot of laughs for all the rednecks on the river.

The canoe: The canoe is merely a vehicle to get you drunk self back to the campsite, If you bungie them together you are much less likely to overturn and have to rescue your floating beer cans.

Bunjieing canoes is an age old trick turning your group of canoes into a flotilla of unsinkable barges that can weather the most turbulent rivers.

What can you expect on a canoe trip or float trip. Well, first a lot of really drunk people, and surprisingly a lot of really genuinely good people having a really good time.

You will see things that make Mardis Gras look like a fourth of July parade in middle America, and you will see hard working red-blooded Americans cutting loose and having fun.

So get your gang together and float one of the rivers near you this summer. Missouri has several great rivers to float.

Missouri Real Estate

Real estate has so many variables, property types and options. One of the most fascinating aspects of it is the people you meet. I am marketing two car washes for sale in Kansas City now and the listings have generated more interest than anything I have ever worked with before.

Most people know that a car wash has significant income potential, but few really know what it takes to run one right and make it prosper. One of the potential buyers I met was Patrick W. Crowe. Mr. Crowe made quite a life for himself out of the car wash business; in-fact he became quite a celebrity because of his flamboyant marketing ideas and one particular car wash that I am marketing now.

The Westheights Car Wash at 1826 Minnesota Av. Kansas City, KS has quite an interesting history. It has been the subject of two books and has made many people wealthy, particularly Mr. Crowe.

One of Crowes books The Car Wash Appraisal Handbook is available online he also penned a tome called Oprah for President in which he manages once again to outline the history of his success with the car wash at 1826 Minnesota Av. Kansas City, KS.

The Oprah book is as much a publicity stunt as the one he pulled to pump up the numbers at the car wash before he sold it.

But the car wash appraisal book is the real deal. Despite it's lack of sophistication, and unusual layout, Mr. Crowe knows the business. He has put a life long history of car wash experience in a book that could save you a lot of money. If your looking to buy a car wash, this book is the Bible.

Mr. Crowe outlines in this book, how to find, how to price and how to buy a carwash. This experience of selling these car washes has been rich and rewarding. I have worked with many REO and foreclosure properties but this one has been a real hoot.

We have had six offers in one week, the bank is holding ground and not budging on price. I'm really excited about this opportunity, if you are looking to buy a car wash this is one of the best opportunities I have ever seen.

They say never write anything you wouldn't want your mother to read! What about the Governor?

I posted a lengthy if disgruntled article about the Housing Authority of Kansas City I recently received a comment from someone calling themselves "Guvnah". I know anyone can post anonymously and call themselves anything they want.

I answered the question they posed and thought little more of it. Then today I was looking over my Google Analytics account. Seems I had a spike in website traffic from the State Capital, from an The Office Of Administration. I tracked this traffic and the two spikes in traffic came the same days as the question and the response.

I wasn't quite sure what the Office of Administration was so I called my State Rep, who happens to be a friend of mine. He told me it is the Governors office that oversees the budget. Hmmmmm! Is the Governor looking into making some changes to the very troubled Housing Authority of Kansas City.

Lets hope so, as you can see from the article I wrote a year ago... the system is broken.

Jay Nixon has a history of seeking out and correcting inefficient government and working to correct the issue. In these tough economic times I'm sure Mr. Nixon is looking to make the state much more efficient.

The ever changing world of real estate has brought yet another change to the Kansas City commercial real estate market.

One of my former employers Don Maddux of CRES Prudential Kansas City has negotiated a merger with the daunting commercial real estate behemoth Block and Co. forming the largest commercial real estate firm in the Kansas City market.

Back in the day when I worked with Don at Commercial Realty Resources they had not yet joined the Prudential franchise. The story broke Thursday in the Kansas City Business Journal, but I had heard it from the horses mouth.

Last week I was talking with one of CRES agents that I had formerly worked with. She told me of the coming events and she and several other members of Prudential CRES have chosen to place their licenses elsewhere.

While Block and Co., is the behemoth of Kansas City Commercial Real Estate, there are still a few of us little guys out there, making our way with old fashioned customer service and hard work.

Ben Edsall.