The Runway #341

Some places simply collect. A hundred and twelve years of arrivals, departures, and reasons to gather a little longer — all of it settling on the same stretch of stone and column out front, the part everyone actually gathers on once they're done rushing through the doors. Soldiers shipped out from here. Crowds have shipped back in for every parade, pennant, and homecoming since. The face out front never changed shifts. I'm the one showing up light on paperwork and heavy on shine, here to add one more entry to a ledger that's been running since 1914.
A grand sweep of 13.1 miles will trace the boulevards Kansas City built to be looked at, past another Plaza and a Paseo and back again, because a City Beautiful doesn't keep all its good architecture in one zip code. Even the water out front knows the routine: full ripple most days, one held note and a single horn when the plaza calls for quiet instead.
Filing this one under: mostly deductible, entirely worth it.
(Note: This isn't the return you file for a refund — it's just the preview. See the ticket URL for the actual paperwork: race signup, to participate.)