I have returned to Kansas City after a vacation in my home state – California – and in just two short weeks I’d forgotten what it felt like to breathe air the consistency of warm tapioca. (Actually, it wasn’t at all humid when I arrived at the World’s Most Convenient Airport — Kansas City International — so of course we’re tearing it down and replacing it, because apparently we want all our airports attached to shopping malls, but I thought of the warm tapioca joke before I arrived and wouldn’t want to waste it.)