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            Inhumanity is the subject most often occupying the thoughts of the young blond-haired, blue-eyed woman constantly buzzing about the Lawrence Humane Society.

            "In my experience,  'humanity' hasn't really been all that great - to the environment or even to itself," says Veronica Howard, the 25-year old University of Kansas graduate student.  "It's almost an ironic misnomer."

            Her less-than-average experiences growing up in Flint, Michigan an impoverished city and birthplace of filmmaker Michael Moore, have given her a different outlook from  most people. 

Veronica visits with a resident of the Lawrence Humane Society.

            Her father wasn't around.  Her mother did whatever she needed, neglecting needs of the home, to help them get by--no matter the effect it had on her children.

            When she was young, Veronica thought it was "the worst thing ever" to not have her father around, but when she met him, she realized that he wasn't the type of father she wanted around.  "When I met him I thought it was the best thing ever," she said of his being absent.

            His own father was abusive, both emotionally and physically.   And while he was an improvement of his own father, he still didn't offer much. 

            All through childhood, Veronica became very close to her half-brother, Josh, who was born when she 10 years old.  She took care of him, loved him, gave him the support he needed. 

            Her mother's marriage with Josh's father, however, wasn't emotionally stable.

            After years of marriage, Josh's father picked up and left.  Josh was 6.

            "My brother was a wreck after he left, but I didn't have time to worry about it," she said.  "At the time I thought it was hilarious--my mother made us go see a therapist and they thought we were hiding our feelings, but really we just didn't want to talk to anyone else about it."

            After her step-dad left, Veronica's  "multi-jobness" began, prompting her to become a workaholic, attaining one job after another to provide some financial stability, but also to help her keep her mind off things.

            After graduating high school, her aunt told her to get as far from Flint as she possibly could and, as much as her moving away upset her brother, she knew she had to if she wanted to be happy.

            The overwhelming desire of the 5-foot 8ish workaholic to help people, as she had helped her brother, continued to grow.  She decided to pursue a degree in criminal justice and behavior analysis at Northern Michigan University to become a profiler. 

            "I've always held a certain fascination with aberrant behavior," she says.  Aberrant behavior as in serial murder, self-mutilation.

            "My family is overall pretty supportive of my choice of vocation," she says, "but most of them haven't the slightest idea of what behavior analysis is and they don't really understand it when I try to explain it to them."

            The self-proclaimed stubborn young woman has spent her years since high school trying to come up with ways to create better homes for everyone and everything around her.   Her future in profiling was supposed to be a way to help her achieve that, but when her professors told her that wasn't a reliable option, she came to Kansas.

            Now, she is a graduate student at the University of Kansas.  Her field of study:  Applied Behavioral Analysis.  She studies people and their environments to understand how to help them change their habits and make them better.  Then she actually helps them.

            She says the field has helped her to "give up on people less" and try to improve conditions for people who might otherwise have been written off by society. 

            "I don't think there are a lot of people like her," Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society, said of Veronica.  Veornica has been working as Volunteer Coordinator for eight months.

 "She has great attention to detail and can do the job without me having to hold her hand," Grinstead said. "Most people aren't like that."

            She has been volunteering at the Humane Society for a couple of years now, mostly working with aggressive dogs, applying her graduate work to helping them mellow out and find better homes.  Oddly, though, she also has a soft spot for rodents.  Her rodents.  Small, litter-trained balls of fluff.

            "I have rats," she says, quickly turning to her computer and clicking on a photo of one of her "ornery," black rodents and gushes, "Isn't he sweet?"

            Throughout grade school, Veronica had a friend who she was constantly competing with to be smarter.  Her friend was better in spelling.  She was better on standardized tests.

            When the girls reached fifth grade, Veronica moved to a smaller community while her friend lived in inner-city Flint.

            "She had a very loving and supportive family,  but I did not," Veronica said.  "By the time we graduated, I was at the top of my class and she had graduated in the lowest 30 percent.  It was interesting to see the impact that the environment had upon the trajectory of our lives."

            She says that small changes, like her and her friend, Angela, not going to high school in the same area and the environment and people they ultimately grew up with had a big impact on the differences they encountered later in life.

            Another reason is Chris, her deaf boyfriend.  They met on a chat web site a little over four years ago.  He lived in Nebraska, she in Kansas.  It was her sarcasm and his sincerity that initially attracted them to one another.

            He moved to Kansas in 2005 to live with her.

            "He's wicked smart, but he doesn't know it," she says.  Then quickly adds, with a delightfully wicked grin, "He always tells me that if he leaves me he's dating a deaf girl and I just tell him he doesn't know enough sign language for that."

            Their codependence has helped them get through their respective obstacles.  His family still doesn't understand that he can't talk on the phone (he didn't begin to lose hearing until 12 years old) and hers still can't provide the home she wants to be able to return to.

            "I really admire her," Grinstead said.  "I don't know what I'm going to do when she leaves.  We have gotten as much from her as she has given us."

            Through everything that Veronica has experienced, learned and done over the past few years is preparing her to teach what she has learned to students at a mid-sized University when she graduates.

            "I'm stubborn and I hate being wrong," she says.  "But since I'm wrong often, it gives me a lot to improve on."  

            Flying through the air unaccompanied by plane or parachute is nothing for 14-year-old Akram Laytimi, eighth grader at Junior High School in Lawrence.  Laytimi is a tumbler.  A high-flying, gravity-defying gymnast.

            Laytimi is currently enrolled in an advanced tumbling class at G-Force Athletics, but the team has been moving from facility to facility so much that the location of their practices can sometimes be unsure.

                     Students at G-Force Athletics, have been practicing three nights a week for the past two months in Robinson Center on the University of Kansas campus since they moved out of a facility on 23^rd St.  They are now expecting to move into a facility at 725 N. 2^nd St. Under the current zoning code for the property, however, the move is impossible.

            According to Lawrence's new zoning codes that took effect in 2006, the property on 725 N. 2^nd St. is zoned IG, which is industrial zoning and does not allow sports and recreation.

            "The owners didn't know and weren't notified by the city that zoning was changed until they went to have the final papers signed for the building permit," said Gale Kiefer, treasurer and co-owner of G-Force Athletics.

            After taking the building permits to the city to get permission to build walls and a bathroom in the facility, the owners of G-Force Athletics realized they were not going to be able to practice there until rezoning was taken care of.  Needing a place to practice in the meantime, they made a deal with the University of Kansas to let students practice on the second floor of Robinson Gym.

            "I can't wait to get out of here--it's so hot," Laytimi said. "Even in a t-shirt and shorts you're sweating in minutes."

            The Lawrence Planning commission takes up the rezoning proposal on March 23, but plans for building a bathroom and walls has already been approved.

            G-Force Athletics is just one of the businesses that has moved to North Lawrence in need of rezoning. The JD Gladman Gallery, 613 N. 2^nd St., moved to a location across the street from G-Force Athletics' new location in 2006 and had to request a zoning change, but city officials complied without much difficulty.

The old location of G-Force Athletics, 801 E. 23rd St.

                       Students at G-Force Athletics, has been practicing three nights a week for the past two months in Robinson Center on the University of Kansas campus since they moved out of a facility on 23^rd St.  They are now expecting to move into a facility at 725 N. 2^nd St. Under the current zoning code for the property, however, the move is impossible.

            According to Lawrence's new zoning codes that took effect in 2006, the property on 725 N. 2^nd St. is zoned IG, which is industrial zoning and does not allow sports and recreation.

            "The owners didn't know and weren't notified by the city that zoning was changed until they went to have the final papers signed for the building permit," said Gale Kiefer, treasurer and co-owner of G-Force Athletics.

            After taking the building permits to the city to get permission to build walls and a bathroom in the facility, the owners of G-Force Athletics realized they were not going to be able to practice there until rezoning was taken care of.  Needing a place to practice in the meantime, they made a deal with the University of Kansas to let students practice on the second floor of Robinson Gym.

            "I can't wait to get out of here--it's so hot," Laytimi said. "Even in a t-shirt and shorts you're sweating in minutes."

            The Lawrence Planning commission takes up the rezoning proposal on March 23, but plans for building a bathroom and walls has already been approved.

            G-Force Athletics is just one of the businesses that has moved to North Lawrence in need of rezoning. The JD Gladman Gallery, 613 N. 2^nd St., moved to a location across the street from G-Force Athletics' new location in 2006 and had to request a zoning change, but city officials complied without much difficulty.

The new location of G-Force Athletics
awaiting a zoning change, 725 N. 2nd St.

                      "Generally we won't make a [zoning] category change," said Mike Amyx, Lawrence City commissioner.  "But we have to look at this in the point of view of IG zoning and all other businesses under this category.  This seems like a very compatible use for the building." Owners of G-Force Athletics are also hopeful for rezoning.

            "It seems very promising that our request will be approved," Kiefer said, "but all we can do is wait."

            Since 1993, when a flood destroyed most of the landscape and hurt area business, Boyle said, it has been a priority to redevelop the 2^nd St. quarter and encourage businesses to move to the area.

            "Businesses like this that aren't car dealerships and bars will improve and encourage business to move to the area," said Ted Boyle, president of the North Lawrence Improvement Association (NLIA). 

            Steve Glass, owner of the North Town Development building, 725 N. 2^nd St., said that the more varied occupants in the building, the more people who will visit North Lawrence. "It will provide businesses in North Lawrence with more exposure as a result," he said.

                     The NLIA, however, is doing more than just moving businesses like G-Force Athletics into the quarter.  Plans have been made by the city to build a hotel overlooking the river in spring 2010.  The intersection at 2^nd and Locust will also be reworked to solve on-going bottleneck problems.

            18-year-old Sara Giermann, senior at Freestate High School, said she is excited for the change in location.  "There is less traffic near the new building," she said.  "Getting to and from the old gym was really busy traffic-wise."

            "We're going from good to worse to best," Laytimi said of the recent succession of practice facilities.  "The new building is a lot bigger--and has air conditioning."

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            "Pets are welcome!  Stuck-up, snobby, better than thou people are not!" reads the sign on the front door of Beyond the Door, one of the many vintage consignment shops in Lawrence.

            Beyond the Door, 918 Massachusetts St., is in its second year of business in Lawrence after Sherry Fitzgerald, owner, decided to move from Florida in 2007 to Lawrence with her son, who, Fitzgerald said, knew she would not have a lack of business, but rather a boost.

            "Business has definitely picked up in the past year," Fitzgerald said.  "People have gotten to know me and the store and are always bringing in their friends."

            Since moving her business, sales have skyrocketed, which she attributes to the high demand of resale clothing in Lawrence.  Her busiest days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when her average sales total $850, as opposed to an average of a mere $150 on most weekdays.

            According to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, 74 percent of the 182 participating thrift shops reported an increase in sales and 79 percent reported an increase in the last year of new consigners, sellers and donors as of October 2008. The resale industry has become a multi-billion dollar a year industry.

            "While many people focus on the upscale side of resale," says Adele Meyer, Executive Director of NARTS, "there is a demand for items in all price ranges. Just as consumers want and patronize a variety of retail outlets from Neiman Marcus to Wal-Mart, resale shops of all types are needed."

            According to the NARTS website, the resale industry has grown by approximately 5 percent every year in the last three years because of the growing popularity of resale items and because of increased awareness of recycling of all forms.

            Now stores like Beyond the Door are doing more to improve business at the start of 2009, as more competitors in second-hand retail shops are popping out of the woodwork to compete in the recent down-spiraling economy.

            Most of the consigners for Beyond the Door sell apparel, like local designers Girls With Guns, Ecoboutiquo and Uptown Monkey.

            "When I moved to Lawrence in August, my friend Lacy brought me here," said Anna Waskowski, 19, who is a regular customer at Beyond the Door.  "They have a lot of really well-priced vintage things that other stores like Arizona Trading Company and Wild Man Vintage don't have."

Consignment Store Slideshow

            Fitzgerald also welcomes bands and musicians to play in her store at anytime.  She doesn't pay them, but they still want to play there as a way to broaden their fan base and because of the atmosphere of Fitzgerald's store. "I just had the Boxcar Bandits [a bluegrass band from Texas] contact me to come in to play on February 20^th," Fitzgerald said.

            Because the demand for second hand retail has gone up in the last year, retailers have had to make changes to their stores and the way they do business, like bringing in bands to play, to make them stand out among their competition.

According to America's Research Group, a consumer research firm, about 16 to 18 percent of Americans will shop at a thrift store in a year and about 12 to 15 percent will shop in consignment shops. At the same time, only 11 percent shop in factory outlet malls, 19 percent in apparel stores and 21 percent in department stores.

            "Since we've opened, we've been very successful," said Phil Chiles, owner of Wild Man Vintage, 939 Massachusetts St.  "We don't have to advertise much here; word of mouth is what get us most of our business, but we're hoping this new addition will bring in even more customers."

            Not long ago, Chiles decided to open up the back of his shop to sell more second-hand and vintage items--but not clothing.  Instead, he will sell more items such as posters and home décor.

 

            Wild Man Vintage has been selling vintage clothing, jewelry and shoes since 2005.  Chiles began his business after the previous tenant, another vintage shop, Sugar Town Traders, went out of business.

            "I like the idea of people not throwing their stuff away," said Lacy Meyers, 18, who began working at Wild Man Vintage in September 2008. "We have some really exceptional second hand pieces here and the prices are really good."

            Like Beyond the Door, Wild Man Vintage gets a substantial amount of its inventory through consigners such as local designers Kitty Reese and Hot T.  The consigners get 70 percent of the selling price, and the store keeps the remaining 30 percent as profit. 

            Another way Chiles brings in inventory is through buying and selling.  People can bring in their discarded clothing to sell to the store for 60 percent store credit or 40 percent cash.

            On average, a t-shirt at a higher-end trade shop like Arizona Trading Company, 736 Massachusetts St., can cost anywhere from $5 to $20 and jeans can cost over $100 depending on its label.  This is more than most of the vintage consignment stores in Lawrence. 

            For example, all clothing--from dresses to jeans--at Beyond the Door that isn't on consignment, ranges from $4 to $10 and clothing at Wild Man Vintage can cost anywhere from $5 to $15.

            There are, however, other stores in Lawrence who sell on consignment that are not second-hand or vintage shops.  MissFortune's Creation Station, 726 Massachusetts St., contains items that are priced anywhere from $.50 to $400.  It, however, is also making some changes for 2009 that Jennifer Fortune, owner, hopes will draw in more customers.

            They are currently expanding the higher-end jewelry, adding lotions and other body care products, revamping the incense area and having our employees make some of the jewelry.

            "The clothes and jewelry at the stores in Lawrence are unique and you know that by shopping there you won't have something that everyone else has," said Kirin Arnold, 19, student at the University of Kansas.  "And it's a better deal to shop locally and support the community."

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