It's a generation-gap thing. Kansas City newlyweds would be fools to take the in-laws to their regular haunts -- the neighborhood bar, nightclub or, God forbid, the swingers' club. Thank heaven for Independence, which is still, and will forever be, a bastion for good old American values. Downtown is a dead ringer for Mayberry, with its quaint shops arrayed around the picturesque Truman Court House. There's even an old-fashioned soda shop where your folks can belly up to the counter and lap up a root beer float. After a stroll around the square, you can indulge your elders' true passion: reliving the past. With its many tributes to its native son, Harry Truman, Independence is all about history. The dead president's home is just a short walk from the courthouse. Tours through the fourteen-room Victorian home -- known as the "Summer White House" during Truman's presidency -- commence every fifteen minutes. From there it's a short drive to the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. The in-laws will love ogling the collection of gifts President Truman received from foreign heads of state. If your folks are especially pedantic, they'll want to linger and sift through the fourteen million pages of papers, books and other historical materials relating to the man who said "The buck stops here." If your folks still have energy after all that, swing by the Englewood Theater for a classic movie on a 50-foot screen. There's nothing like ending an innocent, sin-free day with a movie devoid of violence, cussing and sex.
