The Answer: It hurts. A lot.

The Question: What does it feel like when you get shot by a paintball gun?

I learned that painful lesson last week at one of the biggest paintball tournaments in the country, which was held at Kemper Arena. If you pictured paintball only being played in the woods, this event would have been a real eye-opener for you. Paintball has hit the big-time and it's still growing.

130 teams from all over the world came to KC for last weekend's tourney. Along with the competition, there was a huge paintball "trade show" as well. Paintball is big business these days. The hardcore players need all sorts of equipment from the guns themselves (they're called "markers" inside the sport) to goggles and all sorts of other items. And don't forget the paintballs. These guys go through ammunition like Britany Spears goes through managers.

Okay, so I thought it would be fun to get shot by a paintballer for my news story. It was fun, but it also really hurt. For our first take, he shot me in the face. I had a mask on, of course, but part of the shot still got through and I was spitting paint. The second time I took another shot in the face, which caused no pain. Then, for the final take, I was shot five times in rapid succession on the chest. Now that stung. Part of the problem was the shooter was firing from close range, probably only 10 feet away. Three days later, I still have welts.

But it was worth it, if for no other reason than my son thought it was really cool. I'll do anything for Jack and journalism.

This Frances Semler/Minuteman controversy is getting uglier by the day.

In case you missed it, Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser named Frances Semler to the city's parks board earlier this year. It turns out, Semler is a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, which is known for patroling the U.S.-Mexico boarder looking for illegal immigrants. Funkhouser says he wasn't aware of Semler's affiliation with the group, but supports her right to be a member. After word of all this got out, two national civil rights groups, La Raza and the NAACP threatened to pull their upcoming national conventions out of Kansas City. In response, the Minutemen now say they will bring their annual meeting here.

I think both sides have some valid points. But no matter which side, if any, you come down on, this whole situation is bad for the city.

I also think it's a negative even for the groups involved. First, the Minutemen look petty for trying to stir things up by announcing they will now hold their national convention in KC. Part of the knock against the group is that they are troublemakers and that move doesn't do anything to contradict that.

On the other hand, La Raza and the NAACP look like they are trying to control city affairs all the way down to the parks board with their loud objections to Semler. Also, they're giving priceless publicity to the Minutemen. A lot of people have been visiting the group's website trying to figure out exactly what they stand for, and many more who had never heard of the group now know all about them. I'm sure that was not the intention of the civil rights groups when they first raised their concerns.

And finally, right now I can't see how this ends well for the city and Mayor Funkhouser, who finds himself in the middle of another controversy. If he asks for/accepts Semler's resignation he's giving in to outside groups and abandoning a supporter. If he doesn't ask her to resign, he'll be viewed by many people as condoning a group that they find offensive. Again, I don't think there's a happy ending here. And if the Minutemen do indeed come here in December, this whole thing could get worse before it gets better. What a mess.

Okay, I can't resist telling a story about my son today.

Last weekend, my family headed out to the Westport Art Fair on an absolutely beautiful Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed the artists' work, some good food and just a nice, relaxing day. We thought we were heading home after dinner, but the most interesting part of the day was just beginning.

On the way back to our car, we came across some live entertainment, two dueling piano players playing some fun music and interacting with the crowd. While Barb and I watched (and yes, sang along at times), our 5-year-old, Jack, headed down to an open area in front of the stage. At first there were some other kids there, but soon Jack was the only one left. Then he started to dance.

For at least half an hour, Jack danced to the music, at times just bobbing his head, sometimes breaking into a full jig. Eventually, the guys on stage took notice. They asked Jack's name and asked everyone to give him a round of applause. All of this was very nice and humorous, but it was what happened next that no one expected...

A woman walked up to Jack as he continued to dance and gave him money. Soon, more and more people walked up and pushed dollar bills into Jack's little hands. He was standing there with wads of money in his hands and looking at us like 'What's this all about?' He got so much money, he ran over to us and handed over the cash, saying he couldn't fit it all into the pockets of his shorts. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

Of course, Jack was eating this up. We had people coming up to us and asking if we were Jack's parents. Suddenly, we were the mother and father of a star. When we finally pulled him away from the show, he exclaimed that this was one of the best days of his life. He also noted that when he had woken up that morning, he never would have dreamed he'd get all this money. I wouldn't have either.

Jack ended up with $14, which to him is a fortune. My sister-in-law noted after hearing the story that it could be a turning point in his young life. Perhaps show business is in his future. Well now we're all planning to go to Vegas next week. I think his act will go over well on the Strip. Of course, I'm taking a cut for being his manager.

The big boys visited KMBC last week.

Charlie Gibson and the World News team came to town, produced their show out of the brand new Channel 9 newsroom, and broadcasted live from the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City on Thursday and Friday nights. It really was a pleasure to meet Charlie and interact a little bit with the other network journalists.

Charles (as he is now called on the World News title) attended our official grand opening party on Thursday night, saying a few words and taking questions from the audience. As you may have read in the newspaper, Gibson is a long-time friend of our general manager, Wayne Godsey.

Gibson also took some time to talk to the KMBC 9 news team on Friday morning. He answered some of our questions, covering everything from the Iraq war to getting younger viewers to watch the news. Gibson was very complimentary about local news and KMBC in particular, acknowledging that more people get their news from local TV operations like Channel 9 than newspapers, the internet and even network television shows like his own.

I think Charlie Gibson has surged to the top of the evening news ratings because of the way he comes across on the air: down-to-earth and trustworthy. He did nothing to change my opinion of him when he visited here. He seems to be the same way off the air as he is on the anchor desk in New York. And that's a good thing.

It's one of the those days as a parent where you don't know whether to cry or beam with pride. Usually, you end up doing a little of both.

Our family marked a major milestone a short time ago. Our son, Jack, started Kindergarten. He's our oldest, so it was probably a bigger day for Barb and I then it was for him. Talk about mixed feelings. You're not a bad parent if you admit that you're looking forward to a little more free time now that the little guy will be at school full-time. But it also means a wonderful time of our lives is over, never to return. Okay, that's pretty sappy, but it's also true. Jack won't be there every day when I get home from work. He's got his own life now, so to speak, and it doesn't revolve quite as much around his parents anymore.

To be honest, Jack's first trek into kindergarten didn't go extremely well. He stood outside the school and declared he didn't want to go. But once he got inside, things apparently went pretty well. He told us he had fun on his first day and now he marches into school every morning with confidence, needing no help to find his room. His backpack may still be nearly as big as he is, but he's on his way.

Our daughter Kate is only 15 months old, so we've got several more years of having a little one around the house all the time. In fact, we probably can focus on her a little more now. I plan to savor every minute. If I thought the first day of kindergarten was bittersweet with Jack, I can only imagine what it will be like when we send off our youngest child. Thank goodness that's still four years away.

Happy Labor Day to you...

It's been a beautiful holiday weekend around here, and hopefully you've had a chance to get out there and enjoy it. Kansas City definitely offered plenty of options if you were looking for some good food and entertainment. The Renaissance Festival kicked off (Huzzah!) and the Santa-Cal-Gon Days are always a big hit in Independence. My family had a chance to go to one of the fastest growing festivals, not only in the metro, but in the entire nation on Friday night: Irish Fest.

It had everything you'd want at a holiday festival, from food to drink to music to family fun. I've got a five-year-old who loves any ride that's inflated, so he loved the slides and obstacle courses in the kids area. We all enjoyed the music, but unfortunately had to leave before a U2 cover band took the stage. I love U2, which I believe is the greatest rock band of the last 20 years, Irish or otherwise.

Hats off to all of the hard-working organizers who make these events possible. Thank you for helping us say goodbye to summer in grand fashion.