Movie, Aviation, and Soccer Recently

One week ago tonight (17 October), I went to the Marcus Ronnies 20 Cine (http://www.marcustheatres.com/theatre-locations/marcus-ronnie's-20-cine-imax) in Concord Village to see the new movie "First Man" (https://www.firstman.com/). This film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, and looks at the man and the years leading up to the moon landing in 1969. As a spaceflight nerd and history buff (who was 5 years old when Armstrong walked on the moon), I looked forward to seeing this movie, and I was not disappointed. A very well done film that captured (in my mind) the essence of Armstrong and what he and his colleagues did to help the US be first to land on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Definitely recommending this movie.

After work at the rental branch during the rest of the week--including doughnuts for my colleagues on Friday--I went to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) on Saturday (20 October) to attend the annual barbecue fundraiser by the Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation (https://armyav.org/st-louis-missouri/). The Chapter's two helicopters undergoing restoration--a UH-1H Iroquois "Huey" and an OH-58--were on display, along with a couple of other aircraft: an AD-5 (A-1E) Skyraider and a Harvard. There were also several vintage automobiles and motorcycles on display. A buffet dinner was served inside one of the hangars while a cover band played. There was also a silent auction and raffle prizes at the event, with proceeds going towards the restoration of their two helicopters to flight status.

After some time there, I went to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) in Fenton for a watch party. Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) was playing away to Orange County SC in the first round of the United Soccer League (https://www.uslsoccer.com/) playoffs. After a tailgate with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/), we matched into the conference center for the telecast. We came away disappointed as Orange County won 4-0. Still, it was a good year for Saint Louis, in that they made the postseason for the first time in club history, and there is much to build upon for next season.

The next afternoon, I was at Sportport International (http://www.sportportintl.com/) to officiate three St. Louis Youth Soccer Association (https://www.slysa.org/) under 13 matches. I did the middle on the first one--a girls contest--then ran lines on the other two. Overall, they went well, with few problems needing my crew's attention.

Back to work on Monday morning, and the week has been fine so far. This morning on my off day, I went to the Cinema St. Louis (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/) office in midtown St. Louis to pick up posters and postcards promoting this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF), which runs from 1 to 11 November. I posted one postcard on the community bulletin board at the Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) near South County Center. I look to place more cards and posters at area businesses between now and SLIFF's opening.

Later.