Heading into Labor Day Weekend

This past week was quite busy at work. Besides the usual traffic from repair shops and business travelers, we had customers getting their vehicles for Labor Day Weekend. The end of this week was lighter than usual for a Friday, as many customers already had their rental vehicles for the holiday weekend. I'll be working tomorrow (Saturday) morning at the branch, then we're closed on Monday.

After work Tuesday (28 August), it was off to Bill Wagner's house for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel) business meeting. We discussed final plans for our Invitational model contest and swap meet next Saturday (8 September). This show will be at the Holiday Inn St. Louis SW--Route 66 (https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/st-louis/stlsw/hoteldetail/events-facilities#) in Sunset Hills. I outlined plans to produce and distribute a special issue of our club's newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, to go out to our members this week, spotlighting the Invitational and the club picnic the next day (9 September).

On my off day Wednesday, I worked on that newsletter--a four-page item, instead of the normal 10-page documents--and sent a proof copy to the board members for their feedback. I also got my laundry done and got some needed rest.

After getting a couple of corrections from the board members, I made the few minute changes needed before sending this newsletter out to our members early this morning.

Tomorrow morning, at approximately 7:25 am Central Time (1325 GMT), two IPMS/Gateway members will appear on "Fox 2 News in the Morning" on KTVI, Channel 2 in St. Louis (https://fox2now.com/). They will talk about our club, our show, and the raffle at that show, which raises funds for the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program (https://bridgeton-mo.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/default.aspx) in Metro St. Louis.

Relaxing at home now. Watching "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie" on DVD. Funny.

Later.

Hot Times with Saint Louis FC and the Festival of Nations

It was quite busy the latter part of this past week at the rental branch, including on Saturday morning (25 August). After work and grabbing a bit of lunch at Quik Trip (https://www.quiktrip.com/), I shopped for work shoes at Walmart (https://www.walmart.com/).

I came home to rest a bit, then headed to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for that night's Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match against Tulsa Roughnecks FC. The St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate that night featured a barbecue dinner from Sugarfire Smoke House (https://sugarfiresmokehouse.com/) and beer from Kirkwood Station Brewing Co. (http://www.kirkwoodstationbrewing.com/). Funds raised by donations went to the St. Louis Area Foodbank (http://stlfoodbank.org/).

About 30 minutes from kickoff, the St. Louligans marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. A 1-0 loss away to Fresno FC a week before had snapped Saint Louis FC's four-match win streak. This night, the home side started a new streak as Saint Louis FC ran out 3-2 winners. The hosts scored twice early in the first half before Tulsa pulled one back. Saint Louis put the game out of reach in the second half before Tulsa got one in the waning seconds. This win was Saint Louis FC's 10th of the season--a new club record. They currently stand in 7th place in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League (https://www.uslsoccer.com/)--one place about the last playoff spot--with nine matches to go.

This morning, I went to Tower Grove Park (https://www.towergrovepark.org/) in south St. Louis for the Festival of Nations (http://festivalofnationsstl.org/), an annual multicultural fair. This is presented by the International Institute of St. Louis (https://www.iistl.org/), an organization that welcomes immigrants to St. Louis. I stopped by the Viva Brasil STL (https://www.vivabrasilstl.org/) booth and stayed there for about an hour, chatting with volunteers and guests. Then, I got some lunch from a Filipino food booth.

I then checked in at the volunteer booth and--after receiving my volunteer t-shirt--went to the festival merchandise booth. I worked there for about 2 1/4 hours, helping sell festival t-shirts, mugs, water cups, and cookbooks. It was very hot today, with heat indices topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). Things went well and I got a bottle of water after my shift. I walked the grounds a bit--including a return to the Viva Brasil STL booth--before walking back to my car and going home.

Later.

Scale Modeling, a Friend in Town, and Aerospace History

After a rather quiet weekend and a busy start of the work week, I was at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) this past Tuesday night (21 August) for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) meeting. Besides helping set up the Fellowship Hall for the meeting and taking down the meeting minutes, I was drafted to help run the contest judging seminar. Our contest director, Marion Morris, could not make the meeting due to a family emergency, so Bill Wagner and I gave the talk about what judges should look for in contest models. We used a few models of our own and others loaned to us in making our presentation. This seminar was done because we will need as many judges as possible for our Invitational on 8 September.

Off work the next day, I met up in mid-morning with my Saint Louis University (http://www.slu.edu/) classmate and friend Stacy Alcorn-Davenport. She was visiting family and friends here from her home in England. We last met four years ago when she was in town for a visit. It was great seeing Stacy at Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Mehlville. Over coffee, we caught up on things in our lives. It was great talking with Stacy and was so happy to see her, as she was to see and talk with me.

After a brief stop home, I was off again. (My mom was hosting her monthly bunco get together that afternoon.) I drove up to visit the James S. McDonnell Prologue Room (http://www.boeing.com/company/tours/prologue-room.page) at Boeing's St. Louis Headquarters near St. Louis Lambert International Airport. I had not been to this museum since before Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997. The Prologue Room tells the story of Boeing and its component companies--Douglas, Hughes, North American, McDonnell, Piasecki, Vertol, McDonnell Douglas, and Rockwell--through models, pictures, and memorabilia. Full size engineering mock ups of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft, which McDonnell built during the 1960s, were also on display. It was very nice to visit this museum, which is open to the general public during June, July, and August, and to organized groups throughout the year.

I definitely recommend this place to aerospace history buffs and to educational groups.

Later.