A Weekend Around the Lou

Mid-morning last Saturday (27 October), I drove to the Enterprise Fleet Management (https://www.efleets.com/) in Olivette, Missouri, where a Trunk or Treat was organized for the children of their employees. I came by to lend my support to this event. Several vehicles had their trunks open so kids in costume could come by and get treats in a safe, friendly environment. Two employees I knew brought their children along. It was quite a lot of fun to see.

Then, I drove to the American Czech Educational Center (http://acecstl.org/) in south St. Louis for their Fall Czech Festival. I stayed rather briefly--just over an hour--but enjoying hearing the Czech music and wandering among the vendors for crafts, food, and drink. I entered a raffle for a few donated items--didn't win, though. Still, a good time.

Before leaving South St. Louis, I stopped at two venues--a Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/) and a Schnucks supermarket (https://nourish.schnucks.com/)--to drop off promotional postcards for the St. Louis International Film Festival (https://www.cinemastlouis.org/).

I then came home to rest for awhile, then headed to the Schlafly Bottleworks (http://www.schlafly.com/bottleworks-brewpub/) in Maplewood, Missouri for their Full Moon Festival. The parking lot was transformed into a festival site, with open fires, a stage for entertainers, dining tents, and booths selling food and beer. I had a pork sandwich with a Schlafly White Lager. It was all very nice. I also ventured inside the Brewhouse to use the men's room and to browse the souvenirs on sale. A good time had at this festival.

The next morning, I was at the Kirkwood Community Center (http://www.kirkwoodmo.org/content/City-Departments/1856/community-center.aspx) for the Midwest Model Vehicle Association--St. Louis (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/MMVASt.%20Louis.html) Fall Show. Bill Wagner and I represented the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) at the MMVA show, where IPMS/Gateway had a table. Bill and I brought some models to display, along with flyers for our contest in September 2019 and information on the club's website and social media pages. We had a number of people stop by to look at our models, pick up our flyers, and talk with us. The show was nice, with a good turnout of car models, plus I brought two kits--an aircraft and a ship--from vendors there.

After the show, I stopped by a Saint Louis Bread Co. (https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html) in Sunset Hills to drop off another SLIFF promotional postcard, and have a snack before going home.

Later.

New Toothbrush

Coming home Wednesday night (24 October) after a book event in Richmond Heights, I checked my mail and found the package I ordered the week before from Quip (https://www.getquip.com/). This is an electric toothbrush which came out two years ago. It is sold directly from Quip's website, but is now also available at Target (https://www.target.com/) stores.

I found out about quip late this summer, when my friend and former Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleague Melissa Needles got a job at Quip's headquarters in Brooklyn, New York as a customer experience associate. I checked out Quip and found it worth buying. Melissa recently gave me a discount code and I placed my order through Quip's website last week.

After receiving the package on Wednesday, I read the enclosed instructions and gave it a dry run in my mouth. The toothbrush's electric motor is timed for four 30-second brush vibrations--enough for the front and back of both sets of teeth to be adequately brushed. It is small, easy to hold in the hand, and easy to store and transport. Every three months, quip sends out a new brush head, so you have a good brush head every time. (They also offer toothpaste for purchase.)

I have brushed with my new Quip a few times and it has been going very well. I greatly appreciate the timed brush vibrator; I have been too hasty in brushing my teeth with my previous electric brush. I highly recommend Quip, and thank my friend Melissa for bringing this to my attention.

(On a somber note, I heard on Thursday from Melissa's mother Theresa that Melissa's aunt, Deborah Kuhlmann, had died this week. My condolences to Deborah's family and friends. I made a donation in her memory to St. Louis Ovarian Cancer Awareness [https://www.sloca.org/].)

Later.

Two Book Talks This Week

I was present at two author events presented by Left Bank Books (https://www.left-bank.com/) this week.

Wednesday night (24 October), the Ethical Society of St. Louis (https://ethicalstl.org/) in Richmond Heights, Missouri hosted an event for the new book "My Blues Note." It is the memoir by Bernie Federko--St. Louis Blues (https://www.nhl.com/blues) legend, 2002 Hockey Hall of Fame (http://www.hhof.com/) inductee, and current Blues studio analyst for Fox Sports Midwest (https://www.foxsports.com/midwest). Federko and his co-author, Jeremy Rutherford--Blues beat writer for The Athletic (https://theathletic.com/stlouis/)--were on stage for a discussion about the book, with Rutherford asking Federko about stories from his life and career. They then fielded questions from the audience before going into the lobby to sign copies of "My Blues Note."

It was quite a wait in line, but it was worth it to meet Federko--who I greatly admired as a player--as he signed my copy of his book. After signing the book, Federko and I posed for a picture. (I wore a replica of the Blues home sweater circa 1986. It was worn by Federko and his teammates when they came from behind the defeat the Calgary Flames in Game 6 of the 1986 Conference Finals--known to Blues fans as "the Monday Night Miracle.") I also got Rutherford's signature on the book, and I let him know how much I admire his work. As I left, I thanked the people from Left Bank Books for this program.

Last night after work, I headed to the Auditorium at Maryville University (https://www.maryville.edu/) for a Maryville Talks Books program. Acclaimed author Ron Chernow (https://ronchernow.com/) spoke about his most recent book, "Grant," which came out last year. It is his biography of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), Union Army General during the American Civil War and 18th President of the United States (in office 1869-1877). In approximately 40 minutes, Chernow spoke about his approach to writing Grant's story--wanting to clear up misconceptions about Grant (a butcher of a commander, a drunkard, a scandal-plagued President), and summarizing Grant's life. His scholarship shows Grant as a brilliant, but flawed man who showed generosity towards the defeated Confederates at the Civil War's end and did much to advance civil rights for African-Americans prior to and while President. It was a most informative, and at times witty presentation. Chernow then fielded questions from the audience for about 15 minutes before having to leave for an engagement in Chicago the next morning.

Going into the Auditorium, I and the other attendees received a paperback copy of "Grant," which Chernow signed before the event. (I have been reading a hard back copy of "Grant" that my brothers gave me for Christmas.) It was too bad he had to leave right away--Chernow said he would have if he could--because he is a most interesting speaker and talented author. His earlier works include biographies of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton--the latter being the bases for "Hamilton: An American Musical." (Chernow joked about "Hamilton" early in his talk.)

Later

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.