Swap Meet, Auction, and Honor for Me

The Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) held its first general meeting of 2020 last Tuesday night (21 January) at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/). This was the annual Swap & Sell and Kit Auction. The Swap & Sell enabled members and guests to sell or trade model kits and related items. There were quite a few sellers there, and I bought a kit and a book for my collection.

After a while, we got some club business done. One item was the presentation of the club's Robert A. Stroup Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. Named for a founding member of the club who died in 1979, it has been presented annually to a member chosen by his peers for his work on behalf of IPMS/Gateway. Formerly a once-in-a-lifetime honor, in 2019 the club decided to make it open to all members, whether they won before or not. I was surprised to be the person named as the latest recipient of the Stroup Award. IPMS/Gateway honored me with this award back in 1990; thus, I became the first repeat winner. I was humbled to accept the award from club president Rick Keasey, and expressed my thanks to the membership for this honor.

Dave Roeder then was presented the 2019 Ron Foulks Memorial Award for Modeler of the Year by last year's contest chairman, Marion Morris. This was Roeder's first such honor, having earned the most points in four contests the club held this past year.

Then, we had our Kit Auction, in which Keasey auctioned off kits donated by members. Proceeds from this event will go towards funding club activities this year. The bidding got spirited at times, but it was all in good fun. I picked up a few more kits with winning bids.

IPMS/Gateway's next meeting is Tuesday, 18 February, at 7:00 pm at Calvary Presbyterian Church. The 2020 Modeler of the Year race begins with the annual Out of the Box Contest. I have two models I'm working on now for that contest.

Later.

2020 St. Louligans Saint Louis FC Town Hall

Last Tuesday night (14 January), I drove straight from work to Worldwide Technology Soccer Park for the annual St. Louligans (https://stlouligans.com/) Town Hall with the leadership of Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/). The latter consisted of: Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh, Chief Financial Officer Tom Strunk, President Patrick Barry, Head Coach Steve Trittschuh, and St. Louis Scott Gallagher (http://www.slsgsoccer.com/) Missouri Club Director Steve Pecher.

After opening remarks by the panel, Bradley DeMunbrun of the St. Louligans spoke to the panel, before turning his microphone over to St. Louligans members who asked questions of the panel regarding last year's experience, expectations for this season, and other related matters. The whole town hall was recorded for the St. Louligans' podcast, "This is SiLLy! with the Louligans" (https://stlouligans.com/archives/29085).

It was a fine time and before I left I chatted with both Kavanaugh and Trittschuh, introducing myself to the latter.

Yes, I am looking forward to the new season for Saint Louis FC--its sixth--and to the St. Louligans' 10th anniversary this year.

Later.

Having Cabin Fever and Liking It

Yesterday (11 January), I drove to the Schlafly Bottleworks (https://www.schlafly.com/bottleworks-brewpub/) in Maplewood for their annual Cabin Fever festival. I arrived just before it opened at Noon. After a hiccup regarding my ticket purchased online (the scanner didn't pick it up at first), I received my wristband and sampler glass, then headed to the beer tent.

The tent had taps with 30 Schlafly beers to choose from. I would ask the server for a particular beer, which they would pour into the glass for me. They were all good, with beer styles that included lagers, pilsners, ales, stouts, and meads. I tracked my samples on the Untappd app (https://untappd.com/) on my phone. By the end of the day, I had sampled 15 of the available beers.

My friend and Enterprise colleague Melissa Maciorowski was there. She moonlights for Schlafly as a beer server for their special events, and she helped with a merchandise booth. We chatted for a bit and posed for a selfie.

Early on in the event, I did eat a bowl of chili mac, which helped me to better accept the beer. Later, I had an order of chorizo nachos.

In the store inside the Bottleworks, I did purchase a Schlafly/Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) keychain. (Schlafly is an official sponsor of the team.)

Hung over from all the beer, I walked about two blocks to the lot where I parked. I turned on the motor to have the heater going while I waited to sober up. However, the car's battery soon ran out and I needed a jump start. I was able to call AAA Emergency Road Service (https://www.autoclubmo.aaa.com/automotive/roadside-assistance.html), but had to wait for over an hour for the service person to come to my location. He did come, and after checking my driver's license and AAA membership card, he got my car jump started. I drove through the snow coming down that night home safe and sound, though I felt a bit uneasy in my gut.

I did sleep pretty well. This afternoon, I turned on the car's motor for a couple of minutes to test the battery, and it worked fine.

Later.

Games For a Cause

The Saturday after Christmas (28 December), I drove to the Immacolata Catholic Church (https://www.immacolata.org/index.cfm) in Richmond Heights, for the 11th Annual Mary McDermott 3rd Grade Basketball Tournament. This tournament for Catholic Youth Council (https://playcyc.org/) boys and girls teams is a fundraiser for SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital (https://www.ssmhealth.com/locations/cardinal-glennon-childrens-hospital). Specifically, for a hybrid cardiac catheterization suite named in memory of Mary McDermott, an Immacolata parish member who died at age 24 in 2008.

After paying my admission, I entered the gymnasium to watch some of the games that day. I also met with my friend, graphic designer and soccer commentator Bill McDermott--Mary's father. I gave him my Season's Greetings and best wishes for this tournament. Bill served as the public address announcer for the event, which ran for three days and included eight boys and eight girls teams playing in a double-elimination format.

I got lunch from the concession stand--a hot dog and a soda--and watched three games during my time there. Before leaving the gymnasium, I looked over the silent auction items in the lobby, which included autographed sports jerseys and tickets to sporting events. I didn't bid for them--the cost was too high for my budget--but was glad for the parties who donated to this effort.

Yesterday (4 January), I was at Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton to join with my fellow St. Louligans (https://stlouligans.com/). We were playing the St. Louis Chapter of American Outlaws (https://www.theamericanoutlaws.com/chapters/missouri) in our annual game. It was a fun game, played at West Technology Stadium--home ground of Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/). Urban Chestnut Brewing Company (http://urbanchestnut.com/) donated cans of its Zwickel and American Underdog lagers to the event, and I took advantage of this to get two cans during the day.

Before the game, we took in the club's introduction of Steve Trittschuh as its new head coach. He replaces Anthony Pulis, who is now assistant coach of the Miami club in Major League Soccer. After this announcement, we got to the pitch and played. It had free substitutions during the match, and I came in and out a few times for St. Louligans. I did get a few touches of the ball playing as a defender and midfielder. American Outlaws won by a big amount, but the real winner on the day was the St. Louis Area Foodbank (https://stlfoodbank.org/), which will get much food donated by the game's players and spectators.

I hadn't run like that for quite a while and I was concerned about how my recently sore knees would hold up, but I came off the pitch with no ill effects.

Later.

Christmas 2019

It was a mild Christmas Eve last Tuesday (24 December). The Ellisville branch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) closed at 3:00 pm. On my way home, I stopped by my friend Del Miller's house in Concord Village, where I gave him a get-well card signed by my IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) mates and my annual newsletter. Miller is recovering from a stroke he suffered last month. He was up and about on his walker when we talked.

I then came home, and early that night joined Mom in a Christmas Eve service at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) in Mehlville. It was a moving service.

Then, we came home and began opening our presents. I opened one from my brother Doug: a black SpaceX (https://www.spacex.com/) hoodie, which I really liked. He knows of my great interest in aerospace. I also opened a package from my brother Rick, with two books from Arcadia Publishing (https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/). One was "St. Louis Advertising," on ads that ran in the St. Louis area (print and billboard) since the 19th century. The other book was "St. Louis: Bridges Highways and Roads," a pictorial look at the area's road network over the years.

The next morning, Mom and I had breakfast before returning to the living room to open our remaining presents. Rick sent me two more Arcadia Publishing books: "Area 51," on the top-secret CIA (https://www.cia.gov/index.html) and US Air Force (https://www.af.mil/) test site in Nevada; and, "Flight Research at NASA Langley Research Center," on aircraft test work performed at this NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/) facility in Virginia.

Also for me were: a 2020 calendar "Historic Warbirds," with illustrations and history on several classic World War II combat aircraft from Osprey Publishing (https://ospreypublishing.com/); insoles for my work shoes; four pairs of wool work socks; and, a bag of candy. Plus, Brian, sent me a Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/) gift certificate. Not bad at all.

After that, Mom and I relaxed at home.

Later.