Recently: FIFA World Cup, New Airbrush, a Family Reunion, and 4 July

I have been following the FIFA World Cup as its progresses from the Group Stage to the Knockout Phase. There's been a few surprises and some great and not so great moments so far. When away from a TV screen, I follow it on the FotMob app on my phone.

Just over a week ago (27 June), Julie picked me up and we went to Mount Vernon, Illinois to attend her father's family reunion. After checking into a hotel, we went to another hotel in town where the relatives had a reception. It was very nice meeting Julie's relatives and reading up on her family history.

(Group photo courtesy of Julie Rodriguez)

The next morning (28 June), Julie and I had breakfast and checked out of the hotel in Mount Vernon. We then traveled to St. Charles Boromeo Catholic Church in DuBois, where Julie's ancestors attended services. It is a quite a beautiful church and one of its members told our group about the place.

Our group then traveled about one mile (0.6 km) east to the cemetery where some of the Rekosh ancestors are buried. After that visit, we traveled to Immaculate Conception Church in Tamaroa for Mass. After that, our group went to Immaculate Conception Cemetery to visit the graves of other ancestors.

  

Our reunion concluded in Du Quoin, with lunch at Tomahawk Bar & Grill. We had a nice lunch before saying our goodbyes. Julie then took me to where her mother grew up in down and to a pair of cemeteries where her family are buried. After the cemetery visits, Julie drove us home. Quite a wonderful weekend.

Last Monday (29 June), a package from Amazon was at my front door. It was three items I ordered the week before during Prime Days. Specifically, it was Gaahleri GHAD-39 airbrush, a 6-foot (1.8m) braided airbrush hose, and a Timbertech ABPST08 airbrush compressor from Airgoo. The airbrush had two needles (0.35mm and 0.5mm) for options in fine or large area painting. The compressor was a low noise unit with an air tank that can be filled up for constant air pressure. I trialed these items this weekend and they will be most useful for my scale modeling.

This past Wednesday (1 July) was busy even if it was my off day from work. A technician from Overhead Door came over to service the garage door, resetting the remote due to a recent power surge and lubricating the door springs. That afternoon, a plumber contacted via Taskrabbit repaired the master bedroom's toilet, replacing a leaking pump that caused water to keep running even after the toilet stopped flushing. It only took about 10 minutes for the job to get done.

That night, Julie and I went to 2nd Shift Brewing on the Hill for a watch party. We saw USA play Bosnia & Herzegovina in a FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match. Julie and I had dinner--I had the savory ducks and chips from Mess Hall, with 2nd Shift's Simon beer--and watched as USA won 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 against Belgium tomorrow.

Back at work the next day (2 July), I and my branch mates dealt with high heat and humidity that day and Friday. Temperatures reached up to 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) and heat indices (temperature plus humidity) got up to 110 degrees F (43.3 degrees C). I took plenty of breaks in the air-conditioned office as possible and drank plenty of Gatorade. On the way to work, I refilled a 32-ounce (946.4 ml) jug at Quik Trip with the thirst quencher, and it definitely helped.

I stayed home yesterday (4 July) for Independence Day, the USA's 250th Birthday. It was too hot much of the day to go outside, and it got stormy late in the afternoon. Fortunately, no damage here and the power stayed on.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

FIFA World Cup: FIFA World Cup 2026™

FotMob: FotMob - Football Live Scores

St. Charles Boromeo Catholic Church, DuBois, Illinois: St. Charles Borromeo

Immaculate Conception Church, Tamaroa, Illinois: Immaculate Conception

Tomahawk Bar & Grill, Du Quoin, Illinois: Tomahawk Grill & Grill

Amazon: Amazon.com. Spend less. Smile more.

Gaahleri Airbrush: Gaahleri.com

Airgoo: Airbrush & Air Compressor Set - AIRGOO – Airgoo Pneumatic B.V.

Taskrabbit: Taskrabbit: Same Day Handyman, Moving & Mounting Services

2nd Shift Brewing: 2nd Shift Brewing

QuikTrip: QuikTrip

FIFA World Cup Begins and Circus Flora Continues

Last Thursday (11 June), the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the USA began. Naturally, I am following the action. Friday after work, I picked up Julie and we went to 2nd Shift Brewing Co. in the Hill neighborhood of St. Louis for a watch party.  A group of fans gathered to watch USA play Paraguay in Los Angeles. Julie and I have gone to 2nd Shift several times to join the St. Louligans in watching St. Louis CITY SC away games. 

We ordered dinner and beverages before settling in the watch the game. There was quite a nice crowd this night. We were so happy as the USA jumped out to a 3-0 lead at halftime. It ended up 4-1 for the USA in their opening group stage match. This was the performance many of their supporters--including Julie and I--were hoping for to start the World Cup. I drove Julie home and we were most happy.

I spent Saturday mostly at home, watching World Cup games on TV and taking care of personal matters. The latter included shopping for groceries.

Yesterday, I attended service with Julie at Eliot UU Chapel. Going home after the post-service coffee time, I relaxed at home before going to Circus Flora to volunteer at the Sunday late afternoon performance. I was working as a ticket scanner, which I also did when I helped at the performance the previous Wednesday night. Using a hand-held scanning device, I would scan the attendees' tickets--either bar codes for printed tickets or QR codes on their mobile phones or email printouts. I stayed about 30 minutes after the show began to accommodate late coming audience members. Then, I went into the Big Top to watch the show. The Wednesday show was near capacity and yesterdays was at capacity. Everyone there enjoyed Flying High, Circus Flora's 2026 show. This runs until this Sunday (21 June). Catch it if you can!

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

FIFA World Cup: FIFA World Cup 2026™

2nd Shift Brewing Co.: 2nd Shift Brewing

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home

Circus Flora: Circus Flora | A St. Louis Tradition For 40 years

Today in Grand Center; A Comment on Comments

Late this morning (3 June), I went to the Big Top in St. Louis' Grand Center Arts District. Circus Flora's 40th anniversary season begins this week with their show, Flying High. I joined with other volunteers for a breakfast and orientation session. We also went into the Big Top to set up and clean the seats for the audience. I have been a Circus Flora volunteer since 2014 and am always excited when the circus is in town.

After tonight's rehearsal show, Flying High begins its run from tomorrow (4 June) through 21 June. I have signed up for six volunteer shifts: 6 June (midday), 7 June (late afternoon), 10 June (evening), 14 June (late afternoon), 17 June (evening), and 20 June (late afternoon). Hope to see you at one of these performances!

After finishing my volunteer work today, I walked down Washington Avenue to Blueprint Coffee, where I treated myself to a cup of Segera coffee and a snickerdoodle cookie. After that, I went to my car and drove home.

Before I finish this post, I wanted to thank those of you who have submitted comments on my posts here. They are much appreciated. I do want to remind all of you that all comments are moderated and subject to approval before they are allowed on this blog. Obviously, any negative and otherwise off-topic comments will not be allowed, nor will any anonymous comments. They will be blocked and those who post such comments will be blocked from ever commenting here. Let's make this blog a positive and welcoming space for all my readers.

Later.

Links to Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Circus Flora: Circus Flora | A St. Louis Tradition For 40 years

Grant Center Arts District: Grand Center Inc. - Grand Center Inc.

Blueprint Coffee: Home - Blueprint Coffee

2026 MPC Communications Honors

Yesterday morning (20 May), I came to Janice Denham's house in Kirkwood to pick up my Missouri Professional Communicators (MPC) 2026 Communications Contest awards. Den ham is co-president of MPC. The awards were presented one week before, but I was unable to attend the awards luncheon due to a St. Louis CITY SC match early that afternoon.

All five items I submitted for the contest were winners. I earned two First Place awards, and one each of Second Place, Third Place, and Honorable Mention. One of the Firsts was for editing The Arch Scaler News, the monthly member newsletter of the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (IPMS) in St. Louis. I submitted the October 2025 issue for consideration here.

One of the MPC judges commented on that submission: "One of the best organized newsletters I've seen/ The news is clear to read, and the array of model photos is easy to browse through. The meeting's minutes are long, but they are presented in an organized way." 

The other First Place award I received was for writing and distributing the press release for last September's Gateway Regional Model Contest and Vendor Fair in Affton. For this category, I submitted a statement of purpose for the release and some screenshots of websites where the release appeared along with the release itself. The judge wrote about my entry: "The writing is clear, concise and informative. There is nothing wrong with that!" The judge suggested leading with what this contest was about and perhaps showing the range of competitions to help readers envision the event. 

A build article I wrote for The Arch Scaler News earned Second Place in its category. "'Vengeance' of an Old Kit: Building Frog's 1:72 Vultee Vengeance Mk. II" ran late last year. The contest judge remarked: "Author narrated their experience of building this model wonderfully, and explained the kit very well. I found it interesting even though I'm not a model builder The photos complemented the narrative nicely, too."

Placing Third was another article I wrote: "Trumpeter's 1:72 F-8II 'Finback'-B." This ran in the Asian Air Arms Special Interest Group Newsletter. The judge wrote of this entry: "Well-written article with great background and detail. Photos also compliment the article well throughout." The judge did suggest that I could talk more about how I came across this model, why I built it, and how it was selected. The judge though that I might draw more readers in by adding this content to the article's lead.

Finally, the Honorable Mention was for my blog post "Trivia Night, Museum Tour, and Soccer Refereeing: My Weekend," which I posted here about a year ago. Of this entry, the judge wrote: "Writing is clear and photos help enliven the various scenes." The judge thought I should relate the day's events with what they mean to me or how they connect to the wider world.  That person thought that by digging deeper into my emotions that I will have a blog that can resonate with more readers.

Overall, the judges' comments were fair on all five entries. Having such constructive criticism to go with these awards has been a help to me in the years since I started entering this contest. Certainly, the awards look good on my wall and on the Awards section of my Linkedin profile.

Those two First Place awards are now eligible for honors from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW), ofn which MPC is an affiliate. The NFPW's Communications Contest awards will be announced at its National Workshop this September in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

Missouri Professional Communicators: Missouri NFPW affiliate | Missouri Professional Communicators | Clayton

Gateway Chapter IPMS: IPMS Gateway Chapter

Asian Air Arms Special Interest Group: Home | asianairarms

National Federation of Press Women: Home

Memorial Day Weekend 2026

Last weekend was wonderful after a busy week prepping rental cars for the Memorial Day Weekend crowd. Late Saturday morning (23 May), I picked up Julie and we went to the St. Louis CITY SC match against Austin FC. After parking, we walked to the Schlafly Tap Room for the St. Louligans' Street Party. Julie and I got lunch from the Heaterz Hot Chicken food truck, and I got a can of Schlafly beer. 

About an hour before the 1:45 p.m. kickoff, the St. Louligans and Fleur de Noise were joined by STL Santos and St. Louis City Punks for the pre-match rally before marching into Energizer Park for the match. Julie and I found our placed in the supporter section and awaited the start of the match. St. Louis native, Saint Louis University alumnus, and former US international player Brad Davis brought out the match ball and hung out with the supporters prior to the match. A banner held at the center circle celebrated the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and a tifo at our section celebrated St. Louis' ethnic diversity.

It was quite a good day to be a St. Louis CITY supporter as the home side won 3-0. CITY had much of the possession and play during the match. A pressing attack led to an own goal against Austin in the 40th minute. CITY scored two second-half goals to secure the win and the three points. They are now unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions (four wins and a draw). the players and coaches acknowledged their supporters after the match.

CITY enters the World Cup break 12th in the MLS Western Conference table; four points shy of the final playoff spot. The season resumes on 16 July, when CITY hosts cross state rival Sporting Kansas City.

I took Julie to her home and then I drove home. I chilled out the rest of the day and night, mostly watching war films on TCM.

Sunday morning (24 July), I attended the service at Eliot Unitarian Universalist chapel. Then, I stopped by a gas station to fill up my car before driving home. I watched the Indianapolis 500 on TV, then more movies on TCM.

Julie came here Monday morning (25 July) to pick me up and take us to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. We paid our respects to my parents' niche in a columbarium. Their ashes were placed together, mom's coming last fall after her passing and now together with those of my father who passed in 2014.

After checking at the administration building, Julie and I went to the grave of James R. Crowe Jr. and his wife Madeleine. They were the parents of Ellen Crowe, my friend from college. Ellen told me her parents were interred at that cemetery. It was good to pay my respects to James and Madeleine, and having Julie alongside made it nicer.

Finally, we went to the gravesite of my maternal grandparents, Harold and Helen Koenig. All three men in question served in the US Armed Forces in World War II. James also served in the Korean War. The day before our visit, hundreds of Boy Scouts placed American flags on all the graves. I did this myself back in the day. Those flags sure added a great touch on these final resting places that day.

After our cemetery visit, Julie took me back home and I spent time at home watching TV before getting some sleep prior to a busy day at work.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

St. Louis CITY SC: St. Louis CITY SC

Schlafly Tap Room: Schlafly

St. Louligans: Saint Louligans – Supporting Soccer in the St. Louis Area – St. Louligans – Supporting St. Louis Soccer

Heaterz Hot Chicken: Heaterz Hot Chicken

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - National Cemetery Administration

Scale Models in Springfield; Flowers and Recognition at Church

Early Saturday morning (16 May), I drove to Marion Morris' house in Maplewood. There, I got into Morris' minivan with Jim Triola and David Thomas to begin traveling to Springfield, Missouri. We of IPMS Gateway were going to MOSS CON, the annual contest and vendor fair presented to IPMS Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists. 

Along the way, we picked up Randy Kleeschulte and continued on our journey., stopping in St. James for breakfast at McDonald's. After about three and a half hours of travel, our party arrived at the Arc of the Ozarks facility in Springfield, where MOSS CON took place. Six other Gateway members traveled separately to the show.

After paying our admission and registration fees, we made our way to the contest area. I brought three models--two aircraft and a ship--to enter. After placing the models on the contest tables, I started to make my way around the room, talking with people I knew, purchasing some raffle tickets, and browsing among the contest models and vendors.

I had my camera with me to take pictures of the contest models and general show scenes for Gateway's Facebook page. I bought several kits and a paint brush holder from vendors and won two kits in the raffle.

Midday, I and several other attendees volunteered to judge contest entries. This contest used the Gold-Silver-Bronze system, in which each model in a category was judged by its own merits instead of in competition with other entries in the category. A model could receive either a Gold, Silver, Bronze, or no award, and there were no limits to the number of such awards that could be given out. I helped judge automotive models and it worked out well at my end. The judges placed comments with each entry of what was good and bad about it and what award, if any, it earned. Neither of my three contest entries received any awards.

Seven of my Gateway mates won awards in the contest, so I was proud of them. I made sure to highlight their winning models on the club's social media. Overall, the contest drew 313 entries from 82 modelers.

Late that afternoon, I joined with Morris' group to pack up our things and leave for home. We stopped in St. Robert for dinner at Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers before dropping off Kleeschulte and then returning to Maplewood. I got my items out of the minivan and put them in my car before driving home. It was quite a fine day.

The next morning had me at Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel for Sunday service. Julie Rodriguez and Joan Burke joined me for the service, which featured the annual Flower Communion--a tradition in Unitarian Universalism. Julie brought some flowers, so she gave Joan and I a flower each from the bouquet. At the appointed time, parishioners brought the flowers up to the front of the sanctuary and placed them in glass vases. There were several vases filled with flowers that day.

After this communion, the church recognized its new members from the past year. The 32 new members--including me, who joined in February--came to the front of the sanctuary to be recognized. Each of us received a copy of the book Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies. It was great to see this recognition given by the congregation to its newest members.

After the service, there was lunch in Adams Hall. This was followed by Eliot's annual Congregational Meeting in the sanctuary. The meeting approved three new members of the Board of Trustees and three new members of the Nominating Committee. We also discussed the proposed budget and other church matters.

Julie and Joan had to leave before the meeting ended, as Julie was seeing her son Dave and granddaughter that afternoon. I left church after the meeting to go home. After starting to post photos from MOSS CON onto IPMS Gateway's Instagram and Facebook, I bought groceries from Walmart.

Later.

Websites of Entities Mentioned in this Post:

IPMS Gateway: IPMS Gateway Chapter

IPMS Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists: Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists scale modeling | Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists

The Arc of the Ozarks: The Arc of the Ozarks: Serving People with Disabilities in Missouri

Eliot Unitarian Universalist Chapel: Home