Witnessing Action on the Pitch and the Table

It's definitely late spring here in St. Louis, as the sunny days and warmer temperatures attest. There was good weather for me and my colleagues to service our customers. Still plenty of traffic, due to last month's hail storm and the backlog at the repair facilities. And that's with summer vacation driving season starting this weekend.

It was a warm, humid day last Sunday (17 May) as I was at Seckman High School in Imperial, Missouri to referee some youth soccer matches. The first of the three-game set was my middle, an under-12 girls' match, and I had to send off a player for denying her opponent a goal scoring opportunity. This occurred early in the second half, with the fouling player's team ahead, but the other team rallied back to win. I made out the report that night and sent it to the league office.

I got my 1:48 scale Mosquito model completed Tuesday afternoon (19 May) and entered it in the contest at that night's IPMS/Gateway meeting in Mehlville, Missouri. (I flexed out of work early that afternoon, since I am working this Saturday morning.) The contest was the second of four to determine our Modeler of the Year. I didn't place--realistically, I didn't think it would do well against the other entries--but at least I got a model done, so I get a point for entering. I helped judge the other contest categories and there were some real nice entries. More on the club here: http://ipms-gateway.com.

After work last night, I headed to Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton, Missouri for a second round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tie between Saint Louis FC and Des Moines Menace. It was a chilly, damp night, but myself and most attendees came home happy as Saint Louis FC won 2-1 after extra time. The home side advances to host Minnesota United this Wednesday in the third round. More info here: http://www.saintlouisfc.com. In my section of the stands, I joined in the chants generated a few feet away by the St. Louigans, a local soccer supporters group with a great presence at Saint Louis FC matches. For more on this group, check out http://stlouligans.com/.

I'll be off this Monday, as our branch will be closed for the Memorial Day holiday. They'll be soccer to referee and watch on Sunday. More on that in my next post. Also, next Thursday (28 May), I'll do my first volunteer shift for Circus Flora and its new season. More info here: http://www.circusflora.org.

Later.