Looking Ahead to Independence Day 2015

Last Thursday night (25 June), I performed my final volunteer shift for this season of Circus Flora. We had a great crowd under the big top for this performance of "One Summer on Second Street." I helped some customers find their seats, moving one woman with a can find a seat closer to the floor, and helping another customer find his missing cell phone. It was all good and we had another superb performance. Circus Flora's season ended last Sunday night, but I'm already looking forward to volunteering next year. For more on the circus, including making donations to them, visit http://circusflora.org/.

Work has been going very well at the car rental branch in recent days. For me, that included working last Saturday morning (27 July), which went rather smoothly for a Saturday.

That night, I drove to Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills, where I caught the Pub2Park shuttle bus to World Wide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's match against New York Red Bulls II. There was a sold out crowd that night, but Saint Louis lost 4-1. However, I came away a winner of a cooler. My cell phone number was chosen at random early in the match and at halftime I claimed my prize. It's a very nice cooler, with the Saint Louis FC emblem on it, and I will be proud to bring beer or soda in it to some event. The club's on the road this week, but back home next Saturday; more information here: http://www.saintlouisfc.com.

I switched off with a colleague and am off today and working tomorrow, rather than the usual working Wednesday and off Thursday. After work last night, I took in the weekly staff meeting, then we went to the nearby Buffalo Wild Wings for happy hour. We had chicken wings and beer, with conversation, plus watching sporting events on the TVs there. That included the USA's 2-0 win over Germany in the FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal. The Stars and Stripes advanced to Sunday's final against the winner of tonight's England vs. Japan match. Looking forward to the final.

Before that, I'm looking forward to Independence Day this Saturday and to Fair Saint Louis in Forest Park late this week. My brother Brian will be drumming for Melissa Etheridge when she performs Friday night. I'll go see that show after work, and Brian told me by email today he may get me a VIP pass for Etheridge's show. He'll be in town until late Saturday night, so Mom and I can visit with him for a while before going on to the next tour stop. More on Fair Saint Louis here: http://www.fairsaintlouis.org/. Etheridge's official site is: http://www.melissaetheridge.com/.

Last weekend, I made my hotel reservations in Columbus, Ohio for the IPMS/USA National Convention later this month. So, all I need is to reserve a rental car, and I get an employee discount for that. Looking forward to this trip. More on the convention at: http://ipmsusa2015.com/.

Later.