Life Amid Happy Moments and Mishaps

I was one of the volunteers on duty when Circus Flora (http://circusflora.org/) started its 31st season a week ago Thursday (1 June) with "Time Flies," a show with a time travel theme. I served as an usher that night and helped our audience greatly enjoy themselves. This year's show runs through 25 June at their air-conditioned big top in St. Louis' Grand Center.

I brought doughnuts from Krispy Kreme (http://krispykreme.com/) to work the next day, and it was appreciated as usual by the staff. After work, I headed for Toyota Stadium at Worldwide Technology Soccer Park for Saint Louis FC's (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against Toronto FC II. Joining with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/), I cheered the home side to a 2-0 victory in the first home match in over a month, due to the recent flooding.

That Saturday afternoon (3 June), Tim Pylypiuk and I hosted this month's edition of "Writer's Block," (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-/2017/06/03/connected--writers-block-10am-pstradio-drama-the-princess-ep-11-11am-pst) from ANCA World Radio. This program celebrated the life and works of the late Australian artist and autism activist Donna Williams, who lost her fight with cancer earlier this year.

Sunday morning found me at Das Bevo, formerly, the historic Bevo Mill in south St. Louis (http://www.dasbevo.com/), for brunch with the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans/). Our party had a great time at the restaurant, which reopened a few weeks ago after a slight renovation. I dined on beer cheese soup and Bavarian sausage, washed down with Uhlrich's Breakfast (a cocktail). It was my first time there in about 2 1/2 years, and I hope I won't wait that long to return.

Driving out of the parking lot at Das Bevo hit a snag (literally), when I backed my car into a telephone pole in the parking lot, causing damage to the rear fender at one corner. I will have to have that fixed soon; I have an appointment with the insurance adjuster next week.

On a happier note that Sunday, I then went to the Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/) store in Ladue to trade in my Nook HD tablet for a newer Samsung Galaxy Tab A Nook tablet. Doing so saved me $50 off the standard price for the newer tablet; however, I still get to keep the older Nook HD (received as a Christmas gift from my brothers in 2012) for as long as I want. After charging it up, I began transferring my Nook files to the new tablet. That includes the book I'm currently reading at lunch breaks at work, "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young" by Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret.) and Joseph L. Galloway. A terrific read on the Battle of the Ia Drang Valley in November of 1965.

Work has been good and busy at our branch. We recently welcomed Mike, an intern for the summer, and Tyler, a new management trainee, to our staff. I change came in the vehicle prep side, as Jesse will only work Saturdays (he recently started another job), and I will continue to work four days a week, but no more alternate Saturday mornings for the time being. I can live with that.

Going to bed on Tuesday night, my bed's headboard broke off the support post, causing the bed to collapse. That forced me to sleep on the couch in the family room.

After work Wednesday (7 June), it was off to the Marcus Des Peres 14 Cine (http://www.marcustheatres.com/theatre-locations/marcus-des-peres-14-cine). There, I saw the 1972 classic "The Godfather," from TCM (http://www.tcm.com/) and Fathom Events (https://www.fathomevents.com/). It was the first time I saw this movie in a theater, and I was thrilled from the first scene to the last. "The Godfather" is nearly three hours long, but didn't feel like it to me.

Off work Thursday, I did some personal business, then was helping out again at Circus Flora. This time, I joined with Julia, the scenic intern, in scanning tickets for that night's performance. We used bar code scanners on tickets the customers presented for admittance. There were just a very few slowdowns in the process; we got our audience members through the ticket line in good order. Then, I came inside the enjoy the show and to help with ushering duties.

It was another busy, but satisfying day at work yesterday. After dinner last night, Mom and I shopped for a new bedframe. After not finding anything suitable at two other stories, we went to Walmart (https://www.walmart.com/), where we found a suitable frame for a good price. After checking out, we took the bedframe home. This morning, Mom and I set up the bedframe in my bedroom. It took a bit of figuring out, but we got the frame set up and the foundation and mattress placed on it. I can now sleep in my own bed again.

I'm off to dinner tonight with the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group, then tomorrow I'll be a volunteer at the Scott Air Force Base Air Show (http://www.scott.af.mil/airshow2017/). More on that in my next post.

Later.