Meeting Melissa Etheridge; Getting a Rental Car; Circus Flora

Monday night (19 June), right after work, I headed to River City Casino (https://www.rivercity.com/) in Lemay to see Melissa Etheridge (https://melissaetheridge.com/) perform in concert, with my brother Brian on drums. He got tickets for myself, my mom, and our friends Jim and Pat Cook to see the show. It was a marvelous show--the third time I've seen Etheridge in concert in the last two years--and Brian got a very good greeting from the crowd when Etheridge introduced him late in her set. During the encore, she joined Brian on the drums. That was great!

After the show, Brian met us in the showroom's foyer, then he took us to the stage door to introduce us to Etheridge. A great thrill. She noted the Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) shirt I was wearing, and mentioned that she was going to be renting from Enterprise during a break in her current tour. I told her how much we (Enterprise) greatly appreciate the business. I also mentioned to Etheridge--a lesbian--that I would be marching with Enterprise colleagues this Sunday at the St. Louis Pride Fest Parade (https://pridestl.org/), and she was very happy to hear that. After posing for some pictures with us, Etheridge and Brian got ready to board the tour bus and head to their next stop: Springfield, Missouri. I bought an Etheridge T-shirt from the souvenir vendor, but it was on the vendor.

The next morning, I delayed going into work to take my Corolla to the body shop at Dave Sinclair Ford (http://www.davesinclairford.com/collision-center.htm), so my damaged rear bumper could be repaired. After signing the car over to the body shop, I walked over to the Enterprise satellite office at Dave Sinclair. After a few minutes' wait, one of their management trainees saw me and got me into a Ford F-150 pickup as my loaner vehicle. My insurance firm, GEICO (https://www.geico.com/) is paying for the rental; I just cover the taxes and protection packages. After the walk through and sign off with the Enterprise MT, I got my things from my Corolla into the F-150 and headed to work.

After work Tuesday, I was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) in Mehlville for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/). We had our Model of the Month "Beauty Contest," and a good presentation on model photography by our Jim Roeder. I also showed my award-winning models from the recent shows in Crystal Lake, Illinois and Branson, Missouri. A few guys in the group, upon seeing my F-150, wondered if I had traded in my Corolla for the pickup, but I explained this is only a loaner for a few days.

Work has gone well, despite the heat and humidity that made it tough in the wash bay after just a few minutes. Temperatures topped 90 degrees F (32 degrees C); however, the humidity (especially in the wash bay) pushed the heat index past 100 degrees F (38 degrees C).

Thursday (22 June) was my off day as usual. I did my laundry and generally relaxed at home during the day. That night, I was at Circus Flora (http://circusflora.org/) in Grand Center. I helped scan tickets as the audience members came to the entrance, then helped as an usher during and after the show, which had a very good sized crowd. Earlier that day, I volunteered to help out at tonight's performance. The current show, "Time Flies," ends tomorrow (25 June).

Our manager Cory treated us at the branch yesterday to quesadillas from Global Quesadilla Company (http://theglobalq.com/). He texted me the night before asking what one I wanted, and I asked for something with chicken--which was what I got. It was most tasty.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, with marching in the Pride Fest Parade in the early afternoon, then helping out at Festa Junina, a Brazilian folk festival Viva Brasil STL (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/) is presenting at the Kirkwood Community Center. Hope to see you at either of those events.

Later.