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.

Air Show and A Modeling Trip to Branson

A week ago last night (11 June), I joined with others from the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans/) at Anis Hyderabad House (http://www.anisusa.com/) in Creve Coeur for Indian cuisine. It was a good time for our group as we enjoyed our dinner and conversation.

The next day, my Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) colleague Marion Moen came to pick me up at home, then he drove us to Scott Air Force Base (http://www.scott.af.mil/). The base hosted an air show to celebrate its Centennial. Marion and I staffed our Society's table in Hangar 1, in which we gave out info on our group and showed a pair of documentaries we had a hand in on a television screen. I did go out for awhile to view the aircraft on static display and to see the US Air Force Thunderbirds (http://afthunderbirds.com/site/) perform. It was a hot, but satisfying day.

Work at the rental branch went very well this past week, despite the heat. Temperatures reached 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), with heat indices (heat plus humidity) topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). It was busy early in the week and leveled off by mid-week, then picked up again on Friday.

I was off to Toyota Stadium at World Wide Technology Soccer Park right after work to help cheer on Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) against Chicago Fire in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (http://thecup.us/). I marched into the stadium with fellow St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) to cheer on the home side, but Chicago escaped with a 1-0 win. It was a game effort by Saint Louis FC witnessed by a standing-room-only crowd.

Off work Thursday, I took my Corolla in to Jim Butler Collision Center (http://www.jimbutlerbodyshop.com/) to get the damage done a week and a half before hitting a telephone pole evaluated by a GEICO (https://www.geico.com/) claims adjuster. He gave me the figure and cut me a check to give to the repair shop I would go to for repairs. I arranged to have it taken this Tuesday morning to Dave Sinclair Ford's Body Shop for the repair work, and for Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) to have a loaner car for me.

That night, it was off to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's Missouri Aviation Historical Society meeting. This was a debrief on the Scott Air Show, with several members presenting their pictures, videos, and stories from that weekend. I came early, to bring in the Society's gear from the Air Show booth.

As work ended Friday, I checked into a rental car at Enterprise, then drove home to pack up. Early yesterday morning (17 June), I set off for Branson, Missouri and MOSS CON, a model contest hosted by IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists (http://ipmsmoss.com/) at the Branson Convention Center (http://www.bransoncc.com/). I took nine models to enter in the contest, and some flyers for this September's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Contest. I shopped among the vendors there, bought some raffle tickets, and had lunch at Famous Dave's (http://www.famousdaves.com/) at Branson Landing (http://www.bransonlanding.com/). I won two model kits in the raffle, and one of my contest entries--a Kuebelwagen--took Third Place in its armor category. I had a great time there, and hope to be back next year when IPMS/MOSS hosts the Region 5 Contest.

Midday today, Mom and I went to the hotel at River City Casino (https://www.rivercity.com/) to pick up my brother Brian, who got into town late last night. He's drumming for Melissa Etheridge (https://melissaetheridge.com/), who is performing at River City tomorrow night. Brian, Mom, and I had dinner at Rich & Charlie's (http://www.richandcharlies.com/) in Mehlville, then came home to relax.

Later.

Work, More Branch Visits, a Party, and a Concert

Work at the rental branch this past week has gone well. We had a real busy last Monday (12 December), due mostly to the car repair facilities calling us for loaner vehicles for their customers. It was a bit stressful, but we got it done. The rest of this week has gone well, though the cooler weather did have its challenges (such as scraping ice off of car windows and salting the pavement). We're doing good, though.

My Portuguese Language: Beginning II class ended Wednesday night (14 December) at St. Louis Community College-Meramec (http://www.stlcc.edu/MC/). We learned some more pronouns, and we were treated to Brazilian delicacies by our instructor, Elizabeth Bittencourt, from the Viva Brasil Association of St. Louis (http://www.e.vivabrasilstl.org/home). I enjoyed this class, and plan to sign up for Beginning III after the first of the year.

Off work on Thursday, I spent the morning visiting my colleagues at other branches. My travels took me to three in Illinois (O'Fallon, Highland, and Glen Carbon), plus one in Florissant, Missouri. I chatted briefly with the people I knew who were there (including Meggie at Highland, Leah at Glen Carbon, and Dan at Florissant), and they greatly appreciated the holiday newsletters I gave them and the cookies I gave their whole staffs. It was great to see them, and to see how they and their branches were doing, and to help their morale just a bit.

That night was party time for members of the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/). Instead of the regular meeting, the society's members and guests had a Christmas party at Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/), which featured a catered dinner with a custom decorated cake. It was nice having time with other society members and their guests.

The weather went bad Friday afternoon (16 December), as temperatures dipped well below freezing and freezing rain fell, which caused roads to get slick. Pavements were like skating rinks, and roads were parking lots at times. We at the rental branch did get our customers taken care of, and we were able to leave not too long after closing time. Things were brighter there earlier in the day, as it was ugly sweater day at the company. I wore one I made the day before, using a kit I bought at Target. Also, two of my colleagues were saluted by Enterprise Car Sales (https://www.enterprisecarsales.com/) for recently referring customers to them, with the subsequent customer purchases meaning my colleagues get a bit more cash in their paychecks.

Right after work, I dashed off--as best I could under the road conditions--to River City Casino (https://www.rivercity.com/). Melissa Etheridge (http://www.melissaetheridge.com/) was in concert there, with my brother Brian Delaney on drums. I met my mom and our friends and neighbors, Rick and Diane Holtz, at the casino, and we then went to the Events Center for the show. (Brian left us tickets at the Will Call desk.) It was a wonderful concert, with Etheridge playing a mix of Christmas-themed songs, music from her latest album, MEmphis Rock and Soul, and some of her hits. There were a few empty seats, mostly likely due to the weather and traffic conditions. Mom, the Holtzes, and I had a great time, and we got to chat with Brian for a bit after the show, before he joined the rest of the group to head to their next tour stop.

Late yesterday morning, I drove to the PetSmart (http://www.petsmart.com/) in Sunset Hills, where Needy Paws Rescue (http://www.needypaws.org/) was holding a Stuff The Bus For Pups dog care product drive. My friend and Enterprise colleague Brittany Mohrman was there with the group, and we were very happy to see each other. (Mohrman, under her maiden name Becker, was a management trainee at the Ellisville branch three years ago; she's now in corporate human resources.) I bought about $50 of merchandise on the group's wish list--including a dog bed, rawhide bones, a collar and a leash--which I donated to Needy Paws Rescue. Mohrman greatly appreciated my gesture and I told her I was very happy to help her group out.

I did a bit of Christmas shopping at several stores after that, but did not find anything I was looking for. Not much shopping time left until Christmas.

The weather got worse that afternoon, with more sleet coming down. I stayed at home rather than chance the weather and streets to attend a Christmas party in south St. Louis, which was cancelled anyway. The overnight weather, which included a dusting of snow, also caused Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) to call off this morning's service.

Later.