15 Minutes Airborne In a "Tin Goose"

Last Thursday afternoon (21 September) was supposed to be a branch lunch at a nice restaurant. However, after I got there, I found out the manager and assistant manager were both sick that day and that the lunch was postponed to a later date to be selected. Quite a disappointment.

That night, I was at the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/). Members from the Gateway Chapter of the Army Aviation Historical Foundation (https://armyav.org/st-louis-missouri/), based at Creve Coeur Airport, spoke about their organization and presented a short film from the mid-1960s of US Army Aviation aircraft on maneuvers prior to the Vietnam War. The Chapter also plugged its Barbecue Fundraiser on Saturday, 21 October at Creve Coeur Airport. Proceeds from the event go to their restoration of two Vietnam War-era helicopters, an OH-58 and a UH-1 Huey.

Work at the branch at the end of last week kept my colleagues and I plenty busy. Fortunately, all went well.

Saturday night (23 September), I was at Smugala's Pizza Pub (http://www.smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) in Sunset Hills for a beer before catching the Pub2Park shuttle for World Wide Technology Soccer Park (http://www.saintlouisfc.com/soccerpark) for that night's Saint Louis FC (http://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match against FC Cincinnati. I took in the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate in the parking lot before we marched into Toyota Stadium for the match. Saint Louis jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but could not hold it as Cincinnati scored twice--leveling on a penalty kick in stoppage time--to earn a 2-2 draw. A disappointment for sure, though we had fun during the match.

Sunday afternoon found me back at World Wide Technology Soccer Park, this time to referee youth soccer matches. I worked two under-12 girls matches, 9-a-side on a small field. It was a very warm day, so my crew granted water breaks midway through each half for player safety. Both matches went well.

Work started off well on Monday, which was busy as usual. We had plenty of business going and I did my best to keep things running smooth.

After flexing out Tuesday afternoon (26 September), I went home to take care of some personal business. I went to Marion Morris' house that night for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) business meeting. Besides planning upcoming meetings, we discussed some club business at length. I will disclose that in more detail in due course.

After a full day of work Wednesday, it was a full off day Thursday (28 September). After doing some laundry that morning, I drove early that afternoon to Mount Vernon, Illinois. My first stop was Mt. Vernon Outland Airport (http://www.mtvernonairport.com/), where my flight was waiting in the form of a ride on a Ford 4-AT-E Tri-Motor operated by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) (https://www.eaa.org/eaa). The aircraft, built in 1929, arrived in Mt. Vernon for rides that day through this Sunday (https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/flight-experiences/fly-the-ford-eaa-ford-tri-motor-airplane-tour). I ordered my ticket online that morning before driving to Mt. Vernon.

I signed in at the airport, then waited with the nine other passengers for that fight. We took in a brief safety briefing in the airport terminal before walking out to the Tri-Motor, nicknamed the "Tin Goose" due to its corrugated aluminum skin. I took my seat in the second row on the right side of the cabin, with the Number 3 engine nacelle and right main landing fear just outside my window. This was the Ford's second flight of the day; the first one had several local press people aboard, and a few press people were on this one. The pilot started the three engines and warmed them up briefly before taxiing to the active runway. We got airborne after a fairly short run and climbed to about 1000 feet (304.8 m) for the 15 minute flight around the airport. The plane flew at its cruising speed of 107 mph (93 knots; 172.2 kph). It was noisy in the cabin and there was vibration and slight turbulence, though the skies were clear. However, I was one very happy traveler, as were the others on board.

We landed and taxied to the terminal, and got out after the engines stopped. It was one great experience for all concerned, a flight back to the early years of commercial aviation. I took a few pictures of the Ford before leaving the airport.

I then drove to the Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) branch in Mt. Vernon, where Lauren, my former colleague at Ellisville, serves as assistant branch manager. She was away at a satellite location, one of her colleagues told me, but I did say hi to my colleagues there and gave them a tin of cookies, which they appreciated. (The next morning, Lauren messaged me to thank me for the cookies and for stopping by, and apologizing for not being there when I came by.)

After driving back home and changing clothes, I drove to Forest Hills County Club (https://www.foresthillscc.net/) in Chesterfield, where Enterprise branch personnel in our area gathered for an event celebrating our contributions to the United Way of Greater St. Louis (http://www.stl.unitedway.org/). There was a buffet supper, beer and wine to drink, a raffle of donated gift items (the number of tickets depending on our United Way pledged donations for the coming year), and an auction of some premier items. It was great seeing colleagues working at other branches and in area management. Plus, I got to wear coat and tie to a company event. I didn't win any raffle prizes, but some of my branch mates did. Overall, it was a fun night, and I treated myself to a concrete at Andy's Frozen Custard (http://www.eatandys.com/) on the way home.

Back at work today, it was a busy one, especially late in the day with many vehicles dropped off. We stayed until about 7 pm--one hour after closing--getting the vehicles cleaned up and parked for tomorrow. There will be another Vehicle Service Agent joining us a week from today. This person will work mostly on Mondays and Fridays, our busy days, and will help ease the burden on my colleagues and I.

This morning, I picked up my former colleague and branch manager David Abraham, who was in town for a friend's wedding. We got caught up as I drove him to the branch for the rental. David apparently asked for me personally to pick me up. I am most flattered by that.

Later.

Watching and Refereeing Soccer; A New Refrigerator

It was a good day of work last Friday (15 September), with plenty of business for us to take care of. Things worked out great.

Same with the next morning, as I worked at the branch that morning. We kept our customers most satisfied and handled things most efficiently, so we did not have to stay too long after closing time.

After lunch and coming home to change, I made my way to Smugala's Pizza Pub (http://www.smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) in Sunset Hills, where I caught the Pub2Park bus to Toyota Stadium in Fenton for that night's Saint Louis FC (http://www.saintlouisfc.com/) match against Orlando City B. I joined in the tailgate with the other St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/), enjoying a nice spread courtesy of Saint Louis FC, then picked up a large print of the head of club chief financial officer Tom Strunk, whose 50th birthday was that day. We marched in to the stadium before the match and pleasantly surprised Strunk with all the large head prints. We then took our place in Section 8 and cheered on our side, which won the match 2-0.

At halftime, after a demonstration match put on by St. Louis Ultimate (http://www.stlouis-ultimate.org/cms/), we St. Louligans came on the field to sing "Happy Birthday" to Strunk, which he greatly appreciated (I think). After the match, after the players serenaded the St. Louligans in appreciation of our support, I chatted with Strunk and with Saint Louis FC chief executive officer (and Saint Louis University classmate) Jim Kavanaugh. Tom signed my head print of his, which I will keep at home under lock and key. I also bought a pair of socks from St. Louis Ultimate, as a fund raiser for that group.

The next morning (17 September), I was at Kolping Fields in south St. Louis County to run lines on two under 15 boys soccer matches. They went well, with no real problems for my crew. I chilled out at home the rest of the day.

Back to work Monday morning, it was plenty busy. Fortunately, a Vehicle Service Agent (VSA) from another branch was there in the morning to help me and my team out. The manager said we should have a new VSA to join me at Ellisville in the coming weeks.

It was a bit slow going into work the next morning, due to fog. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad to be a real problem, but it did mean taking it easy on the drive to the branch.

After work on Tuesday (19 September), it was on to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://www.calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) in Mehlville for this month's meeting of IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/). Perhaps it was the heat that night and/or the fatigue after hosting our Invitational contest earlier this month, but we had a low turnout of members and of entries in our quarterly contest for Modeler of the Year. I helped judge, as I had no entries, and our judges got it done in just a few minutes. We also had a recap of our show.

I flexed out of work yesterday afternoon, since I will be working this Saturday morning. I did some trips to pick up vehicles for our branch and to ferry the Ballwin branch's manager to the Manchester branch, so she could get a car for her branch. I came home to rest, and to catch up on the current film "The Vietnam War" running on PBS this week. I viewed the two most recent episodes from the DVR cache, then watched last night's episode. A terrific series.

This morning, after a jog to loosen up my legs for this weekend's games, I helped my mom with getting our new refrigerator installed in the kitchen. Two people from Sears (http://www.sears.com/) came to remove the old unit and to plus in the new one. After mom and I performed a hookup of water to the refrigerator (which also includes a freezer, and a panel for getting drinking water and ice in one of the front doors), we loaded the unit up with food.

Off to a company lunch this afternoon, and the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting tonight. More on all those events and others next time.

Later.

Scale Models, Blood Test, Soccer and Work

One week ago (13 August), I went to service at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) with my mom, my brother Rick and his daughter (and my goddaughter) Kate. We had a fine time with that, and the fellowship time after the service. We went out for dinner at IHOP (http://www.ihop.com/) in Mehlville, then went home for some quiet time. I said my goodbye to Kate, as I she and Rick would fly back to Charleston while I was at work the next day.

That night, I was at Toyota Stadium for the Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) match against Tampa Bay Rowdies. It was a wild match, with Saint Louis taking an early 2-0 lead, then Tampa Bay scored three times to lead 3-2 at halftime. Saint Louis scored twice in the second half--the winner coming one minute before full time--to win 4-3. I joined with the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in cheering on the home side.

Back to work on Monday (14 August), I welcomed our new assistant manager, Miranda, who had worked at our branch earlier this year when she started off with the firm. It was a busy Monday as usual for us, but we got through it just fine. Later in the week, we welcomed a new management trainee, Will, to our branch.

After work Tuesday, I dashed home to get my things, then went to Calvary Presbyterian Church for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) general meeting. We had a contest judging seminar, to help our members judge our contest next month. We also saluted the models of Rick Keasey and Jim Triola which won awards at last month's IPMS/USA National Convention in Omaha. Our group paid tribute to members Fred Amos and Richard White, who died in recent weeks (along with the wife of member Myron Lane), and we had our Model of the Month "Beauty Contest." I volunteered to host the business meeting this Tuesday.

The next afternoon (16 August), I flexed out of work in the afternoon, as I would be working the following Saturday morning. I took care of business at home, and ate an early dinner before fasting that night. I was at the medical testing lab in Concord Village the next morning for a blood test. Blood was drawn for testing, as requested by my doctor last month. Hopefully, all will be well.

Thursday afternoon found me at Marcus Wehrenberg's Ronnies 20 Cinema (http://www.marcustheatres.com/theatre-locations/marcus-ronnie's-20-cine-imax) in Concord Village to see the movie "Dunkirk" (http://www.dunkirkmovie.com/). I saw it in the IMAX format and was most impressed. A very well done movie, I think.

That night, I was at the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/). This meeting featured a reading on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, and the screening of a 2014 video on Tom Mohan, a veteran of that battle who flew in a restored SBD Dauntless like the one he flew as a rear gunner at Guadalcanal. It was quite a nice evening. I also plugged the IPMS/Gateway Contest with flyers for the event.

After work yesterday morning, I had lunch at Which Wich (https://www.whichwich.com/) in Chesterfield. Back home, I got ready for the Saint Louis FC match against Pittsburgh Riverhounds. After going to Smugala's (http://smugalas.com/) in Sunset Hills for a beer and to catch the shuttle bus to Toyota Stadium. I went to the St. Louligans tailgate for chili and beer (after having some chili at home!) before marching in with them to the Stadium. However, Saint Louis could not hold on to an early lead and lost 2-1. It was a quiet ride on the bus back to Smugala's, then a quiet drive home.

Later

Pool Time, Busy Work Week, and Family in Town

One week ago Thursday (3 August), on my second off day from work that week (I was also off the day before), I went off to Kennedy Recreation Complex (http://stlouisco.com/ParksandRecreation/RecreationComplexes/KennedyRecreationComplex) in south St. Louis County to do some swimming. I haven't done any swimming in the past couple of years, so I was really looking forward to it. I hit the pool, and had no problems--even in the deep end of the pool, which was 13 feet (4 m) deep. I enjoyed my swim there, helped by sunny weather. If only I put on some sunscreen. I sure paid for that in the coming days!

It was back to work the next morning, after an early morning area-wide meeting to review procedures. The rest of the work day went well.

Saturday night (5 August) found me at Smugala's Pizza Pub (http://smugalas.com/smugalassunsethills) in Sunset Hills, where I caught the Pub2Park shuttle bus to Toyota Stadium at Worldwide Technology Soccer Park for that night's match between Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) and Swope Park Rangers. I arrived at the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate to take in the scene, then marched in with them to the stadium for the match. It was fun as usual to sing along with the St. Louligans, but the match ended in a 0-0 draw.

After a calm Sunday at home, it was bright and early at work on Monday (7 August). Due to personnel changes from the previous week--assistant manager Cayla was off to Enterprise Car Sales (https://www.enterprisecarsales.com/) and intern Mike left to return to college--I worked all five days a week, 10 hours a day. Yes, it was a lot of work, but at least it wasn't too hot. Things worked out well, even if we were shorthanded. That should change next week, with a new assistant manager on board.

Thursday (10 August), my brother Rick and his daughter (and my goddaughter) Kate came in town for a few days with Mom and I. It was my first time seeing Kate in person and it was very good. This morning--after I got my hair cut at Great Clips (https://www.greatclips.com/)--we all went to the Saint Louis Zoo (https://www.stlzoo.org/). It was my first time there in a few years and we had a fine time there. We then came home and had dinner.

Later