One Giant Leap Plus 50 Years

This past weekend, I and others on this planet celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon (20 July 1969), by the crew of Apollo 11. Yesterday afternoon (20 July), I went to the Saint Louis Science Center (https://www.slsc.org/) where they had a celebration of the moon landing. Various groups had tables with information and interactive programs aimed at children, including St. Louis Space Frontier (https://stlouisspacefrontier.org/), St. Louis Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (https://engage.aiaa.org/stlouis/home), Wings of Hope (https://wingsofhope.ngo/), and Schlafly Beer (http://www.schlafly.com/).

I also took in other displays at the Science Center, including a display of lunar photos taken by an orbiter and examples of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft built by McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis.

Today, the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) celebrated the "One giant leap" of Apollo 11 at its meeting. Due to flooding at its regular venue of Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/), this was held at the National Museum of Transportation (https://transportmuseumassociation.org/) in Des Peres, Missouri. Two people who worked on the Saturn V rocket used on Apollo 11--Bill Nasse and Don Nagel--spoke about their involvement on the project and its impact on the the USA and on technology. There was a very nice crowd at this meeting, along with plenty of cake and exhibits.

This was quite a weekend for me. I was 5 years old on 20 July 1969, yet I remember much of what happened with and around the first human moon landing. Perhaps, this was the greatest event that occurred in my lifetime.

Later.

Work, Scale Modeling, Soccer, and Seeing Mom Off

The weather is typical for St. Louis this time of year--hot and humid. Still, I carry on with everything. That includes work at the car rental branch, which has been steady busy of late with vacation travelers and business customers in the mix (along with those needing loaner cars). This past week our branch said goodbye to two management trainees: Nick, who's off to help manage the Cape Girardeau branch, and Mel, who's going up the street to our Kirkwood branch. I wished them all the best in their new positions.

Following work last Saturday morning (1 Aug.), I drove to Bridgeton for a working meeting of the St. Louis Space Frontier Meetup group. I was late, but got into the meeting as members discussed some business. This included membership rates and structure, a website for our group, and upcoming events. I found it very interesting, and hope to contribute to this group in the coming months. This group is on Meetup here: http://www.meetup.com/Saint-Louis-Space-Frontier-Meetup/.

After work last Tuesday (4 Aug.), I went to Mark Twain Hobby Center in St. Charles for the IPMS/St. Louis meeting. I gave my colleagues a report on the IPMS/USA National Convention in Columbus. One of the attendees offered to give a demonstration on using pigments to weather models and will do so at next month's meeting (1 Sept.). More info on this group here: http://www.ipms-stlouis.com/.

My mother departed for Los Angeles this past Wednesday, visiting my brother Doug, his wife Helen, and their twin sons. She's be with them for about two weeks. I'm sure mom is so excited seeing her latest grandchildren.

Last night, I went to Smugala's Pizza Pub in Sunset Hills for a beer before hopping on the Pub2Park bus for Worldwide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton. There, I cheered on Saint Louis FC against FC Montreal. Despite several good chances in front of a record crowd of 5,321 fans, Saint Louis went down to defeat, 3-1. Before the match, I did stop by the Mission Taco Truck in the tailgate area for dinner (which was good). Saint Louis FC has some great support. I just wished the team would be doing better on the pitch. We'll see with their upcoming fixtures against Charleston Battery (away this Saturday, home five days later). More on the club here: http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index.

Later.

One History Discussion, Two Soccer Matches, One Dinner at the Circus

One week ago tonight (18 June) found me at Creve Coeur Airport for the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's monthly meeting. This meeting was a panel discussion about Project Gemini on the 50th anniversary year of the first manned Gemini flight. Earl Mullins, curator and founder of The Space Museum in Bonne Terre, Missouri (http://www.space-mo.org/), moderated a most interesting discussion with a panel of five engineers and designers who worked on the Gemini spacecraft for McDonnell Aircraft. There was a good crowd at the meeting, including several from the St. Louis Space Frontier Meetup Group, which I am in, and was so happy to see them in attendance. More on that meeting here: http://moavhist.org/2015/06/03/moavhist-to-hold-exclusive-qa-panel-for-50th-anniversary-of-project-gemini/. (There will be video of this discussion to be posted on that website in due course.) More on the Meetup group at: http://www.meetup.com/Saint-Louis-Space-Frontier-Meetup/.

Right after work Friday, I was at World Wide Technology Soccer Park in Fenton to cheer on Saint Louis FC against Colorado Springs Switchbacks. The home side lost 1-0 in the USL match, but granted it was Saint Louis FC's third match in nine days (including a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tie three days before), I should not be too disappointed. Anyway, Saint Louis FC returns to action this Saturday night, when they host New York Red Bulls II. Tickets available; for more info, visit http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index. By the way, I read online this week (http://coachbailey.blog.com/2015/06/20/usl-attendance-2/) that Saint Louis FC is 5th in average attendance among USL teams to this point of the season. The team has averaged 4,573 fans per match--88 percent of Marshall Wireless Stadium's 5,200 capacity. Good going, Saint Louis FC supporters! Let's keep it up.

Late Saturday afternoon (20 June), I drove to Lutheran High School of St. Charles County in St. Peters, Missouri to watch St. Louis Lions face PDL rivals Springfield Synergy FC. (The match was moved to this artificial turf field from the Tony Glavin Complex in Cottleville, Missouri due to heavy rain this past week.) The Lions prevailed, 2-1, on a hot and muggy day. They are on the road for several games before returning home early next month. For more, visit their website: http://www.stllions.com/.

Sunday was spent at home staying cool and working a little on a scale model on my workbench. That night, I was at Circus Flora right after their 5:30 p.m. show to take in their annual volunteer dinner. The circus was thanking us volunteers for all our hard work during this season's show, "One Summer on Second Street." After posing for a photo, we entered the ring where a buffet dinner--including fried chicken, salad, baked beans, and strawberries--awaited. I had some food and took in the moment before going home. I'm back there to help out at tonight's show. "One Summer on Second Street" ends its run this Sunday, but you can still take in this marvelous show. More info, including tickets, here at: http://circusflora.org/.

It's been real hot and humid here this week, but at least the rain has held off (unlike the week before). Work has been going well, although the hot and humid conditions outside (as well as inside the wash bay) makes me realize the importance of staying hydrated during the day. Things are going real well for us at the branch.

Tuesday night (23 June) I was at CRM Hobbies in south St. Louis for the IPMS/Gateway business meeting, hosted by club president Chris Merseal at his shop. Those of us board members attending planned next month's general and business meetings, and discussed a bit of other club business. I also got in a bit of shopping at the store, which was normally closed those nights. More on the club at http://www.ipms-gateway.com/. The shop's website is: http://www.crmhobbies.com/.

Later.