Presenting IPMS/Gateway Before MOAHS

Sunday afternoon (27 January) was when the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) held its annual Kickoff Meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/). (This was one week later than scheduled, due to weather issues the previous Sunday.) I arrived early for lunch there--chicken wings and corn.

I was there to speak for the Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home), on the invitation of MOAHS President Dan O'Hara. I brought some models for display, and club member Jim Triola also brought some models. These were placed on a table at the front of the hall. I also brought some flyers for the club and its Invitational contest, which I had placed on the tables. Additionally, a binder I developed--containing a copy of the club newsletter and screenshots of our website and social media pages--was placed on the MOAHS table in the room. Club member Caleb Duttlinger was also there, with his parents.

Approximately 80 people attended the meeting, with IPMS/Gateway and 15 other organizations presenting information about their organizations and how they can interact with MOAHS and each other.

I spoke for approximately 10 minutes, using talking points on the club that I had written down in the previous days. In my talk, I invited everyone present to come to one of our meetings, and for the other organizations to work with us. (For example, these groups making presentations at our meetings, and IPMS/Gateway doing a model display for these groups.) My talk was very well received, and the model display also earned some praise from attendees.

After the meeting, representatives from two of the other groups there talked with me and were interested in working with us. I mentioned this in an email to the IPMS/Gateway executive board later that day.

I was very pleased with my efforts for IPMS/Gateway that day, and hope this marks the beginning of collaborations with other historical and aerospace organizations in Metro St. Louis for our mutual benefit.

Later.

A Saturday of Beer and Trivia

Saturday morning (26 January) found me at the Urban Chestnut Brewing Company's (http://urbanchestnut.com/) Brewery and Bierhall in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis. This was a get together with the gtpwtw Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/gtpwtw/). Eleven of us toured the brewery, which we found most interesting. Larry, our tour guide, was most informative.

After touring the brewery, we were treated to four samples of Urban Chestnut's variety of beers. I enjoyed this very much.

Then, many of us stayed around to have lunch in the Bierhall. I had pork & apple sausage on a bun, with sauerkraut and potato salad, washed down with Urban Chestnut's Oxnbrau beer. Very tasty.

I shopped in the merchandise store, buying two beer glasses before going home. It was a great time.

That night, I drove to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) to meet up with three fellow Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) members. We then carpooled to Heritage Hall in Bonne Terre, Missouri for a trivia night benefitting The Space Museum (https://www.space-mo.org/) there.

We four joined with one of the tables of fellow players and took part in the contest: ten sets of ten questions per set. I saw some others I knew at some of the other tables. I was able to help them out on some questions. Out group finished sixth best of 18 tables there.

After the contest, we toured the Grissom Center next door to Heritage Hall. This is a new wing of The Space Museum, named for early American astronaut Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom. It's a small museum, but most interesting for spaceflight enthusiasts. I sat in a leather chair used by Space Shuttle astronauts during suiting up procedures prior to launch.

Later.

Town Hall with Saint Louis FC and the St. Louligans

Last Thursday (24 January), I went after work to World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for a town hall meeting organized by the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/). We hosted members of the management team of Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/): Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh, Head Coach Anthony Pulis, President Pat Barry, General Manager Jeremy Alumbaugh, and Chief Financial Officer Tom Strunk. They spoke to us about the the club and their expectations for the 2019 season, and fielded questions from the floor.

The event was recorded for a special edition of the St. Louligans' podcast, This is SiLLy (http://stlouligans.com/archives/category/podcast). I enjoyed coming out to this event to see the people and am very much looking forward to the coming season.

Later.

Cabin Fever in a Good Way

Late yesterday morning (19 January), I drove to the Schlafly Bottleworks (http://www.schlafly.com/bottleworks-brewpub/) in Maplewood for the company's Cabin Fever festival. This event was scheduled for the previous Saturday, but postponed due to the snow that came the night before. There was a possibility of more snow coming down yesterday, but fortunately this did not happen.

When I arrived, I received a small sampler glass and headed for the beer tent. The day was cloudy and bitterly cold. Temperature at midday was about 31 degrees F (-1 degrees C), but the winds made it feel more like 11 degrees F (-12 degrees C). Fortunately, I had my long underwear on and that helped.

I was joined by three others from the St. Louis Food Lovers Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/St-Louis-Food-Lovers/) and we chatted, comparing the different Schlafly beers available for sampling. I had 12 of the 40 beers available that day, a mix of ales, lagers, and stouts. Very nice variety to choose from.

After about an hour, I went to the food tent to get an order of Goulash with dumplings, which really hit the spot. About an hour later, all four of us went inside the Bottleworks for a more substantial lunch. I had the Bottleworks Burger with French Fries, washed down with Schlafly Northeast IPA beer. We all shared in dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding.

After a while back in the beer tent, the three others decided to leave the festival. I stayed around for about one more hour, leaving the Bottleworks lot minutes before Cabin Fever ended. On the way back to my car, I stopped by Foundation Grounds Coffeehouse (https://www.foundationgrounds.com/), where I enjoyed a cup of latte and got warmed up (inside and out).

Later.

Where the (Model Kit) Auction Is

After work on Tuesday night (15 January), I went straight away to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. This was our annual Swap & Sell and Kit Auction.

A few members brought kits, decals, and publications to sell or trade with the fellow club members. I bought an aircraft kit and a decal sheet from one member. There were a few items I was interested in buying, but held off so I could have enough money to bid on kits at the Kit Auction.

The meeting was called to order and some business was discussed. Last year's Modeler of the Year and Bob Stroup (Member of the Year) Awards were presented. Then, we had the Kit Auction, with items donated by club members. I successfully bid on two kits--one of a stock car, the other of a military vehicle--and on two books. One of the books was about the South African Air Force and its aircraft in 1980, the other was a detailed history of two iconic World War II fighters, the Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The auction raised over $400 for club activities.

This meeting also gave me a good opportunity to use my new Canon (https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog) camera in a meeting setting. I think this will work out very well for the club's newsletter in particular.

Later.

Snowstorm 2019

While taking care of business this past week--including work at the rental branch--I was made aware of a possible snowstorm coming to this area. I was glad I was able to finish up the IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, this past Thursday night (10 January). The next afternoon, the snow started to fall.

At the rental branch, my colleagues and I worked hard to get as much done before the weather hit hard. When it started to snow, we had plenty of vehicles to process from customers wanting to turn them in before the weather got too bad. I made several trips that afternoon to return customers to their residences--while traffic on the roads got much heavier. As the snow increased, we were not concerned about washing the exterior of the vehicles. Things wrapped up about closing time at 6 pm.

It was then that the real trouble began for me and other commuters. Streets were jammed with traffic and vehicles had problems with the snow and ice on the streets and highways. After nearly an hour of being stuck in traffic, I rerouted my way home using the Maps app on my phone. This involved taking side streets for the most part. They had very little traffic, but were tricky to drive on due to the snow that had not yet been plowed away. It took me about an hour on this route, but I arrived home safe and sound that night.

Waking up the next morning (12 January), I got dressed after breakfast to begin shoveling snow off the driveway. I first measured the snowfall to that point on the driveway. We had 7 inches (17.8 cm) here; other parts of the St. Louis area received up to 12 inches (30.5 cm). Then, I began to shovel the snow, and it was hard. The snow was wet and heavy, so it was a greater effort to move it than if it was a light powder type of snow. I took frequent breaks to rest up and reduce stress on my heart.

Sometimes, I came inside to rest, including having a cup of hot chocolate. That was most welcome on this day. I took some time to rest that afternoon, watching "The Grand Budapest Hotel" on DVD in my room. (The satellite TV was out until mid-afternoon, due to the weather.) Finally, I completed shoving all the snow off the driveway late that afternoon.

Because of the weather, three events I had planned to attend that day and night were called off. They included the Missouri Professional Communicators (http://www.mpc-nfpw.org/) meeting at the St. Louis Artists' Guild (https://www.stlouisartistsguild.org/) in Clayton, and the Cabin Fever festival at the Schlafly Bottleworks (http://www.schlafly.com/events/cabinfever/) in Maplewood. These will be held this Saturday (19 January). Also, a party for area Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) rental employees at Start Bar (https://startbarstl.com/) in downtown St. Louis was called off; it will be rescheduled for another time.

Just taking it easy at home today. Roads should be much better for tomorrow in getting to and from work, and Tuesday for the IPMS/Gateway meeting at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/).

Later.

On the Pitch as a Player

After a quiet New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at home and some busy days at work, I very much looked forward to being at World Wide Technology Soccer Park (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/SOCCERPARK) for the annual soccer match between the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/)--supporter group for Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/)--and the St. Louis Chapter of the American Outlaws (https://www.theamericanoutlaws.com/chapters/missouri)--a supporter group for US national teams.

Admission for all participants was in the form of food and personal care item donations, which will go to the St. Louis Area Foodbank (https://stlfoodbank.org/). In my case, I brought some toilet paper, protein bars, and a can of peaches. We went to one of the fields there for the match.

I was originally thinking of just watching this match, but this past week decided to play. So, I dressed the part, wearing a green St. Louligans supporter jersey. Quite a change of pace for someone who normally is on the pitch to referee a match. I got in a bit of warm up with the other players before the match began. All of us had plenty of refreshment, thanks for cans of beer donated by Urban Chestnut Brewing Company (http://urbanchestnut.com/).

The match was played in 30-minute halves, with free substitutions. I came in about midway in the first half and played about two minutes before asking to be replaced. I came on again late in that half, and ended up on my back trying to defend against an American Outlaws forward. Fortunately, I wasn't really hurt and I got back up and into the match.

I played two shifts in the second half, but in the entire match, I did not get one touch of the ball. Maybe that was a good thing. I was happy at the final whistle as St. Louligans won the match, 3-2. We were all a tired, but happy bunch of players who posed for pictures after the match. It was a lot of fun, nobody was hurt, and some hungry people in Metro St. Louis will get help.

(Team pictures courtesy of St. Louligans.)

I then went to the refreshment stand for lunch. I had a bratwurst, then had turkey chili. I had drunk three cans of beer, and it showed. I took it easy before going home, which I made safely.

Later.