St. Louis area

Carly Fiorina: Sarah Palin couldn’t run a corpotation like HP…

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…. and Andrea Mitchell can’t get a name right.

I’m only posting this because of the error Andrea Mitchell made in presenting the now infamous quote.

She refers to the interview on KTRS and the interviewer as McGraw Hill.  KTRS is a St. Louis talk radio station.  I listen to this station and the interviewer she refers to is McGraw Milhaven, not McGraw Hill.  They make books!

I guess it is easy to screw that up.  There’s no telling how many people’s hands that info went through before it reached MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

It reminds me of an incident I had when I was 18.  I was working in a convenience store and there was a cleaners across the street.  Some young punks had been going in there and harassing the manager, an elderly woman, threatening her and taking money from her cash register.  This happened several time.  One day I saw three or four of these kids enter the cleaners.  I called the cops and headed over there.  As I entered two were behind the counter and one was near the door.  They were about 13 years old I guess.  I corralled all three of them and held them until the police arrived and took them away.  Anyway, to make an already long story shorter, I saw my name in the paper the next day as having foiled this robbery attempt.  The paper had my age as 24.  No one at the scene had asked me my age.  I guess the police responding just guessed.

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Remnants of Hurricane Ike

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When did St. Louis move closer to the coast?  Just a couple weeks ago we got quite a rain storm from Hurricane Gustav.  Now today we’re getting the remnants of Hurricane Ike.  I don’t remember this happening like this before. 


I put together this video from my back deck this morning.

This hit the St. Louis area about 7 am just as forecast.  Winds gusting to 40 MPH.  We got up to 5 inches of rain in just under 2 hours.  There are thousands around here without power.  Of course that’s nothing compared to what the people in Texas have gone through.

This storm is supposed to be out of here by this afternoon, and it’s already slowed down quite a bit.

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We Shall Overcome by Jack Buck

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Jack BuckIt’s September 17, 2001. Baseball returns. In St. Louis, the Cardinals prepare to take the field against the Milwaukee Brewers. Sadness permeates the air. Broken hearts need mending.

Everyone in the stadium, all 32,563 fans, wave small American flags. Nearly 500 firefighters and police officers line the warning track from the left field line to first base, honoring the heroes who perished six days earlier. There are tears in their eyes, emptiness in their eyes.

As firefighters unfurl a huge American flag in center field, a video tribute plays on the scoreboard accompanied by the beautifully chilling Lee Greenwood song, “Proud to be an American.”

Then longtime Cardinals Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, wearing a bright red jacket with an American flag pin on his lapel, strolls to the microphone. There is total silence in the huge stadium. Buck is shaking because of his infirmities and the emotion of the night, the despondency of the moment. He looks out at the crowd, normally a sea of red but on this night it is a pulsating, patriotic sea of red, white, and blue.

Buck reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. He leans forward, puts his lips to the microphone and begins reading a poem, a moving, spectacularly heartwarming and patriotic poem that he wrote.

We Shall Overcome

His voice cracks as he utters the final words of the poem. His eyes are watery. So are the eyes of everyone in the stadium. Tears are shed. Then, following a poignant “21-gun” salute sprinkled with exploding fireworks above the stadium, the game begins with players wearing U.S. flags on their jerseys, helmets and caps.

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Note: I was there in the stadium that night.  This was the first game that took place after September 11th.  Jack was suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and had a difficult time, but he was the consummate professional. 

 

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Extreme Home Makeover – St. Louis

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The ABC-TV show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is doing a “makeover” (what else) for a St. Louis family this week.  It all started last Friday when they demolished the house. 

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A crew of hundreds went to work night and day rebuilding the house.

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They did the “reveal” this afternoon.  That’s where Ty Pennington says “Bus driver, move that bus!”, and the family sees their new home for the first time. 

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The family is the Matirez family of Shrewsbury, a suburb of St. Louis.  They have three children, two of whom have rare diseases.  More about the family can be found here.  This episode is set to air in November.

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At the same time the TV program also did a makeover of a coffee shop belonging to Sam Malek.  Sam has cerebral palsy. He was abandoned when he was born.  He was never expected to live.  He opened his coffee shop to give disabled people a place to work, and to give to charities.  He keeps no profits.  Every cent is donated. 

His shop was small, too small for wheelchairs to get in.  He was nominated for the TV shot Extreme Home Makeover and was a finalist to have his home rebuilt.  But he said no.  But the crews wouldn’t take that for an answer.  They wanted to do his business.  He still said no, worrying the charities that depend on him would miss out on too much money if he closed down for re-construction.  < ?xml:namespace prefix ="" o />

The show decided to renovate a home in < ?xml:namespace prefix ="" st1 />Shrewsbury, where a family with two disabled sons lives.  In an interview, the woman said she simply hoped those sons could someday live a near-normal life, and find some kind of work, “like in a coffee shop,” she said.

The decision was made that More than Coffee would be rebuilt.

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And of course there was the merchandising….
Merchandise

Content from here and here and here

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Mud volleyball

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Our mud volleyball tournament was a success by any standards.  Our final numbers aren’t in but we had a great time, had great weather, and raised some good money for a local children’s home.  A fun day… but I’m wiped.  and … nobody died.

Woodstock and Mr D
Above are Woodstock and Mr. D. frolicking on the mud between games. 

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Stormy weather

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We just had a heck of a lightning storm.  It only lasted about a half hour.  Just a few drops of rain.  Looks like most of it hit Illinois.  It cooled things off quite bit though.  I sat on my deck and took most of these.  It was really nice just sitting outside.

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Stormy moments ago…

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We had a brief storm moments ago with lots of lightning off in the distance.  It’s already clearing out of here and we’re expecting hot and humid weather today.  This view overlooks the Mississippi River east into Illinois.

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Here you can see the sun trying to burst through on the horizon.

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First World Naked Bike Ride – St. Louis

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WnbrThe first ever World Naked Bike Ride in St. Louis is set for tomorrow, August 2nd in St. Louis.  Organizers are encouraging participants to go “as bare as you dare”.

Bikers are encouraged to go as “bare as you dare.” It is not mandatory to go completely naked, though encouraged. In fact, participants can come fully clothed if they wish. Body paint and other creative body coverings are also encouraged, as are helmets and other protective biking gear. Also, if you would like to participate without a bike, any sort of transportation that is not a car (i.e. rollerskates, skateboards) can also be used.

Police are saying they’ll arrest anyone who is indecent.

The purpose of the organization and the ride is:

  • To protest oil dependency
  • To promote comfortable body image
  • To increase awareness of cyclists in a motor-driven world
  • To provide exercise and fun for all those who participate

Link to details about the St. Louis ride.

World Naked Bike Ride website

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