Look what we discovered downtown

The graffiti "taggers' are quite artistic and at some point the powers that be sanctioned the painting of the flood walls along the riverfront. This mural stretches for blocks, and each artist's design is unique, interesting and creative. I think this beautifies the far end of our riverfront area.

We spied these cyclists making their way through the centuries. Such handiwork!

But the most fascinating thing we saw was a wedding party in an industrial area. The photographer was using old downtown brick building as a back drop for the wedding photos. My granddaughter did the same thing on her wedding day. Interesting.

Don't you just love to discover unexpected surprises such as this? Anything fascinating in your world? 

Fall festival time

Fall festivals aren't what they used to be. No more kiddie rides. Almost every community in the St. Louis area had an event this past weekend. This festival had a climbing rock wall, a gigantic inflatable slide and bucking bull.

 

 

 

Then we spied this poor guy who got dunked everytime someone hit the bulls-eye. It was 65 degrees.  Fun-fun-fun on a beautiful fall weekend. Did you do  anything interesting?

 

Elvis Presley tribute

 Steve Davis performing Tribute to Elvis Presley at Affton Days

 

 

Steve Davis (50) grew up in Florissant, Mo. He studied theater at Northeast Missouri State University, served six years in the Army and earned a master's degree in media arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He lives across the river from St. Louis in Illinois. Steve has twenty years experience doing this; he has made a name for himself in these two border states. This year he also made a movie for an independent religious filmaker. You should hear him sing gospel! "Let the spirit move you," he proclaims at his concerts in parks, reception halls, churches and mortuaries.

Every January, he commmemorates Elvis's birthday, singing to a packed house of Elvis enthusiasts at The Pageant, a music venue in the Delmar Loop area of St. Louis.

Steve has been described as an Elvis impersonator and also an Elvis illusionist. Serioulsy, this guy has the voice, mannerisms and moves of Elvis incarnate. He has the stamina of ten people. Years ago I saw him do a two hour show with no break, singing one song after another. These days he sometimes has two other "greats" with him, a Buddy Holly impersonator, and a Patsy Cline impersonator who are also superb.

Can you imagine his performance statistics? Last year he did 350 solo appearances, 100 concerts, weddings and gigs, including nursing homes and funerals where he sings everything from "How Great Thou Art" to "Burning Love."

Yesterday at the Affton Days community festival he praised a WWll vet, and allowed a little old lady to come wipe his brow with her handkerchief. That's mild compared to some of his female admirers :)

 Elvis and I have left the building.

To see where we (okay, HE) will be next: http://www.memoriesofelvis.com/?page_id=27

You learn something new everyday

I saw the cutest thing going to work and also coming home. A dad was walking down the street with his two year old little boy. The toddler was holding a bumbershoot the size that a golfer might use or that would accomodate six people. The dad was holding it by the tip-top point. The little guy was holding it by the handle, so proud of carrying that big thing all by himself. The poor dad had a child-size bumbershoot over himself.

Coming home I saw a mom with two babies in a two seater stroller. She also had one of those gigantic bumbershoots. She maneuvered around in an attempt to protect herself and the small ones, but finally gave up, plopped that bubble top between the two seater stroller and went on her merry way getting doused.



According to Wikkipedia: a bumbershoot (American slang), or brolly (UK slang), is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. In other words, an umbrella.

The weather people were wrong again. Prediction: rain moving out by noon and cool air moving in. It has been raining all day and it's still stuffy, muggy and miserable.

Are you kidding me!?

One summer evening, my parents, 9 year old brother, and I, age10, looked heavenward and watched in awe as a ten-inch thick, pure-white, puffy cloud (about the size of a child's small swimming pool) floated over our city neighborhood like a hot air balloon. It slowly descended and landed on the gravel lot where the moving trucks parked at night. Four or five neighbors gathered. Everyone moved cautiously toward it, curious. The things I heard that made no sense at all to me. And my thoughts:

"It's  a real cloud that landed." Then wouldn't it be fog?

"No, that's impossible." That's right! So what is it?

"It's a cloud of insect spray from the mosquito truck." Are you kidding me!?

"Back away. It's probably poisonous. Don't breathe. Cover your nose."  Don't breathe?

"It's heavenly. It's an angel." Are you kidding me!? No facial features or wings?

"It could be a U.F.O. Don't touch it." Are you kidding me? From outer space here to pick up all of you crazies?

"The communists probably launched it like that Sputnik." Who and what the heck are communists? Sputnik was that spiky turquoise blue ball of bubble gum I bought at the candy store.

"Someone get me a stick so I can poke it." Someone is going to get contaminated. Hold your breath.

"Aw, it's foam, just a big cloud of soap foam!" Are you kidding me!? You big bunch of grown up dummies.

And so, it was... a huge escaped blob of soap suds foam that had drifted from the Proctor & Gamble plant located less than a mile away.

But oh, the imaginations were running wild that evening.

It's a done deal!

The cover may be deliberately muted, I don't know, but this is the way it looks on the website. In any case, I received confirmation yesterday that my story has been selected for this book. I am so excited and so is the mister, because of course, his name is in here.

One midnight, years ago when I was tucked in sound asleep, he woke me to excitedly to tell me to get up and look at the computer, because I had received an acceptance on a story I had written about HIM, titled Goofy Willy.

Willy was a dog I had 40 years ago. Talk about popping his bubble! This one should make up for it.
 

Things that made me giggle

This morning I was at the stop light in front of a fast food restaurant. A bald man wearing a lime green jacket got out of his car with a soft bristled hand-held broom that one might use to sweep crumbs into a dustpan. It had a handle on the side; it wasn't a whisk broom. He stood outside his car, brushed the crumbs off  his trousers, and then he brushed the back of his neck, his bald head back to front and, then he swiped all around. I guess he was remembering when.

I saw a church sign on my way home. First line:You would be amazed at how much power you have. Second line: Bingo at 7:00 p.m.

I wonder if that was deliberate?