where I talk with my inside voice
This has turned into an annual tradition that ECF have an off-site meeting to wrap up our grantmaking for the year. Last year it was the zoo. This year we approached the Missouri History Museum, and they graciously agreed to host us. Their Gallery STL exhibit opens in 2028, and so far we’ve donated $20,000 towards it, so this was...
In 1876, the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County parted ways. This month marks the 150th anniversary of that fateful decision, and to commemorate it, the Missouri History Museum hosted a panel discussion to talk about the effects as well as the possibility of reversing it. Dixie and I attended, along with a few hundred others. It was...
Dixie and I got together with some old friends that we had not seen in a long time. We had dinner at the Mexican Barrel House, and the food was great. The company was even better. We talked about impending retirement. We talked about our kids. We just got caught up, and it was really nice to see all of...
We’ve been enjoying our weekends this month – doing things that we haven’t normally done. Today we took a day trip to Hermann (and probably caught the early Oktoberfest crowd) just to have some wine and check out the antique stores. We took the scenic route to get there – along Hwy 94 – but took the quicker route home....
Last week was the Schlafly Art Fair, and we figured there’s no reason we can’t go to two art fairs in a row. That’s what old people do, right? So we headed down to Clayton and got there when they opened at 11. We spent an hour or so walking around looking, and we almost bought a piece to hang...
Every five years, Boeing has a Family Day, where they invite all employees at the St. Louis site to bring their kin to see just exactly what it is we do here. The last time we did Family Day, was the day before we left on our trip to New England, and that was when the kids were still interested,...
The Schlafly Art Fair in Maplewood has its roots in a conflict that arose twenty years ago with Anheuser-Busch regarding the St. Louis Art Fair. It’s a much smaller affair, but perhaps more intimate (except for the live bands), and caters to local artists exclusively. We saw some really interesting work there today, as Dixie and I took advantage of...
We had to put our beloved golden doodle Ellie down today. After 15 years, and countless memories, she had reached a point where her health was having a negative impact on her quality of life. I awoke at 4:30 to the sound of her claws scrabbling the hardwood floor in the dining room, and got up to find her splayed...
The weather this weekend was supposed to be uncommonly good for August, so I asked Dixie if she wanted to go somewhere to look at birds. We had not decided on a place yet, but then coincidentally, I ran across a garage sale on Craigslist that had Lego listed, and it happened to be right next to Rabbit Run Park...
Josie begins her college career in the same place her brother did – Wolpers Hall. We got her all moved in today, and classes start on Monday. She is excited about her classes this semester and making new friends. Our timing was good and we were able to meet Josie’s roommate Naledi, and her parents, who are from South Africa....
This show shares a lot of DNA with another show we saw earlier this year at the Fox: Spamalot. What with the winks to other Broadway shows, and the humorous references to life in medieval times, it clearly was influenced by Eric Idle’s creation. But, where that one takes its cues from Monty Python’s greatest movie, this one takes its...
On Thursday I got notice that they were giving away free tickets at work for the GnR concert at Busch Stadium on Sunday. I texted Josie to see if she would want to go, and by the time she had responded 5 minutes later, most of the tickets were already claimed. But we got a couple of seats behind third...
The Minifig Shop has been in Kirkwood for a number of years, and I’ve taken the kids there a couple of times. Today they had the grand opening of their second location in Chesterfield, so Josie and I went to see what they had. It’s a much larger store, so they have a lot more inventory, and they hired a...
One of the last shows of the season is Meet Me in St. Louis, so Josie and I went down for her last show before she moves to Columbia. It was a really good show, although they had a technical glitch during the trolley song, which took a few minutes to rectify. We’re going to miss our summer visits to...
My wonderful partner has been employed by the Atlas Academy for the past 16 years, teaching our two students, and getting them ready to be productive members of society. It was a lot of work, and she did such an excellent job, I couldn’t let the occasion go by without some form of recognition. The kids and I spent the...
Like her brother before her, Team Tappmeyer had a going-away lunch for Josie before her departure for Mizzou. Around the time he left, she started volunteering on Saturday mornings, helping them run the community garden in Millennium Park. They have enjoyed having both of our kids on their crew, and we are grateful for the experience.
As part of the America250 celebration, I signed up for a project called Connect250 which is sponsored by StoryCorps and NPR. The premise was take two Americans (somewhat) at random, and record them having a conversation about what life is like in 2026. I was paired with a delightful woman from Zanesville, Ohio, named Sylia, and our 40-minute discussion will...
