where I talk with my inside voice
Not only was today the beginning of my two-week Christmas break, but I was also able to announce (finally!) the names of the first Mizzou students to be awarded the Pipes Family Foundation Scholarship. I hope this is the start of a long tradition, although I have to admit the selection process this year was longer and more painful than...
As per usual, we hosted the family for Thanksgiving, although the crowd wasn’t as big as some years because Laura didn’t come in town, we still had a good time and plenty of Dixie’s great food! We also corrected our mistakes from last year with the new smoker and the turkey was much better. There are a couple photos in...
Since the kids started with Rick Zelle as their piano teacher, this is the first time we’ve been invited to a recital. Josie played I’m Still Standing by Elton John, and did a great job. We are so proud of the kids and their musical abilities. A short video of her performance is included below.
I don’t know if it is actually possible to eliminate hunger in the United States – seems like if it were, we would have done it already – but after witnessing yet another government shutdown that lasted over a month and the suspension of SNAP benefits in Missouri, I proposed to the ECF grantmaking committee that we make an unsolicited...
Ever since I started working the MQ-25 program, I’ve been wanting to build a Lego model of the aircraft. I started working on this in September, and I probably spent about 20 hours in Studio refining the design. It took two weeks to order and receive all of the parts from Bricklink, but it is finally done. I’m happy with...
Holy crap, I’m old. How is it possible that I have a child who is in his twenties now? Noah came home from Mizzou this weekend so we could celebrate his 20th birthday. He is becoming such a fine young man, and we are so proud of him.
I became a donor to the Employees Community Fund shortly after I started working at McDonnell Douglas – increasing my contribution each year by one dollar. My contributions to this organization increased significantly in December 2019 when I joined the board as a grantmaker. Then my contributions increased again when they foolishly elected me president in December 2023. But as...
I went to Kansas City this weekend to see Carlton, T-Roy, and Keith. I just saw Troy last year at Homecoming, but I had not seen Carlton since they last visited St. Louis in 2019, and the last time I saw Keith was 8 years ago at his 50th birthday. I worry that I’m not going to be able to...
Josie had never been to see a ballet before, so when I was offered complimentary tickets to the St. Louis Ballet at the Touhill, we jumped at the chance. This was a pretty unique performance with three acts in three different musical styles – including one set to Dave Brubeck’s jazz standard Take 5. We both enjoyed the show.
Our beautiful daughter is a senior this year, and she continued the annual tradition of attending the homeschool homecoming dance. Dixie and I volunteered this time to chaperone because they were looking for extra help. Josie had fun and we did too – the kids were pretty well-behaved and the music was good. We’re gonna miss this.
We visited Noah for Parent’s Weekend and had lunch in Columbia at a nice BBQ place called COMO Smoke and Fire. Then we took a little trip to Boonville to take a tour of Warm Springs Ranch. It was pretty hot all day, but we still enjoyed seeing the horses and petting the yearlings. If you grew up in St....
My friend Albin Quiko invited me down to his house in Ozark, Missouri this weekend. He just bought a new boat last month, and I was honored to be one of the first of his friends to take it for a spin. We spent a few hours cruising around, and then we stopped a place for lunch. Since it was...
Noah came home this weekend and so we had our traditional Labor Day cookout on Saturday night. I forgot to take any pictures, but we did have an exciting visit from a juvenile hawk of some kind that I caught on the surveillance camera. He thought Selena looked tasty, and if Dixie hadn’t scared him off by screaming, it might...
With Noah away at school, the three of us attended our first performance at Stages St. Louis at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. This was a pre-Broadway musical that imagines Jane Austen’s creative process while writing Pride and Prejudice. It was a really good show, and well-performed, although Josie and I agreed that none of the songs is particularly memorable....
We got Noah moved into his new room at Hatch Hall – he was hired as a Resident Assistant this year, so he had to move in two weeks early for training. I have fond memories of those weeks when I was an RA, although it doesn’t sound like they do as much team-building as we did back then. I...
Jane turned 80 this month, so we couldn’t let that milestone pass without a celebration. Laura organized lunch at The Boathouse in Forest Park, and she also paid Josie to digitize all of the Zyk family 8mm film. Lunch was yummy, and we all had a good time.
