Hang In There, Santa

Santa clings to the gutter after apparently slipping on the roof of a St. Louis home.

Shopping...and a Little Rant

This is what bored photographers do when their kids shop at school for their parent's Christmas gifts.  They start taking pictures of rather simple things and start goofing with depth of fields, maybe angles, anything to make a snapshot anything but a snapshot.  Either way, here are a few things my kids saw at the school "Holiday Sale."  I put that in quotes because we all know it's a Christmas sale, but the schools have to remove the religious aspect of it to avoid pissing one or two people off.

It's my opinion that words don't hurt.  Wish me a Happy Hanukkah.  I don't care.  I'll say Merry Christmas. This is the United States of America where you should be free from religious persecution.  Persecution can be defined as:  "The unlawful coercion of another's liberty or his unlawful punishment."  You have your religion, and I have mine.  No reason we should be so easily offended.  

I'll leave you with one of my favorite movie quotes that sums up my belief very well from the movie Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze.  As he explains to his bouncers he wants them to be nice, one of them spouts off, "Well, what if someone calls my Momma a whore?"   Swayze retorts, "Is she?"  I also believe my favorite author, John C. Maxwell, says that words don't cause pain if we don't accept them as truth.  If you wish me happiness through your religion, I will gladly accept the happiness and smile.  In no way will it offend me that you didn't use MY terminology.  It just isn't a big deal.

Well, occasionally, you will get a little rant out of me.  I'm done now...lol.  Here are my bored pictures from the other day.

St. Nick's Day..

Tradition is to put out your shoe the night of December 5th so St. Nicholas (whom I thought was Santa Claus....what a double dip) can bring small gifts of candy to the children while they sleep.  My kids got some good stuff here...

But, zooming out to include the parents' shoes, too, you will find I scored big time this year.  A whole case of Chip's Ahoy....my favorite cookie.

Seems I may have to rethink this whole St. Nick's Day thing.  That or the wife is getting really, really smart in changing my opinion for me......

Monday Mystery

Where in St. Louis am I?

Last week's Monday Mystery is indeed the Colossus ferris wheel at Six Flags over Mid-America.  About 20 minutes west of downtown St. Louis on Interstate 44, Colossus stands 18 stories high (~180 feet).  It is currently the tallest ferris wheel in any amusement park.  At night, Colossus puts on a light show with over 2200 lights and can easily be seen by drivers on the old Route 66 (I-44) as they pass.  On a clear day, a rider at the top of Colossus can see 20 miles of Ozark skyline, a ride well worth the visit.

Ancient Air Conditioning

This weekend's image comes from the historic neighborhood of Soulard in south St. Louis.  The Soulard neighborhood may be known for it's attached homes in long rows, but after the Civil War, some of the wealthier citizens built free standing town houses...some approaching mansion proportions. One such house was built by Dr. Franz Arzt at 2322 S. 12th Street in 1876. It was way ahead of its time because of it's built-in system of natural air conditioning which consisted of groups of flues with vents in floors and ceilings. This provided for efficient air circulation which created cool air currents in the house during the heat of summer. Of course, today, the house needs a little work.

Sunset on The Mother Road

Staying with the Route 66 theme I suddenly found myself immersed in, here is a picture of last night's sunset as I was driving home from a Cub Scout meeting.

Known in my neighborhood as Watson Road, this was once the main drag of Route 66 as it left the city of St. Louis.  There are still a few motels standing, but most things from that era have been demolished and turned into strip malls, big box stores, urgent care centers, and other forms of "progress" that you can find in any decent sized, sterile city.  I miss the days when towns had personalities....

From the beginning..

Here is a shot of Chain of Rocks, again, but from Route 66's entry point into Missouri.  The Route 66 sign lies exactly on the state line between Illinois and Missouri.  My kids and I...and the dog....went up one evening when mom had to work late.  Not an artsy photo, just a quick snap...eyes closed and all...lol.  It was getting dark, as you can see, and this isn't the best area of the city to be running around after night falls.