Meeting Jack Buck On the Radio

California is the most populated US state that doesn't pick up the night time signal of KMOX's 50,000 watt broadcasts. A big part of the reason is that the Rocky Mountains act like a giant wall dividing California from the rest of the country. So, back in the days before satellite or internet radio, Californians were among the only people living in the United States who never got to listen to Cardinal baseball.

Instead, we had "West Coast Baseball", and for most of us, that meant the Giants and Dodgers. For me, growing up in the northern half of the state, it meant the Giants. Sure, we had the Oakland A's, a team that gave us multiple world championships, including the dynasty years of the early 70s. But the A's could never win the hearts of Northern Californians. Their loyalty was with the Giants.

Unfortunately for California, the storied Giants left most of their magic back in New York. In the forty-plus years since their move west, they've never won a World Series. And besides all the losing seasons, being a Giants fan was just plain tough duty for a baseball fan.

Many games drew less than three thousand spectators. Conditions at Candlestick Park, or the "Stick" as we called it, were horrid for baseball: nasty cold and windy. Hardcore fans wrapped themselves in blankets and down parkas for night games, when Giants management came out with a new gimmick: awarding medals to those fans who would stick it out until the end of an extra-inning night game. They called the medals the "Croix Du Candlestick", and I earned a few of those.

Looking back, I wonder how many home runs Willie Mays might have hit had he not played hundreds of games in front of meager audiences in the frigid conditions at the 'Stick.

Even with little success to celebrate, Giants fans were loyal baseball fans. And since we didn't much care for the A's, and couldn't stand the Dodgers, for baseball excellence, we looked east. And for National League fans, that would often mean the St. Louis Cardinals.

Now back to that spring visit in 1986 to St. Louis. We Californians only seldom heard the voice of Jack Buck, and then usually only on national CBS broadcasts of football games. We're riding in the car with our new St. Louis friends showing us around. The husband, a guy about my age, reaches for the radio. He makes a comment about this radio station, KMOX, and how it is the radio station in St. Louis. He made the point about it being the home station for the Cardinals. He went on and on about how great KMOX was, and I'm thinking, "All this fuss over a local radio station? This seems a little strange".

He clicked on the radio. A Cardinal game was in progress. Then we heard the gravelly voice of Jack Buck announcing the game. With him was a screwy sidekick who seemed more interested in his frosty Budweiser than the proceedings on the field. I asked our host about Jack Buck being the announcer for the Cardinals. Noting just the slightest touch of smugness (something I would learn later to be a trait seldom exhibited by St. Louisans for anything having to do with this town), he smiled, and confirmed that, indeed, Mr. Buck was the regular daily announcer for Cardinal baseball.

Baseball was made for radio. And Jack Buck had the perfect baseball voice. I sat in the car and listened. I thought about how nice it must be to listen to that voice year after year announcing baseball.

That weekend we started some traditions. Our new friends showed us around St. Louis. They took us to Grant's Farm and Rigazzi's. We drove downtown and visited the Arch and got a glimpse of Busch Stadium. We ate toasted ravioli and drank from Frozen Fish Bowls. At the end of the visit, our new St. Louis friend gave me one his prized possessions: a red golf-cap, with a Rigazzi's logo.

A couple of days later we were back on a plane headed home to Northern California, seriously thinking about the idea of leaving everything we knew and moving to the Midwest. Our family and friends would think we must be nuts.

1986: From Contra Costa to STL

Kerri and I were married in 1985 and lived twenty miles northeast of San Francisco in the bayside community of Martinez. By then, I had lived in the Bay Area for about twenty-five years.

I graduated from Cal State Hayward about a year earlier, and was working as a waiter at a private golf and country club. I had been working at the club for about three years, when one day, completely out of the blue, one of the club's principal owners asked me about my career plans. I told him how I was interviewing for various finance and management positions. About a week later, he called to offer me an interview to work as his assistant in his family's real estate development business. I got the job.

The position taught me about real estate. It's where I had my first opportunity to represent citizen groups in their development efforts. These citizens were long time landowners, and the work was geared toward developing their historic farm lands from pristine greenspace and "view shed" areas into high-end suburban housing developments.

We were having successes with our development plans. Over the objections of environmentalists, we succeeded in securing government approvals to expand the urban boundary and the ultimate service area for domestic water supplies. Next, we were successful in securing general plan amendments, increasing the housing development potential of the area from agricultural, 1oo-acre minimum lot sizes, to densities allowing up to one housing unit acre. This change increased the number of homes that could be built within our development area from 20 to 2000 units. Today, the area is built out with multi-million dollar executive homes.

As things turned out, I wouldn't be around for any of the land sales or home construction. About a year after being hired, my boss was killed in a car accident in Mendocino County. As his assistant, my job was no longer necessary, and after another couple of months, I was let go. By then, Kerri and I had been married for about six months, and Kerri was working in the commercial leasing department of Citicorp, in nearby Concord, California.

As my job was ending, Citicorp was in the process of centralizing its leasing operations to St. Louis. At the Concord office, Kerri was on the phone every day closing commercial leasing transactions with her counterparts in Missouri. When word came down of Citicorp's plans to shut down its Northern California operations, Kerri started hearing about job opportunities in St. Louis.

A friendly STL person encouraged us to visit. She invited us to stay at her place with her husband and their year-old daughter. We could stay in the unfurnished, upstairs apartment of the two-family they rented in South St. Louis.

Before we were married, Kerri was living in the Central Valley river town of Sacramento. The late San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen once called Sacramento the "Midwest of California". Kerri figured St. Louis and Sacramento would be a lot alike: two old river and transportation towns. I thought about St. Louis in terms of Delta Blues music and the St. Louis Cardinals.

We were both open to checking out the place, so we booked a flight and headed to St. Louis. It was a beautiful spring day when we arrived at Lambert Field, and drove in a rental car to the address of a small brick building on Winnebago, just east of the Sears store on South Grand. We didn't know it then, but this weekend trip over twenty years ago would be the start of our lives in St. Louis.

Best Of: More Views

Getting from the Arch grounds to this vantage point is a lousy trip (you pass the same spot we found some shattered car hardware that turned into an interesting piece of wall decoration), but hazarding the walk get's you to one of the best money shots of downtown STL.

Piasa Meditation

The human body has amazing power to cope with stress. If you're tired of the hot weather, look at the picture above, and think of cooler times to come.

It's a brisk 20 degrees outside; the trees have dropped their leaves; the holiday season has ended; things are quiet; kids are hunkered down in the middle of their school year; and eagle watching rides are shared on our scenic back roads.

Grows in Full Sun

Summer view from Market Street with median plantings full grown.

"Right Here in St. Louis"

This saying, made memorable in the film Meet Me In St. Louis, is appropos of so many things.

It comes to mind whenever we experience another "St. Louis moment". StL moments are those unexpected, random acts of neighborly kindness between neighbors or total strangers.

They are also moments in time in special places, like a train ride at the Zoo, a neighborhood parade or block party, or when open fall windows echo cheers up and down the block after a late September Cardinal home run.

It's neighbors checking on neighbbors when the power is out. And it's the ensuing neighborhood gatherings out on the sidewalk, sharing an iced-down cold one.

It's right here, in STL.

Counting Home Runs and the Heat Index

July 31 in STL. It's hot. There's no question. Talk about January 1 in STL, and chances are, it's cold. Life goes on, and depending on your point of view, it's pretty good.

On January 1, it might be snow, ice, and with the wind chill, it could feel like 20 below. And if there's a snow bank of 1 inch, kids and adults are having fun, sliding down hills and drinking hot chocolate.

Presently, the national news is reporting about the heat in STL. They'd have you believing we're all melting into greasy smears on the pavement. Not so much.

Today, I survived in our non-air-conditioned, ten year old mini-van. And from over at the asphalted, neighborhood schoolyard, I received reports about a lively, multi-inning'd, multiple home run game of fuzz ball. With wooden bats.

The heat index was around 115, and the players tallied 20-something homers into the neighbor's back yard.

Old St. Louis Rising

At the northeast corner of 11th and Locust, there's a sad-looking, apparently vacant, stuccoed-over, 3 or 4 story corner commercial building.

At even intervals on the ground level, you can see the building's original cast iron columns showing through the stucco walls.

Unrecognizable as it is, this must be one of the oldest downtown STL buildings still standing.

Best Of: City Views

St. Louis is filled with many interesting sights and vantage points. Here's one:

With the prep football season only weeks away, the best place to watch a Bishop Dubourg football game is from the wine garden at the rear of the Pitted Olive restaurant on Hampton. It's also where they grow some of the fresh herbs for their delicious offerings.

Team Photo Day

The 2006 youth baseball season is winding down. After Sunday's game, the players and coaches on Matt's CYC team stood for their annual team picture. The regular season schedules for both of Matt's teams is complete. Talk now is about end of season tournaments, fall ball, and "next year".

For some of the kids, "next year" will probably mean no organized baseball. Every year it's the same. The kids decide whether they want to keep going. The typical drop off rate is about a third. Each year, the level of competition dramatically increases, and lots of players have a hard time keeping up. The pitching gets much better; the fastball is heavier and it moves more.

In the last game, our guys played a team that was made up mostly of first time players. The opposition only managed two hits in the entire game. The church sponsor of the other team had to recruit players all the way down to fifth grade to field a team.

Baseball is at about the bottom of kids sports interests these days. Combine the overall lack of interest with the difficulty of mastering the sport, and it's no wonder the big losses of players from year to year.

A few of the kids from the church team showed real promise. Solid basic skills, dedicated coaches, and a tough competitive spirit. Hopefully we'll see them again.

For our guys, it's hard to tell. There's a core of serious, hard working players. We figure some won't return. The off season brings the opportunity to evaluate the good and bad of this past season, work on weaknesses, and wonder how many "next years" in baseball some of these young ballplayers might have.

Why STL Rising?

Because we are rising from decades of abandonment and decay, that left ruined buildings like this one...

...to a city that is being rebuilt block by block. It's a place of possibilities, that has room for believers and doers. Naysayers are being proven wrong on a daily basis.

Columbia Bottoms

This place is sort of a mystery. It's the name of the large flood plain across from St. Louis that lies between the Mississippi River and the bluffs to the east.

The area is dotted with small town places and rich farmland. It's right next to downtown St. Louis. There are opportunties for development and redevelopment.

The Confluence Greenway project includes much of the area. Some of the riverfront is old, abandoned industrial. There are great views of downtown.

Crossing the Mississippi can be a pain for commuters, but if you know the shortcuts (Eads and MLK Bridges), you do alright.

It's also home to the world's tallest fountain. If you look closely, you can see the reservoir for it at the bottom left of the image above.

Around noontime, the fountain shoots a column of water over 300 feet in the air. At the free Hootie and the Blowfish concert on the 4th of July, the fountain was going the whole time.

Riding Against Traffic

For the past few weeks, my route to the office has been changed to drop off kids at a summer school program near Forest Park. As a result, I'm getting on eastbound Highway 40 at Kingshighway.

Three times now, I've passed bicycle riders heading westbound on the shoulder of eastbound Highway 40. I've seen them in the vicinity of Market Street/Bernard and Vandenventer.

As odd as it is to see these wrong-way bike riders during rush hour, the cyclists appear totally at ease.

In some states, there are rules that if a highway is the shortest route between two points, you can ride your bike on the interstate, but always with the flow of traffic.

Typically you see highway bike riders in rural areas where alternate routes are not available. That's not the case in the city of STL. We have literally thousands of alternate routes.

If you're on east bound Highway 40 in STL, keep an eye out for these highway bike riders.

Warning: MoBot Koi Attempting to Swallow Babies and Small Farm Animals

Just kidding, but you've got to admit, in such a beautiful place, the sight of all those gaping fish mouths is a little incongruent.

Shaw's Garden in STL is one of the most beautiful places on earth. But take a group of little ones, and their favorite thing to do is feed the fish in the Japanese Garden at the far back corner of the Garden.

To get there, they must first walk through Shaw's entire garden wonder. You don't suppose he planned it that way, do you?

Walsh Street Landing Strip?

That's a shot of our backyard. Note the smokehouse-inspired garage. I often wonder what those circa-1932 builders were thinking building such a small garage when most cars those days were the size of navy gunboats.

The vegetation is teeming with Missouri wildlife. Our hound-mix has made it her job to clear the yard of these native species. Last nite, around 1:15 AM, she made noises indicating it was time to flush the wildlife out of the yard.

There is a Target-issue gazebo on the patio. The mosquito netting makes it a nice , insect-free place to relax. As the dog patrols for rabbits, mice, birds, squirrels, and possum, I sometimes try to get a little sleep on one of the lounge chairs under the gazebo.

I must have dozed for about an hour. When I awoke, the dog was beside me on her own lounge chair, the yard now apparently free from the invading horde. Presently, there was a low roar overhead. I quickly unzipped the mosquito netting, and leaped out of the gazebo for a look skyward.

The sound was increasing. Then above our house, no more than a couple thousand feet in the air, a full-size airliner was cruising by very slowly. I've never seen a large plane fly so low over our neighborhood before. It was about 2:20 AM. Could it be with such late nite flights, pilots have permission to fly their planes at much lower altitudes?

It was a like a scene out of Close Encounters. It didn't bother the dog at all, nor any of the other neighbors. Every one else was probably asleep.

Outdoor Air Conditioning

Over the past twelve years, I've been an occasional pedestrian walking along Locust Street in downtown STL. For most of those years, the walks would be lonely ones, down empty sidewalks, past empty buildings. Today, there is a noticeable difference in the feel of the street.

The new sidewalk cafe at the Old Court House was filled to capacity. Heavy equipment was operating in the early phases of the $80,000,000 Syndicate Trust rehabilitation. A twenty (maybe thirty)-something couple crossed the street at 10th and Locust, where the lady asks the gentleman, "and what's happening here?", nodding toward one of the corner buildings. He began describing the beginnings of another adaptive reuse development.

And from the long list of unsolved city mysteries, even when our STL weather is steaming hot, out from a metal grate in front of the US Bank Locust branch (across from the Lashley Baer law firm), pedestrians enjoy a steady blast of free cold air from some unknown source beneath the sidewalk.

The Eagle Has Landed

Thirty-five years ago, when Neil Armstrong and his Apollo mission safely landed on the moon, the phrase "The Eagle Has Landed" came to signify a turning point in American history. About this same time, the dark and lonely streets of downtown St. Louis could have been compared to a similar empty space.

Washington Avenue has come miles since the days of the early nineties when vacant buildings could be had for $.50 - $1.00 per square foot. Before the Missouri historic rehabilitation tax credit, there was no future for the glorious stock of historic downtown loft buildings.

The transformation of the Bogen Lofts at the corner of Tucker and Washington stands as testament to the renaissance of one of the region's hottest neighborhoods and one of our nation's most exciting downtown revitalization success stories.

12th Street Relic Rising

In front of the new King Louis Square neighborhood on the city's near south side, construction crews are removing the pavement down the center of 12th Street, making way for what appears to be another of the city's new attractive landscaped medians.

With the old pavement being removed by a depth of about 9 inches, workers are exposing the old streetcar tracks that once served south city. Head south from downtown on 12th Street (Tucker) toward Soulard to catch a rare glimpse of a (temporarily) visible relic of old St. Louis.

Reply: Scholar Shop. $5.

Compliment: Nice Tie!

Can't beat the place. Two locations: Webster and Clayton.

Talk about designer brands at discount prices. Tommy Hilfiger tie, $50-$60 department store price, $5.00 at the Scholar Shop.

Check them out. All proceeds fund grants and low cost loans for STL area college students.

Charm and the Anniversary of the Interestate Highway System

There was a story on the news today about the 50th anniversary of the Interstate Highway system.

One person interviewed reported how while the Interstate Highway system may have become the preferred mode of transporation in the US, it certainly does not offer travelers the "charm" experienced on road trips in earlier decades.

If it's charm you seek, consider St. Louis.

Back Streets of Affton

After visiting one of Affton's most popular local businesses, we took an interesting side trip through some of the back streets of our historic suburban neighbor, situated just along the southern bank of the River Des Peres.

There we discovered many well-maintained homes, mostly frame, some brick with studded stonework; quiet, tree lined streets; a hidden away neighborhood park; rolling hills; and even one house with a healthy mid-summer vegetable garden in the front yard, replete with multiple rows of corn standing about four feet high.

We look forward with much anticipation to our next visit to the interesting back streets of our charming STL County neighbor.

Secret Weapon = .500

Talk about being evenly matched...

At the start of the year, we set up two practice games at Tower Grove Park between Dorn's Pirates and our South Sox. The teams split the two games. Then in early season action, the Pirates beat our Sox in a close one, twelve to ten.

The Pirates and the South Sox had a rematch this past Saturday. Both teams entered the game with identical 4-win, 5-loss, and 1-tie records. A win would bring one team to the .500 mark, and drop the other to 2-games below .500. However, as the South Sox entered this pivotal game, we had a new, pint-sized, secret weapon on our side.

"Playing up" in youth sports means you're playing with kids older than you. All of the guys on our team are seventh graders starting eighth grade in the fall. You can see it in them: they're becoming young men. A couple have bested me in height this year(good for them), and Matt is getting close.

When mid-summer hits, it can be a challenge fielding a full team. Summer ativities wreak havoc on little league rosters. For this game, four of our regulars were out of town, and one was sidelined with a sore elbow.

We needed a substitute player. The boys had just the kid: little "C". Some knew him from alley Wiffle Ball. "C" would be playing up, being a sixth grader going into seventh. And he'd be looking up too. At around four feet three, and weighing 70 pounds, he would be by far the smallest player on the field. But in baseball, big size isn't much of an advantage; and, sometimes being smaller can pay dividends.

Being the new kid, we batted "C" at the bottom of the order. When he came up, the other team must have wondered where we found the littlest Sock. I enjoyed watching the expression on the faces of the opposing pitchers as they tried to find "C's" tiny strike zone.

In his first at-bat, the Pirate's pitcher worked "C" to a two-strike count. But "C" bore down, and drilled a line drive past the picther right up the box. Leading off from first, you could tell that "C" was a ballplayer. Taking his lead, he dropped his hands down between his legs, the ends of his fingers twitching. His baserunning savvy was raising immediate concern on the other team. For the day, "C" made it safely on base three for three times, scoring two runs.

In our last at bat, we were down by one run. "C" helped keep things going, working the pitcher for a walk and coming around to score. At the end of our half of the final inning, we were up by three, but down to none of our regular pitchers. After "C" scored his run, I asked him if he wanted to come in to pitch. He didn't need any convincing. He grabbed a ball and started warming up.

About this time, one of the parents from our team came up and asked, "who is the new guy?" I smiled and said he was friends with some of the boys. When our half of the inning ended, "C" took the mound, trying to secure the victory. I was wondering what the guys in the other dugout must have been thinking.

"C" got the first batter to pop out. The next guy up was safe on an error. On the next play, one of our infielders recorded the second out on a fielder's choice. The next batter made first on a clean single. With two on and two out and the tying run at the plate, "C" went into his motion. The batter swung and grounded the ball up the middle. Cooly, "C" fielded it. I heard one of the other dads in the dugout say, "that should do it". "C" turned to first, set himself, and made a perfect throw over to Johnny Boom-Boom at first. Game over. Sox win!

With three games left to play, the Sox improved their record to five wins, five losses, and one tie.

Back in the dugout, after the traditional post-game handshakes with the other team, one of our guys asks, "can we get 'C' on our team for next year?".

Next year. Already talking about next year. That's a good thing.

The Grove

Yesterday, after getting detoured and momentarily lost around Compton and Market, I made a wrong turn trying to enter westbound highway 40, and ended up near the upcoming "RBar" in the Forest Park Southeast neighborhood. Nowadays, the name "Forest Park Southeast" is quickly giving way to "The Grove".

How this name change occured will go down as one of the little differences in the renaissance of the neighborhood located roughly between Vandeventer, Kingshighway, and Highway 40.

Grove. It might have started with the Manchester strip that runs east and west, connecting the north and south sides of the neighborhood. Grove. It's root may come from "Adams Grove", one of the four individual neighborhoods that were grouped together under the name "Forest Park Southeast".

Grove. Add a letter and it spells "groove", fitting for the area's new status as a hip STL night spot.

Years ago, when the ground work was being laid to convert vacant Washington Avenue warehouses into loft apartments and condominiums, realtor Sarah Bakewell was a leader on the Housing Committee of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.

So maybe it's a sign of more good things to come that today along Manchester in the Grove, in a newly renovated historic commercial building, there is a brand new Bakewell real estate office.

Bare Spots-Filled!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit one of those high dollar coastal communities. Exiting the crowded airline terminal to meet my ride, I was concerned he might never find me, let alone find a place to stop for a minute to pick me up. Cars and passengers were criss crossing everywhere. It was a crowded, disorganized C-F, if you know what I mean...

Over the weekend, we drove through some of the area's signature open spaces. I noticed how some of these once-pristine area are being plowed under to make way for new multi-million dollar housing developments. Earth movers are making deep cuts in the hillsides, probably to prepare underground drainage systems to prevent future landsliding.

Retruning home after the weekend, flying into St. Louis, our flight path took us right over our city neighborhood and then made a swing over downtown. There were clear views of the city streets, shopping centers, parks, and downtown's landmarks. Clearly recognizable were the bright red tile roofs of our parish buiildings. We touched down at Lambert a couple of minutes later. As we flew over Dellwood and Kinloch, my seatmate was astonished at the height of the trees in the neighborhoods.

Twenty minutes earlier, my ride had arrived at Lambert. She pulled into the 5 minute curbside loading zone and there were no other cars waiting. The nice security lady granted her permission to wait as long as it would take for me to deplane and retrieve my luggage. She waited undisturbed for over thirty minutes.

Driving home, we travelled the neighborhood streets, crossing through Forest Park and then into South City. We grabbed a quick meal on the Hill, and then headed home. That's when I could see that eighty percent of the previous bare spots in the front lawn were now filled with tall growing grass. The previous barespot challenge has been reduced to a barely noticeable twenty percent of remaining tough ground.

This week, a trip to the Botanical Garden for one of their low cost pH soil tests could hold the key to winning this mini-turf war.

2006 Seedlings Rising!

One of the wonderful features of our old block is the mature street trees that cool the neighborhood by at least ten degrees on hot summer days.

One of the downsides of all the shade is the delicate process involved in getting the lawn to grow. In the past two years, we've removed a flower bed and ornamental tree which obstructed views up and down the block, redone the front lawn twice, and tried to get a full, lush lawn.

Still, we have bare spots. I've made making them green a personal quest. Like generations before me, it's been a typically determined, partially obsessive, south city lawn care struggle.

Last weekend, we repaired the ground and planted a "playground" variety seed. Today, an army of bright green seedlings is rising from the barespots. They are in that needle-thin, vulnerable phase.

The question is, will they survive the pending summer onslaught of trampling kids feet, and tossed down bicycles? The odds are not good...

A Perfect St. Louis Year

Right now, our alley is bursting in a colorful show of multiple varieties of day lillies in full bloom. They look like a miniature fireworks display, all at waist level. Drive the alley between Loran and Walsh, Clifton and Hampton for the next couple of weeks to see the show. It's a tribute to the former owners of the place...they did good gardening. We're just the maintenance crew.

To find the lillies, look for the yard with a tiny garage numbered "5864". You'll recognize it as the one that looks more like a Bevo neighborhood smokehouse than a place to park a car. How those early 1930s builders ever thought someone could park a car in the tiny brick building is a mystery. Maybe they always thought of it as more of a garden house. Bring scissors and a copy of this post, and feel free to take a few of the lillies home with you to decorate your place.

One of the neat things about St. Louis is the tradition of decorating houses. St. Louis people are so into decorating their personal space, you can even tell there's a St. Louis family when you're on vacation-they're the ones who start out by decorating their campsites. It's great.

Egg Trees in Spring. Patriotic decorations at the Fourth of July. Halloween and fall harvest displays. And then at Christmas it's a total house and yard decorating extravaganza. Maybe some of the tradition is owing to the tradition of Catholicism in St. Louis. We are very into physical displays of our spiritual identity.

So last nite, while under our Target-issue gazebo and gazing out into the wildlife habitate and lush foliage in the backyard, we thought of the perfect way to usher out the looming dog days of summer and send an early invite to our glorious fall weather. We're going to start our yard decorating rite a month early.

As soon as we pass the peak of summer heat, sometime around August 20, we will decorate the perimiter of the back yard with strings of twinkling white lights. The yard decorations will progress with more seasonal flow toward Christmas. Then, sometime after Thanksgiving, in addition to the decorations on the street-facing side of the house, we will put up multi-colored lighting on the trees and structures facing out to the alley neighbors.

Old, fat guys hurting "hip" scooter image?

Sporting those sleek, Italian designs, and enjoying a history of being popular with the young set, scooters have always seemed pretty fun and cool.

Lately, however, there has been a notable increase in the number of older, balder, fat guys riding scooters around the city.

Could this spell trouble to the burgeoning scooter business?

Reopen the Caves!

In the ongoing quest to raise St. Louis up to maximum possible coolness status, let's start a civic initiative to reopen the caves near Lemp and Highway 55 as a new-or very old- underground beer garden and music venue. New Years Eve in the Cave! Party down! Waaay down!!

St. Louis Opens Annual "Sweat Fete" Season

It's that time of year again, where in church parking lots and neighborhood streets friends and neighbors gather to sweat, consume mass quantities of A-B products, and have an old-fashioned, neighborly good time. It's block party, neighborhood festival, and parish picnic season.

Last nite was the Our Lady of Sorrows picnic, held on Bishop DuBourg High School's parking lot. This Saturday is the parish picnic for St. Gabriel's church. St. Stephen's always has a good one (anyone know the date?). The Polish Falcons sponsor a big party at their St. Louis Avenue home-always fun with good music and food.

These St. Louis traditions are among our city's best. Be sure to check them out, bring your friends and families, and enjoy the special charm and character of our neighborhoods.

City Schools To Teach Social Skills

Summer School in the city of St. Louis begins today for 14,000 city kids. Today's morning news reported that city school's chief Creg Williams will be emphasizing the teaching of social skills and improved study habits.

The radio news readers had different takes on the issue. One gave William's approach a "thumbs up", while the other had a more mixed response, believing that emphasis in school should be on academic subjects, not social skills. With such high enrollment, maybe the parents agree with the superintendent's plan.

Kids learn from adults all around them, both the good and the bad. Given that they spend so much of their time in school, doesn't it make sense to use the school setting to help develop their social skills?

Lefty Mystique

Baseball chemistry is a fragile thing. It's an unpredictable mix of the internal workings of each player's confidence, skill, team dynamics, and the unfolding situation of each game's events.

Our team is blessed with a variety of players with different personalities and talent levels. One of them in particular is a high-spirited, natural athlete, talented in all sports, but unsure of his baseball potential. For baseball, he has another weapon: he's a lefty.

We had heard stories about how he pitched beautifully as a 9 and 10 year old. But after one especially bad outing, his confidence was shaken. He gave up pitching and a lot of people wondered if he'd ever try it again. It would be up to him to make that decision.

We've always played him in center field, where he runs like a gazelle, anchoring the outfield. At the plate, he's consistently a .500 hitter. We've wanted to work him into the pitching rotation, but would never put him in until he decided he was ready for it. This year, he's slowly been coming around to the idea.

The other day, I asked his dad to talk with him about starting for us last nite. Early reports were positive; he said he wanted to pitch. But then when I saw Matt, he said how our young lefty had changed his mind, and how he didn't want to pitch anymore, and that his stomach hurt. The situation had changed into a game time decision.

When our young prospect arrived at the game, he had an anxious look on his face, and he was turning three shades of pale. Fifteen minutes before game time, he walked up to me, and he said he wanted to pitch. That's what we wanted to hear. We gave him the ball, and he took the mound for the first time in over three years.

The kid was awesome. His competitive nature came through, and he led the team to its best win in 2 seasons. He pitched five solid innings (the max at this age), allowing only one earned run, and walking none. The few times he trailed in the count, you could see the intensity build in him. Consistently, he battled back, throwing strikes and getting outs. And the defense played solid behind him.

The team won 5-2 in only one hour and thirty minutes, a lightning paced game for 12 and 13 year olds. At the halfway point in the season, the team's record stands an even 3 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie.

More important, with 7 games to play, team chemistry is building, the boys know they can play solid ball, and they have discovered a new leader. The second half of the season just got a lot more interesting.

Millenium Rotates More Than Its Dining Room!

Acknowledging the PR-assist from its newest neighbor, Busch III, workers at the Millenium hotel have just finished realigning the letters of the sign on the outside of the building to provide a full view of the word, "M-I-L-L-E-N-I-U-M" from inside the stadium.

Harleys, Busch beer, and the 700 Club

After winding our way through the Illinois country side, we found ourselves in the quaint southwestern Illinois town of Okawville, home to the Original Okawville Springs Hotel and Bath House.

We had heard of this place for years, but had never been. We walked the front steps of the 100 year old hotel, up to the covered wraparound porch, and went inside the lobby.

The friendly staff gave us a guided tour of the place, including the bath house, the massage area, and one of the restored guestrooms in the original hotel. Less than an hour away on Interstate 64, mark this place on the "to-do" list for short getaways from St. Louis.

Having never visited a professional massage studio, or taken a mineral bath, the whole scene was very interesting. I was especially curious about the healing powers of mineral water. My skeptical nature was being tested. The tour guide invited me to dip my hand into the swirling mineral waters.

It didn't feel anything like our fine St. Louis city tap water. Instead, it had a smooth, silky feel. Very soft. No question, it would be a luxurious treat to bathe in these waters. Someday.

We were too early for dinner, and too hungry and thirsty to start driving back to St. Louis, so we walked across the street to a corner bar across from the spa. Outside, a row of Harleys was parked in front.

Inside, the place was spotless clean, friendly, with ice cold beer and bar food. There were two televisions above the bar, one tuned to Cardinal baseball, the other to the "700 Club". We took two seats at the end of the bar, ordered a couple of beers, a chicken tender plate, and a fried shrimp basket. The food was served in generous portions. Total bill, lunch for two (including 2 beers apiece): $14.

Snow Cones Rising

All over town, snow cone stands are rising out of storage from behind old corner gas stations and down in parish hall basements.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, St. Louis ranks 9th on Google Trends for the term "snow cone".

Nike Town STL?

Well, not quite...but with all the multi-story wall posters rising on the sides of downtown STL buildings undergoing loft conversions, it still is pretty impressive!

Does anyone else have the sense that we are quickly becoming a trendy hot spot?

Cherokee Rising

Amazing things are happening along Cherokee Street in South City, especially the long dormant stretch between Jefferson and Gravois.

Yesterday, I took a detour from my regular Gravois-route to downtown, taking the trip across the State Streets along the historic Cherokee commercial corridor. The amount of current investment activity is amazing.

A new restaurant is readying for its opening in the long-shuddered Eisele's Black Forest space. The outside seating area of a sidewalk cafe was filled to capacity. Long vacant storefronts are being rehabbed for new tenants.

That familiar presence in a neighborhood in renewal - a Friedman Group real estate sign - stands in front of a glazed brick, one story commercial building. On this beautiful spring day, Cherokee Street showed much of the hustle and bustle you find in many Miami, Florida neighborhoods.

With nearly all of its original, mixed-use, brick buildings still standing (and in solid condition), and the new Jefferson-Gravois Streetcar Suburb Historic District leveraging quality rehab investments, look for Cherokee Street and the neighborhoods around it to be among the big St. Louis success stories for the next five to ten years.

A Beautiful 9 Months

As St. Louis enters the late part of May, we haven't had a run of hot weather since last September. In the meantime, we had another winter with no snow shoveling required.

Sometime in the next couple of weeks, our annual sweat fete will begin. This year, I'll make the three month stretch of St. Louis heat driving a car without air conditioning. You'll recognize me - I'll be one of those few St. Louis drivers riding in a car with its windows open on a 90 degree day.

But come late August, early September, things will cool back down, and we'll be back to comfortable weather. For a place where weather is often held up as the big barrier to entry, it really is pretty nice.

"E.H. Lyle Academy"

Being the city parents of a 7th grade student, we are interested in educational opportunities, especially the ones that are tuition free. An interesting flier came in yesterday's mail. Here's the information we received.

The slogan:

"Inspiring Excellence, Building Bright Futures".

The copy:

E.H. Lyle Academy
706 N. Jefferson Ave, St. Louis MO 63103

E.H. Lyle Academy will provide a strong focus on preparing middle and high-school students for college and successful careers.

Our program provides a quality tuition-free education along with transportation for city residents, grades 6-10.

Call 314-588-8622 today or pre-enroll online at www.imagineschools.com or www.lyleacademy.org

The flip side of the brochure has the heading:

A Brand New School for the Road Ahead...

with a picture of three clean-cut male students, two black, one white, dressed in neat uniforms, working at their desks.

It sounds pretty good, and it's a quality marketing piece. Can anyone recommend the school?

St. Louis: Kingsford's New King

Known as home of the King of Beers, St. Louis has now risen to the top of the barbecue heap, according to top charcoal maker Kingsford.

The city has more than three hundred barbecue restaurants.

And we're not just great for barbecue. St. Louis is becoming a great place for dining out.

Southside Getting in the Game

While much deserved attention is being paid to the amazing progress happening in downtown St. Louis, watch for more and more good news to start coming out of the Dutchtown area of South City.

The historic commercial corridors of South Grand, Cherokee, Meramec and Virginia are places to watch.

The historic Virginia Mansion, once slated for demolition, has a condo conversion plan. Cherokee is turning into a burgeoning new arts district. And the state's largest histoic district is attracting developers.

Urban scale infill projects are happening through community-based initiatives. And its all happening in a historic, affordable, diverse city neighborhood.

Busting a Vein

There are times when getting out of the downtown parking garage I'm in is a major pain. Sometimes the cars are backed up the corkscrew ramp all the way to the top of the garage. Normally, it's no big deal. Today it was a real problem since I had to make it to a Heine Meine manager's rescheduling meeting before 6:15PM, and it was already 5:30. These garage-exiting delays have taken up to one hour.

Getting out of the garage could get so bad that sometimes frustrated drivers would drive down the building in the wrong directon. But since they've upgraded the entrance and exits gates, that doesn't work anymore. Today, we're all at the mercy of the automated system.

It took a half hour to make it out of the garage. That left fifteen minutes to make it to the Weber Road exit on Highway 55. Remembering back to those "line coach" recommendations at Florida amusement parks, I headed left instead of right. Everything was going great until I drove by the old ballpark site, headed toward the Old Cathedral, aiming to make a right turn on southbound 4th Street.

Which brings me to my near-name for this post: "It's Illinois' Fault". It's 6:00PM now. Every car around me has an Illinois plate and is trying to load onto the Poplar Street Bridge.

Light after light, the traffic sits. Then I notice a blocked off right turn lane, closed with those super-sized plastic MoDot-issue barrels. Other than the plastic barrels, the lane is completely passable, and there were no workers in sight.

I'm thinking, "good thing those barrels are so light". I arrived at the manager's meeting with about 5 minutes to spare...

Writing Class

A flier came home with Matt from the league organizers of one of his sports teams. It was announcing the opportunity to purchase tickets to a game at the new Busch. However, it also noted that ticket availability for the annual youth promotion would be reduced this year by a yet undetermined amount.

"Reduced ticket availability at the new Busch for youth group promotional dates."

If there's a story here, how would you present it? The Cardinals might write about the continuation of their youth day promotions. The Post might run another angle. I wonder what they'd teach you in writing class. There are lots of possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities, the choices for St. Louis baseball fans are increasing as summer approaches.

With high school leagues winding down, American Legion ball is getting ready to start. The Gateway Grizzlies and the River City Rascals are about to open their minor league seasons. And weekends to Memphis or Springfield to see the players coming up through the Cardinals minor league system are an option.

For more minor league baseball outings, you can check out:

At The Yard.Com

or

Minor League Baseball.Com

Mississippians Returning?

Has anyone noticed the huge earthen mound which has recently appeared across from Carondelet Park? It's on the northern edge of the new Loughborough Commons development.

Talk about STL Rising!

ESPN Zone and Borders to Anchor Ballpark Village?

St. Louis Business Journal has the story

Cordish Co. developed the old power plant site on the east side of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, across from Camden Yards. It's a spectacular project, drawing over 10,000,000 visitors each year to downtown Baltimore.

Hole In the Wall Pizza

One of the best things about St. Louis are all of the out of the way places, some of which turn out to be right under your nose. One such place is just across the city line, on a back street in Lemay, at the entrance to the old Stupp Brothers steel mill (similar to the place in the image above).

Weber Road is the northernmost South County interchange on Highway 55, just south of the city proper. Weber runs diagonally from Highway 55 to the River Des Peres at Carondelet Boulevard. The old Stupp Brothers plant is the largest landholding in the area. For decades, the Stupp Brothers forged steel bridge components at the mill.

Closer to Highway 55, the Stupp property has a large green space and newer warehouse buildings. But down in a low-lying area, near the intersection of Bridge Street and Weber at the eastern end of the site, you find the original entrance to the old steel mill. A familiar, US Steel sign hangs from the outside of one of the rusted mill buildings. The scene is reminiscent of something you'd see in the mountains of western Pennsylvania.

Up at the corner of Weber and Bridge, you're in a time warp. Some buildings date back eighty to ninety years. One appears to be an old tavern in the front part of an old home. It's easy to imagine a crew of grimy steel workers at the bar, knocking down a few cold ones just after the sounding of the 5:00 o'clock steam whistle. And at 3662 Weber, there's Monte Bello Pizza.

As a casual observer, it's hard to tell whether the place is still open for business. It is. The owners live above the restaurant. A peek through the window gives the impression the dining room might be in the basement.

Back at the intersection of Weber and I-55, standing in the gap of a possible eminent domain challenge, a homeowner has posted a "House Not For Sale" sign on the front porch. Developers are looking at the area for a large scale commercial project.

Whether new development comes to the area remains to be seen. However, for the time being, you can still explore a tiny corner of St. Louis County that hasn't changed much in over fifty years.

Who's Not Creative?

With all the talk about the rise of the creative class, it begs the question: who's not creative?

For the past few years, there have been lots of articles written about the so-called "creative class". Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class, has created buzz around the idea, and cities around the country are vying to be the next breeding ground for the creative class.

But suggesting that there's a "creative class" must mean there is also an "uncreative class". We can't all be creative, can we?

Who is this "uncreative class", and, more importantly, are we doing everything we can to attract it?

An Alternative Reality

For a quirky take on St. Louis, check out: Failed Success in St. Louis

In the Street

If the lines at Starbucks are any indication of the vibrancy of downtown, this might be the week we passed the "tipping point" in terms of reaching critical mass in downtown STL.

All this week, customers have been lined up ten deep on the sidewalk to buy a cup of coffee at the 6th and Olive Starbucks location.

The Rosetta Stone of Jazz?

Try here

Best Use of an Eric Johnson Soundtrack

Virtual Tour of New Busch

Vacation in ...St. Charles?

Having just filled our ten-year-old mini-van to the tune of $47.00, I stepped inside the Amoco kiosk to pay the cashier. Ahead of me was a woman prepaying for $5 worth of gas. At $2.79 per gallon, she was buying less than 2 gallons.

The cashier and I talked about the financial squeeze high gas prices puts on the average family. Then she relayed how someone yesterday purchased .79 worth of gas for her car. That's barely enough to start it up. It costs more to fill the lawnmower.

Getting back in the car, the radio was playing a commercial promoting family vacations to historic St. Charles, Missouri. The commercial was targeted to St. Louis audiences. Now, St. Charles is a cool historic place right in our own backyard, but you've got to wonder how bad things are getting if there's a substantial market of St. Louisans actually making their family vacation plans for St. Charles.

Skyrocketing gas and gold prices. Rising interest rates. Inflation becoming a serious concern. A president with plummeting approval ratings and a troubling Iraq policy. Who knows what's next in Iran? And today radio commercials marketing St. Louis family vacations to St. Charles.

All I can say is, through it all, there is a bright side: We're glad we're living in St. Louis. And we're glad we do have cool local places that actually offer good in-town vacation options. (Don't forget the Graffton/Pere Marquette area).

Oh, and that scooter is looking more and more like an attractive alternative! Hmmm. I wonder if there's a bridge you can take to ride your scooter across the Missouri River...

"Last Missouri Exit"

After attending the Tell-Tale Heart show at Cummels, which was fantastic by all accounts, I rode over to check out the night game atmosphere around New Busch.

Maybe it's just the newness of the place, but there seemed to be a LOT more people walking around the streets of downtown near the ballpark. Mike Shannon's new, more visible, location was packed. Cards games on multiple high-def TVs were clearly visible from Market Street.

The feeling around the park is incredible. The vibe of the ballpark pours into downtown. From wide angles outside the park you see what's going on inside the stadium. The interior Jumbotron and scoreboards are in full view from the neighboring streets.

Everything feels closer. The roads around the ballpark are especially close. I like the intimacy of it. However, there's a potential serious downside to all the nearby intersecting streets.

On eastbound Hwy 40, you pass a sign that reads "Last Missouri Exit". From the elevated highway beside the stadium, the offramp drops you down right around the corner from the Broadway Oyster Bar, the Eugene Field House, and the ballpark. The end of the offramp is marked with "Do Not Enter" signs to prevent drivers from accidentally heading the wrong way up the exit ramp.

However, with all the lighting, traffic, glare and general distractions coming from the very nearby ballpark, it's easy to see how a driver, especially one unfamiliar with the area, and perhaps after having imbibed on a few too many of St. Louis' most famous beverages, could easily drive the wrong way up this exit ramp. It would be great if there was a good way to make this intersection safer.

The other dangerous intersection is the onramp to westbound Highway 40 from Broadway right next to southeast corner of the stadium. The area is filled with pedestrians. You see many of them sheepishly trying to walk across this highway onramp. Meanwhile, careless drivers will speed onto this ramp from Broadway at all hours. Combine the dangerous intersection with consumption of mass quantities of St. Louie Soda and you have another serious safety hazard.

State of the art pedestrian safety improvements have been made all around the ballpark on the new road improvements. So far however, it doesn't look like anything has been done to improve safety on these two old highway ramps. They deserve a look. We don't need that "Last Missouri Exit" sign taking on a new meaning.

Tell-Tale Heart

Every once in while, very seldom indeed, you see an artist who instantly gives you that prescient, "they're destined for greatness" feeling.

Gage Love, touring guitarist with Torch the Morgue from Quad Cities, was featured in this space recently along these lines. Twenty-five years ago, jazz duo Tuck and Patti gave us that impression at a small piano bar high in the Berkely Hills.

Today, right here in St. Louis, another young artist, Joel Dodson, is doing the same. Dodson's combination of excellent guitar work, the sonic power of his melodic vocals, combined with genuine enthusiasm and fun while performing, make for a great music experience.

The fact that he puts it all together at once is the most impressive part about him. Few performers combine guitar mastery and excellent vocals in the same person. Dodson does so flawlessly, while having a good time with his band and the audience.

Tonite at 7:30 Dodson will be performing with his band, "Tell-Tale Heart", at Cummell's Cafe, 1627 Washington Avenue. For those looking for a "we knew them when" experience, be sure to check these guys out.

Dream Sequence

The spring is turning into an early summer, and the Cardinals are playing in a fabulous new downtown ballpark, but it wasn't always certain things would turn out this way.

Invoking Wayne's World dream sequence imagery, let's go back to 2004 when negotiations were at their peak on the proposed new ballpark for the city.

Imagine for a moment that negotiations for a downtown ballpark had failed. Imagine that the cooperation between the city and the county never happened. And then imagine that the Cardinals followed through on their promise to get a new stadium somewhere. And imagine that somewhere turned out to be a "blighted" farm field up near Interstates 55 and 270, around Edwardsville, Illinois.

Baseball season 2006 opens and Busch Stadium sits dark and empty in downtown St. Louis. All the buzz about the Cardinals season would be happening at KTRS' studios in Westport Plaza and the new, suburban ballpark in Southwestern Illinois. Downtown would still have KMOX, but not the Cardinals. Columnists would write about the similar fates of our jilted downtown and KMOX- they still have each other, but not the Cardinals.

Fortunately, that scenario was avoided. We can pinch ourselves and see a fantastic new ballpark right where ballparks are supposed to be: downtown.

Halfway Home

New Busch is opening to rave reviews. Keeping the Cardinals in downtown STL marks another step in the continuing revitalization of our city. Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen!

However, the total project is only halfway completed. The demolition of Busch II has created the largest vacant land development opportunity in downtown STL since the construction of the Arch, and the open-air style of the new ballpark is creating a whole new set of downtown issues and opportunities.

Busch III is more than just a new ballpark. It is an opportunity to build upon our year round experience in downtown STL. Here are a few suggestions ideas for the ownership group as they build up the neighborhood around our new downtown ballpark.

Before siting buildings for Ballpark Village, there should be a visual analysis completed to be sure we maximize the finished skyline views of downtown from inside the stadium. This view will be our money shot of downtown STL for national television audiences. It would be a shame if a new building blocked the views of the Old Court House or part of the Arch. The mockup version in the image above shows a blocky looking building that might block views of important buildings like the Old Court House. Let's take care when finalizing the site plan to make sure we get the best results possible.

If the visual analysis determines that some areas of Ballpark Village should maintain a lower height profile in order to preserve important views, what about using those spaces for small outdoor recreational uses such as sand volleyball, a mini wiffle ball/cork ball field, convertible to an outdoor ice rink during the wintertime? These could be in view of neighboring Ballpark Village sports bars and restaurants.

Speaking of the BV sports bars and restaurants, since lots of people without tickets will want to soak in the atmosphere of downtown baseball, the Cardinals could wire the closed circuit, commercial free baseball signal from inside the stadium to the neighboring BV sports bars. It would be the next best thing to being there. Large screen projection televisions, combined with the sound of cheers from neighboring Busch III would make a fun, exciting baseball experience.

And, for more neighborhood experiences, what about improving the adjacent stadium garages? A friend of mine is a city police officer who said he spent all day yesterday trying to keep people off of the top of the Stadium East garage. Rather than trying to keep people off of it, let's open it up.

Just like in Chicago, where the rooftops of neighboring buildings are used for bleacher parties to watch ballgames, the same thing could be done with the top of the Stadium East garage and other new BV buildings. It's even conceivable that an air-conditioned sports bar could be built into the second highest floor of the Stadium East garage. Bleacher parties on the roof; a/c on the second floor from the top. Cards ownership and the stadium people could work out a licensing arrangement.

One of the criticisms of downtown sports venues is that they are only open a limited number of dates. There is potential opportunities for those off days.

For some of us non-ticket holders who may wait years to attend a big league game inside new Busch, offer free stadium tours on the off days. And what about having one or two of the stadium stores and restaurants open year round? The stadium can be a draw all year.

And speaking of off-days, if you could get the MLB players to agree, schedule 10-20 Memphis or Springfield Cardinal games a year at new Busch. Offer lower prices, and you'd fill the stadium for more dates.

We can't wait for our chance to see the place in person. In the meantime, does anyone have links for good pictures of the ballpark and the new skyline views?

Building Up Young Ballplayers

StL Mark was looking for some ideas about how to teach a young person about baseball. Here are some of the things we tried that worked in raising our son to appreciate the game and want to play it.

Most important: Start young. When a child is 3 or 4 years old, he/she is old enough to learn how to catch and throw. Use a safe, spongy ball. Get them to throw near and far, and to corral the balls in front of them until they start catching them in the air. You probably will find yourself heaping on lots of love, praise, and encouragement. Do not stop.

Having good hand-eye coordination is an essential trait for playing baseball. It needs to be second nature. The younger a person starts developing these skills, the more natural they will be and the more enjoyment and success they will have as they get older.

Play catch: More than anything else, it is the number one fundamental to playing baseball. Plus it's just plain fun. Without exagerating, in his thirteen years. I've probably played catch with Matt some 5,000 times, with probably close to a million tosses. Playing catch can be a great time for having talks with your child, and as he/she gets more skill, you can teach more applications. Simulated ground balls, popups, pitching sequences, etc.

Now that Matt is turning into a young man, he doesn't need me so much to play catch. So when it's late at night, and he asks me to have a catch under the street light, it's a gift he is unknowingly returning to me.

Teach no fear: Fear of the ball is the greatest obstacle to becoming a ballplayer. I didn't overcome it until I was about fifteen. Standing in the batter's box or fielding a hard hit ground ball can be intimidating. To help Matt overcome this fear, when he was about 2 and 1/2 years old, we went down in the basement with his Toys R Us-styled fat plastic bat and a foam softball to practice batting. He had this big grin on his face, and I would fire fast pitches to him from about 12 feet.

He'd take big swings, and, if I pitched it decent, he'd hit it. He couldn't get enough of it. If the foam ball would hit him, that was just part of the fun. Plus, he started to figure out how to get out of the way of an errant pitch. During the wintertime, the basement can be a great place to teach good applicable baseball skills.

Get out and play with other neighborhood kids: While they're little, seek out families with other kids who like to play. You'll probably find them right on your block. Besides learning to make friends, the kids get better at sports together. On our block, we have neighbor kids in four out of five houses in a row. They all play together, and each one of them are among the best athletes in their class, and good friends.

Seek out organized youth leagues: By age five, "T-Ball" is an option for boys and girls. The games are structured for fun and learning. It's a great way to meet new people, and give the kids a good time. Check out YMCA or CYC sports leagues. They specialize in youth sports.

Play other sports: Baseball is not a conditioning sport. Actually, in my opinion, baseball is really less of a sport than it is a game. Yet you need to be in good shape to play it. Basketball, soccer, and hockey are good sports to get kids in shape to play baseball. (Note: For what it's worth, my other strong recommendation is to not have kids specialize in a single sport until they are at least in 8th or 9th grade. Figure skating and gymnastics being the exception, otherwise, let the kids decide for themselves what they like best. Overzealous parents who think they are raising the next Nolan Ryan do their kids a disservice.)

Make the investment: In addition to all of the hours you will spend together, providing your young athlete with good equipment is important to their skills development, safety, and growing confidence. Quality hand-me-downs are a good option, or check out "Play It Again Sports". They deal in quality, used equipment for most sports.

Avoid over or undersized bats and gloves. By age 8 or so, invest in a leather glove. Make sure their bat is the right length and weight for their size. If you're unsure, take a friend who knows the difference. Lugging a too-heavy bat is a recipe for lots of late swings and strikeouts. Fielding with a wrong-sized, non-broken-in glove is a formula for lots of dropped balls. By age five or six, they should be throwing and catching a "safety" baseball (regulation size and weight, with a little cushiony give).

Build their confidence: Sports are fun but challenging. Sometimes they can be difficult and frustrating. Self-confidence is crucial to the development of all young people including young athletes. Practice and positive reinforcement work. Steer away from coaches who yell too much. Few young players respond favorably to adults who yell at them. If they're still playing by the time they're in high school, then they can deal with yelling coaches.

Set a good example: If you appreciate baseball, chances are your kids will too.

Have fun: It's the most important ingredient of all.

Bonus: Growing up in St. Louis doesn't hurt!

Tony and Me

At the annual fundraising auction for Matt's school, we bought a signed copy of Tony LaRussa's "Three Nights In August" book. The book is about a 3-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs as seen through the eyes of Cards manager, Tony LaRussa. I'm hoping that the book gives me some added coaching insights as we start our second year managing a youth hardball team down at historic Heine Meine field in Lemay.

The St. Louis Cardinals have adopted Heine Meine as one of their "Cardinals Care Fields". If you want to see true baseball in a restored, historic neighborhood setting, make a visit to Heine Meine field sometime this spring or summer. The atmosphere is great, the baseball entertains, and the concession stand has everything you're looking for at reasonable, midwestern prices.

The team I manage, the "St. Louis South Sox", is entering its second season, playing at the "Midget 2" level. Players range in age from 12-14. Bases are at 80 feet and the distance from the mound to home is 54 feet. Next year, the boys will move up to the big field, with full size, major league dimensions. Still, with 80-foot bases, it's a long throw from third to first for a twelve year old.

In 1980, before he played for Tony LaRussa, a skinny Mark McGwire played in an exhibition game at Heine Meine for the US Olympic Baseball Team. In that game, McGwire hit a towering a home run deep into the adjoining neighborhood of tidy, frame houses.

Last year the South Sox, named for the players who all come from different south side neighborhooods, finished the season with 5 wins and 7 losses. We enter the 2006 season with hopes for a solid year, having added more pitching, hitting and defensive strength. The team has a crisp, new look, and for the first time, an actual corporate sponsor - Bommarito Nissan. As the boys came over last nite to pick up their new uniforms, you could see the excitement on their faces.

Matt has played with some of these boys since first grade. Johnny "Boom Boom" is one of them. John plays first base for the South Sox. John has always loved playing baseball, and is growing into a fine first baseman. He has the lanky build and stretch play you want to see over at first. Of all the boys, John was the most eager to see the new uniforms. He had his dad call yesterday, and they were among the first to arrive last nite to pick them up. You could see a gentle smile come across his face and a gleam in John's eyes as he inspected the new uniforms and the "South Sox, sponsored by..." red and white team banner.

As crazy at it may sound, one of the top reasons we moved to St. Louis from California was to raise Matt in a baseball-drenched environment. We're living that life now, and it is a wonderful thing. Uncynical, these young players have baseball dreams. Based on a show of hands, almost every South Sox player has hopes to play high school ball in a couple of years. Their hearts are filled with anticipation.

So far, I've learned two things from "Three Nights In August". LaRussa does not follow conventional wisdom in any part of managing. He always tries new things. One of them was to move a powerful, dangerous hitter into the leadoff spot. Traditionally, you save those hitters for the middle of the lineup. LaRussa figured that challenging a pitcher early, before he can settle into a rhythm, would be a good strategy. With added pop in the South Sox lineup this year, we're going to try that same strategy.

Another lesson LaRussa shares is his job description of the role of a major league manager. Getting pampered, multi-million dollar, athletes to play at the top of their game is a difficult thing to do. To do so, LaRussa believes his job is mostly about
"unlocking players' hearts".

Coaching 12 and 13 year olds presents a similar challenge. These young guys are ballplayers on the inside, building up their potential. Unlocking their hearts will help unleash that potential. If by the end of the season, the players come together and the team plays with "heart", then no matter the win-loss record, it will have all been a very good year.

"Need and Not Have"

They say it's always better to "have and not need" than to "need and not have".

There's one thing we could use in St. Louis that at the present time is definitely in the "need and not have" category.

St. Louis is a place known for its wealth of architectural assets. Some of them are in need of emergency stabilization. Unfortunately, there is no fund designated for emergency stabilization of historic structures.

While there are many old buildings that make sense to demolish [if you don't believe me, let's take a tour sometime and you can draw your own conclusions..], there are many others worth preserving.

Some are important contributing structures located in St. Louis historic districts. Without a ready source of emergency stabilization funds, we wind up losing some of these important buildings.

With a wide variety of opinions, we've discussed donating funds to different sorts of nonprofit organizations. Would you consider making cash donations to an organization whose sole purpose was to award emergency stabilization funds for preserving historically significant buildings?

Summer in St. Louis

Hot? Yes. A Great Vacation Destination? Absolutely...

Here's a list of possible day trips starting from St. Louis:

French Discovery

Cahokia Court House and Cahokia Mounds
Fort Des Chartres
Chester, Illinois
St. Genevieve, Missouri
Belleville, Illinois
White Cottage for ice cream
Our Lady of the Snows

Mississippi River Country

Clarksville, Missouri
Louisiana, Missouri
Pere Marquette State Park
Illinois/Missouri Ferries
Alton, Illinois
Finn Inn, Graffton, Illinois
Elsah, Illinois
Cahokia Mounds
Wood River, Root Beer Stand
Hanibal, Mark Twain sites

Missouri River - Hermann - Missouri Wine Country

Historic St. Charles
Augusta, Missouri
Purina Farms
Daniel Boone Home
Meramec Caverns
Washington, Missouri
Gary Lucy Studio
Katy Trail
Hermann, Missouri

St. Louis County

Butterfly House
Laumeier Sculpture Park
UCity Loop
Prologue Room (Boeing)
Jefferson Barracks
Grant's Farm/Clydesdales
Swim outings
Museum of Transport
Glencoe Train
Magic House
Kirkwood/Webster
Six Flags over Mid America
Ice Skating

St. Louis City

Gateway Arch
Old Cathedral
Old Court House
Scott Joplin House and Historic Mansion Tours
City Museum
Crown Candy
Calvary and Bellefontaine Cemeteries
Soulard Market
Soulard Neighborhood
Lafayette Square Neighborhood
Central West End Neighborhood
New Cathedral
Missouri Botanical Garden
Forest Park
St.Louis Zoo
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
Union Station
Ted Drewes for frozen custard
Cherokee Antique Row
Fox Theater
The Muny Theater
Powell Hall and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Anheuser Busch Brewery Tour/Clydesdales
The Hill Neighborhood
St. Louis Cardinals
Eugene Field House and Toy Museum

Check back..more links to follow...

Education Vouchers For Missouri?

From the tone of yesterday morning's Wake Up call show on WGNU radio, it sounds like a bill to bring education vouchers to Missouri is gaining momentum in the state legislature. The topic was being discussed by Quincy Troupe, Irene Smith, and Lizz Brown. They were looking for St. Louis to be excluded from the proposed law.

4 of 5 Top City Wards for New Housing Construction in North City

Results consistent with city's overall recent population turnaround.

STL Must See: The Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad

St. Louis is blessed with some of the country's finest family-oriented amenities. The St. Louis Zoo, the Science Center the Magic House, and the City Museum are just a few of our region's great recreational and educational attractions.

One of our favorites is the historic Wabash Frisco and Pacific Railroad located in Glencoe (near Eureka) Missouri, off of Route 109. Most young people love trains, and these narrow guage steam locomotives are a pure delight.

You can ride a train at the Zoo and Grant's Farm, but for an authentic railroading experience, the Glencoe trains are the real deal.

Coal and oil smells. The hissing sound of steam from the boilers. The ear piercing whistle of the steam driven horn. The tinkering with valves and controls by the engineers. Followed by a 20 minute ride along the Meramec River, through dappled sunlight shining through the trees of a Missouri forest.

If you don't have kids of your own, still check out this place. For more fun, bring a young relative, and a camera. It will make a memory that will last a lifetime.

Eisele's Would Be Proud

Eisele's Black Forest on Cherokee and the Bavarian Inn at Gravois and Arsenal were two long-time German restaurant standards on the city's south side. Years ago, the Black Forest closed, followed some years later by the Bavarian Inn. Now, I don't think you can find a German restaurant in the city.

Not far from where the Black Forest and Bavarian Inn were located, a new restaurant has opened bringing added life to the city's Tower Grove East neighborhood. It's called "Pestalozzi Place", located at the corner of Virginia and Pestalozzi in a beatifully renovated, one hundred-plus year old building. We visited Pestalozzi Place for the second time this weekend.

I had the stuffed pork chop. The chop was stuffed with fresh spinach and andouille sausage. Delicious (and our server's favorite)! For a city built by lots of Germans, it's hard to find a good German meal in town.

Pestalozzi Place isn't known as a German restaurant, but their stuffed pork chop would make a fine addition to the menu of a German restaurant anywhere!

Teen Sex

St. Louis leads the country in V.D. cases. This stat probably has more to do with our goofy "city in a donut" status, but is a bad thing regardless.

Yesterday marked Matt's 13th birthday. In the past week, we've heard stories about two young teenage girls becoming pregnant. Teens having unprotected sex is probably the number one reason.

Blame the boys and to some degree the girls? Mostly the boys. Rumor has it that the impregnating boy of one the pregnant girls mentioned above is bragging to his friends about it.

Hormones are raging for the kids in Matt's seventh grade class. Phone calls from girls and "instant messaging" is a daily routine.

Girls have crushes on Matt, and he has crushes back. As a parent, trying to pull in the reigns on these young romances probably just makes them more alluring to the kids involved.

Add to that the peer pressure and a culture that pushes casual sex, and these kids are facing a tough challenge for the next few years.

Maybe all-boy and all-girl schools would lessen the pressure on them?

Servant Rider

Andy Krumseig, the Executive of the Jubilee Christian Development Corporation, a branch of the Jubilee Community Church based in the city's Lindell Park neighborhood, is leaving today for California, about to embark on a 2,600 mile, coast-to-coast bike ride to raise funds for the church and its ministries.

You can help Andy and Jubilee by sponsoring the ride by the mile. A penny a mile is $26.00. Ten cents a mile, $260.00. In total, the ministry is working to raise $500,000 to convert a vacant grocery store on North Grand into its new home.

Last year, the Landmarks Association of St. Louis recognized the Jubilee Community Church for the rehab of their current 3118 North Grand location as one of the "Most Enhanced Sites" in St. Louis. Through the Jubileee Christian Development Corporation, the faith-based organization is continuing to renovate homes in the Lindell Park neighborhood.

They can really use your support. Please consider making a tax deductible contribution in whatever amount you can afford. Thanks. More information is available at: stlouisjubileeride.com

Safe and happy riding to you, Andy! We'll see you when you get back.

Retirement Planning: STL Style

People often comment on the lower housing costs offered in the midwest compared to the coasts. Having lived for many years in California, we know that cost savings in St. Louis extend to all aspects of everyday life.

Presently, we are in the market for a new trombone. We are comparing prices in St. Louis versus California.

The retail price for the trombone pictured above is $300 higher in California compared to what it sells for here in St. Louis. And in California, the product must be back ordered, while here in St. Louis, the store has three in stock.

If you're ever thinking about retirement, consider how much faster your retirement savings could accumulate by living on a St. Louis budget!

Blogger Courtesy

I will defer to the comments of my fellow blogger on this topic.

Maybe if they added some shrubbery?

Moving Downtown?

We're considering moving downtown into one of the new Ballpark Village condo towers. Some questions we need to consider....

Are there dog walking services available? We wonder how much they charge...

Any predictions on the price of a 2 bedroom condo facing the new ballpark?

Or, we'd be interested in a unit with an Arch view, as long as the designers provide a roof top deck with views of the ballpark...

Any idea of the timing of construction and sales? And what about high school choices for downtown teens?

Future Role For Avalon Theater?

From an email sent to the Southampton email list:

We are professional actors and Southampton Neighborhood residents who have founded one of St. Louis' newest professional theatre companies, Avalon Theatre Company. Organized as a not-for-profit 501 (c) 3 organization, Avalon is dedicated to the professional theatre artists who have chosen to live and work in St. Louis. In recognition of its artistic vision and commitment to St. Louis theatre artists, Avalon was recently awarded a grant from The Fox Associates Foundation.

Our inaugural production was the St. Louis premiere of BOSTON MARRIAGE by David Mamet. Our next production is Lee Blessing's A WALK IN THE WOODS, which runs March 17 through April 2, 2006 (preview performance March 16) at Union United Methodist Church, 3543 Watson Road. Directed by Heidi Winters Vogel, the production features Gary Wayne Barker* as Honeyman and John Contini* as Botvinnik.

The place is a "pleasant woods on the outskirts of Geneva," where two superpower arms negotiators, the Russian, Botvinnik, a seasoned veteran, and his American counterpart, Honeyman, a newcomer to the arms-control talks, meet informally after long, frustrating hours at the bargaining table. Through their absorbing and revealing conversations we become aware of both the deepening understanding between these two wise and decent men, and also of the profound frustration they increasingly feel – that the elemental differences in their two systems of government will continue to exacerbate as long as the real power rests in the hands of those burdened by the bitterness of the past.

Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Ticket prices are: $28 adult; $23 student/senior; $20 preview (Thursday, March 16). To learn more about Avalon Theatre Company or to make convenient ticket purchases online, please visit ATC's website at www.avalontheater.org or call 314-351-6482.

Avalon also has two volunteer usher/concession positions available per performance. Ushers see the show for free. If interested, please contact the theatre.

Thank you.

Larry Mabrey, Artistic Director
Erin Kelley, Managing Director
314-351-6482
ATC@avalontheatre.org - www.avalontheatre.org

*Member Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

Affton PeeWees Vie for State Championship

During the regular season, the two Affton "Gold" House PeeWee hockey teams finished 1-2 in the standings.

Now, as the playoffs reach the final game, the same two Affton teams square off in an in-house rivalry to determine this year's Missouri state champions in the gold division.

Along the way, the teams defeated regional rivals, the St. Peters Spirits and the Twin Bridges Lightning, to make it to the championship game.

Matt's team is in the finals. If they win tonight, it will be his second state championship in four years.

The puck drops at 5:30 PM at the Kirkwood Community Center ice arena on Geyer Road.

RIP Kirby Puckett

Ever since the 1987 World Series, St. Louisans have a hard time appreciating Minnesota's brand of baseball, especially with their "Glad Bag" stadium wall. But we all respected Kirby Puckett. Puckett was a big factor in the '87 Twin's World Series victory over the Cardinals.

Way back before ballplayers routinely started charging for their autographs, I remember the time we sent a baseball book up to the Twins, attention Kirby Puckett. Puckett mailed it back to us with his autograph and a personalized note.

There weren't very many ballplayers who earned the widespread admiration of Kirby Puckett. He was a tough competitor and a great representative of the game. He would have looked great in a Cardinal uniform, but, turning down more lucrative contract offers, he would play his entire career with the Twins.

Cold Frostys

There was a time when St. Louis had more breweries than almost any other American city.

Based on the age of car parked in front, the picture above probably dates back to the Bevo Mill's alcohol free days.

I wonder what a cold beer at the Bevo Mill would have tasted like right after the end of prohibition? Pretty darn good I bet.

"The Oldest Road In St. Louis County"

"St. Charles Rock Road, the first road through St. Louis County, was laid out in 1772 as “The Road to St. Charles” by the Spanish. The road began in St. Louis (where it was called “Kings Road”), followed in a general direction the route now used and led to the bank of the Missouri River opposite St. Charles. In 1819, St. Charles Road was established as a post and stage road; in 1837 it was first incorporated as a turnpike. In 1865, St. Charles Road was rebuilt with macadam (successive layers of small broken stones) and renamed St. Charles Rock Road. In 1921, it became the first concrete state highway in St. Louis County."

Excerpted from the official website for the City of St. John, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Free Downtown Baseball

The Harris Stowe Hornets have started their 2006 college baseball season on their home field, located at the northeast corner of Compton and Market in the city of St. Louis.

They are playing their first game today against Webster University.