The Empirical Manifesto

Saturday night I dreamed I was a vagrant in Germany, living out of my 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 which I had had shipped over during my heyday. I was sitting behind the wheel marvelling at my past accomplishments and wondering what had gone so wrong with my life when I found some photographs I had taken so long ago I forgot they existed, yet there they were - a series of blurry photographs I had taken ages ago of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North transforming into the Wicked Witch of the West...all from the perspective of my side-view mirror. They were scandalous as they proved who the Wicked Witch really was, and I had proof, there in my hands. A plain-clothes German polizei reached his hand in my open window and peeled away my Texas inspection sticker and crumbled it up. I didn't need it ever since getting my two Missouri windshield stickers. I jumped out of the car. It was a major I used to know in the Air Force, Major Elsnau. He looked like he'd hit hard times, an alcoholic trying to keep it together. He was a German Inspector now. My '68 Dodge was now a pool-cleaning van, and it was filled with pool-cleaning supplies and some dear friends. We had a good time, visiting and laughing, and trying to organize a heist with Elsnau's help, but he was reluctant. Pretty soon, everyone became disgruntled with me and left, and I sat alone, in my pool-cleaning van, in Germany, getting ready to lay on the floor of the van and go to sleep.

Last night however, I dreamed that this new senior VP of one of our remote sites wanted our Headquarters to install some IT equipment for him. A couple of printers. galinda822 was against the idea, but I wanted to meet with the guy. We drove out to the lake and people were on jet-ski's of varying sizes and operating capabilities having fun in the water, and here comes this guy wearing a suit and tie. He introduces himself to us and we follow him into a cabin's conference room. There are three chairs by a small coffee table, and one by the fireplace. As Manager, I choose the chair directly in front of him, so we can talk terms, leaving the chair adjacent him for galinda, who tells me, "Fine, I'll sit over here." And she sulks by the fireplace. I had no idea why she was so mad. He wants us to install some printers at his remote site, a wooded area surrounding a lake in Texas. galinda thinks its a horrible idea because one, we're not responsible for installing remote equipment and two, she's afraid we'll ultimately become responsible for it's upkeep...but all I can think of ia riding jet-ski's on the lake in the midst of a wooded area in Texas...But then the lights go dark and we're in a theatre watching a humorous movie about a several cosmopolitan city-slickers trying to survive as they're lost in the woods. It's both endearing and horrifying! I text message galinda who's still sitting by the fireplace in the theatre. The men on the big screen are finally rescued, and taken to a hospital, where I sit among them, one of the victims. We talk amongst ourselves about what went wrong. Soon, however, we get split up, divided, and lost...in this very large hospital. As I take it upon myself to regroup everyone, I slowly begin to panic. But then I find the last person, and instead of bringing him back to the group, we sit and watch a movie in his room. Upon conclusion of the movie, I take him back to the group - who's once again missing! After miles of hallways and twists and turns, I find the group of men. Every one of them lined up against the wall on a gurney wearing a hospital robe, on their knees with their ass in the air, exposed. I walk by ten brown-eyes winking at me thinking, "As soon as I walk into the doctor's office, my asshole will be lined up there with the rest of them." And I sigh with resignation as I walk in.

One, two
One, two
Microphone check
Groove is Strong
It'll break your neck
In two
Or maybe three parts
True to the blood
And straight to the heart.

All over the meader and the hill!

Took the in-laws to see the Arch this evening. This marked the first time I've been under the arch, where they have a museum of the mid-west which is really well done, and various other displays and shops. And a beautiful carved stone mural which displays the arch prominently amongst other American monuments.



Buds're bustin' outa bushes

Walked through the old part of town, The Landing which hosts a fabulous Blues Festival each year. We attended one the weekend I proposed to my wife when we were here in '97. She wanted to eat dinner at the Brewery, and we found one, Morgan Street Brewery where I, in a surprising move, ordered a Golden Pilsner. It was fantastic. I had the grilled chicken & andouille sausage over penne pasta which was cajun spicy and delicious. It even filled me up - no small feat! I ended my meal with their Graham Cracker Porter, which was to die for. My father-in-law, a very difficult man to impress, was so thrilled with his steak, he thanked the entire waitstaff and the checkout girl. I'd never seen him so pleased. I think that alone made the entire outing worth it.

And the rompin' river pushes

It had stormed most of the day and was calm and cool by the time we hit the streets, a perfect evening to an otherwise hectic day. All this would not have been possible of course without the help of galinda822 who watched the children for us so we could enjoy this evening with my wife's folks. Thank you!

Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside a mill!

Laclede's Landing, named for Pierre Laclede, St. Louis' French founder, is a vibrant entertainment district just north of the Gateway Arch along the Mississippi River. Once the hub of river trade where fur trappers rendezvoused, music now echoes off the Landing's cobblestone streets, and restaurants, music clubs and shops fill the former warehouses that once held tobacco, cotton and other products brought to St. Louis by steamboats. On the edge of the Landing, modern casinos recall a time when gambling boats plied the Mississippi.

If there's one place that conjures up images of St. Louis' river past, Laclede's Landing is it. Streets in the nine square block area of the Landing are the same as they were when Laclede laid them out in his original plan.

Here cobblestone thoroughfares harken back to the time when St. Louis was a center of river commerce and conjure images of traders selling their furs, tobacco and cotton arriving on steam boats and paddle wheelers taking on and discharging passengers. In fact, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Landing was a busy area of manufacturing and commerce.

Today the Landing's preserved historic brick and iron façade buildings house some of St. Louis' best restaurants, exciting music clubs, the country's longest running dinner theatre, the unique Dental Health Theatre and the Laclede's Landing Wax Museum. At the foot of the landing is the President Casino, St. Louis' only downtown casino.

As dusk overtook us, the city lit up and we concluded our evening with a walk down the riverside.