Two celebrity deaths have really bothered me...

The first was John Denver.  I really love his music and I followed his career and the success he earned.  When he ditched his falling plane in the water off of the beach it really upset me.  I miss John.  A bit ago Robin Williams died.  Robin starred in my favorite movie THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.  My favorite movie and my favorite actor.  I can only guess what is going to happen when Adam Ant dies.  I don't know these celebrities.  I have never met them.  But when I'm feeling down, a good story, a good movie and good music can change my mood.  John, Robin and Adam have positively effected my life in a real way.  I love them for that.  Here is a post from a much better blogger than I about the death of Robin Williams...

TSY - The Selvage Yard

NRA DUES REMINDER...

Remember folks, every time there is a senseless shooting and someone dies as a result, that is your OFFICIAL REMINDER to pay your NRA dues!  That is where your money is going.  To pay lobbyists to keep our elected officials terrified of the NRA, so they can fight for your GOD GIVEN right to make stupid decisions that gets people killed.  Negligent parents?  Not according to the NRA!  Incompetent Shooting Instructor? Not according to the NRA!  It doesn't matter how much a person's decision goes against common sense, it doesn't matter how many people have to die.  It only matters that the owners of the Gun Companies get rich.  It only matters that you do what the NRA tells you to do...

DON'T FORGET TO PAY YOUR NRA DUES!

Some rich guy wants to buy his 4th European vacation home, YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT THE NRA TELLS YOU TO DO

I debated on whether or not to write this blog post, I debated on whether or not to include this picture.  In the end this incident with all it's horror is a direct result of the lobbying efforts of the NRA.  A little girl has to live with the knowledge that she pulled the trigger that killed a man.  The family of the dead Shooting Instructor has to live with the knowledge that he was helping a tiny girl shoot an Uzi on full automatic in the seconds before he was killed.  The parents of the 9 yr old girl lack the required parenting skills and are guilty of child endangerment and/or parental neglect and should be interviewed by Family Services.  It sucks and it's sad.  I feel bad for the little girl, she is the only victim in this entire incident, everyone else is a volunteer.  This is an ugly completely preventable accident that is a direct result of America's Gun Culture. I am mad. So the NRA doesn't get a pass on the consequences of their efforts to increase the profits of the Gun Industry. I am writing this post and holding up this ugly picture for everyone to see what they support when they parrot the mindless NRA drivel.  I'm sorry for the family of the Shooting Instructor. I'm really sorry for the little girl.  AND I know that this is just the latest horror brought to us by the NRA and they will continue to make things like this happen as long as they are able...

Only one person died!

There has been ANOTHER School Shooting!

There is NOTHING we can do about it!

DON'T FORGET TO PAY YOUR NRA DUES! :)

Fracking and the Keystone Pipeline...

Here is my take on Fracking.  I don't want some rich jerk to risk anyone's drinking water so he can make more money.

Here is my take on the Keystone Pipeline.  I don't want some rich jerk to risk anyone's drinking water so he can make more money.

Who cares if a rich jerk wants more money?

SLEIGH BELLS!

In the original posting of this video, the music was synced to the video.  I think the guy that posted it on YouTube knocked the sync off kilter on purpose to avoid copyright issues...  JERK

more SLEIGH BELLS!



Of my current "Favorite Bands" I have only not seen two in concert.  HAIM is currently touring with Taylor Swift and the ticket prices are nuts.  The other band is SLEIGH BELLS...

Zedonks and Future Islands

OK, I'm weird.  I admit it.  I search the internet for exotic animals almost on a daily basis.  Mainly for the frogs I'm interested in but occasionally I find things like this...

THIS is a Zedonk, a hybrid between a Zebra and a Donkey.  I want one.

I also like to wander around YouTube and they have a good track record for suggesting things I might be interested in, mainly bands.  They turned me onto this...

I'm also a big fan of LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN and good ol' Dave has turned me onto 3 cool bands recently.  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Sleigh Bells and as of last night:

FUTURE ISLANDS! 

Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You) [Live... by eidurrasmussen

STL turns 250 years old and DAS loses 250 secs...

HAPPY 250TH ST. LOUIS!

So St. Louis had it's 250th Birthday on Valentine's Day.  Originally Tif & I planned to attend the official Birthday Party called BURNING LOVE! but Mother Nature via an Ice Storm intervened.  So the party was moved to tonight Tuesday Feb. 18th.  I was very fired up because my favorite STL Musical Artist (ERIN BODE) and an up & coming STL Musical Artist (POKEY LAFARGE) were both playing the event.  So luckily both Tif & I could still attend the new Birthday Party date.  And unluckily Erin Bode could not perform at the new Birthday Party date.  We arrive VERY early and set up our folding chairs high up on Art Hill.  After determining which of the two stages Pokey Lafarge will be playing on we move our folding chairs down Art Hill and sit to the right of the Sound Mixing platform.  Tif holds down the fort and I peruse the Food Vendors (in their disgustingly muddy/ice slushy tents) and purchase a chocolate dipped 'heart shaped' shortbread cookie, a 'heart shaped' turtle cheesecake for two, a bottle of water and two cups of Pepsi (that was all I could carry).  Hauling my loot back down the hill I try my best to NOT slip in the mud and I am partially successful.  Tif & I snack on the sweets while we listen to AN ELVIS IMPERSONATOR while we wait for Pokey to take the stage.  Worrying that we won't be able to see the performance we move our folding chairs down Art Hill and sit right up against the barrier fence at the extreme far left of the stage.  There were lots of people doing the same thing in the center of the stage area and in the middle of Art Hill.  We arrived early enough so we didn't set up in front of anyone and to the left of us was the area they had cordoned off for the official BURNING LOVE heart they kept lighting during the concert (along with which you get a rush of super heated air that felt nice in the evening chill).  Right in front of us on the other side of the fence is a "Concert Security Guy" (CSG).  So as the Elvis Impersonator is finishing up his set (on the stage to the left of the flaming BURNING LOVE heart), kids start arriving and shoe-horning themselves into whatever space they can fit.  A girl plops down to the right of me, no bid deal, plenty of room. Enter "Skinny Guy High On Drugs" (SGHOD), his overstuffed backpack AND his druggie girlfriend.  Tif & I are sitting in our folding chairs with our feet on the fence directly in front of the stage.  SGHOD manages to stand with his leg touching Tiffany's and lean in across her seat and actually blocks her view of the stage.  Amazing feat of "unsteady on his feet while maintaining just the right level of unawareness/I don't give a shit about other people".  I immediately reach out and tap him twice on his hip bone.  BOINK-BOINK.  No response.  No one just rapped him right on his skinny ass hip bone, no reason to blink or turn your head.  Nope.  I can't tell if he's oblivious or just ignoring me.   Tiffany implores me to just let it go.  I'm seriously peeved.  I stand and occupy the space in front of my folding chair.  Tif remains seated.  I keep my eye on the guy, something is not right.  The Concert starts.  Pokey Lafarge is awesome!  SGHOD is way too much into the concert.  He seems to think we all came to hear him randomly answer back to statements Pokey makes from stage about 2 minutes off of the normal response time.  The CSG starts to pay attention to SGHOD's disruptive behavior.  SGHOD can almost sing along, taking into account his drug induced speech delay of course.  About half of the time I'm turned and staring at SGHOD right in his face (he's about a foot and a half away from me) because I'm worried about his behavior.  SGHOD is determined to watch Pokey perform and nothing else exists for him.  Suddenly SGHOD screams out some random cuss words and immediately get the attention of the CSG.  CSG leans into SGHOD's personal space and tells him not to do that.  SGHOD never looks at the guy 1 inch from his face and never acknowledges what he is told.  ::tic::   Wow.  I suspect SGHOD is of the school of thought if you don't acknowledge something, it doesn't exist, or he IS that high.  Flip a coin.  So I'm watching the concert and watching SGHOD.  I ask Tiffany if she is OK, she has to stare at the back of SGHOD's backpack.  She tells me she is OK, honestly she tags along to outdoor events just to humor me.  She's a good girlfriend.  Pokey is doing a great job.  SGHOD stares unblinkingly at the stage.  Randomly SGHOD yells something and shakes the fence he's pressed up against.  CSG leans in to SGHOD's face for the second time and tells him to knock it off.  No response from SGHOD.  ::tic-toc::  I motion to CSG to come over to me and directly in front of SGHOD's face I tell CSG "He is high".  CSG nods at me.  Now I'm listening to the concert with my right ear because I'm standing sideways to the stage and glaring at SGHOD (not that he would notice).  Then it happens.  SGHOD decides to dance.  There is no room to dance.  As he is swinging/twisting back and forth I realize he can't do that without hitting Tif.  I look down at Tif sitting in her chair.  "Did he just hit you with his backpack?" "Yes" she replies.   ::tic-toc-tic::  TIME STOPS. I turn to SGHOD, rap him three times pointedly on his shoulder.  BOINK!-BOINK!-BOINK!  No response.  OK, I've seen the pattern.  With an open hand I slap the side of his face three time (kind of like those loud plastic clapper toys shaped like hands).  FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!  Will he acknowledge that?  Yep, SGHOD notices that.  He turns to me and yells "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" while swinging his arms out which seems to me to have too many elbows and too many joints.  In retrospect it's the motions of a junkie.  Out of control and random movements that normal people do not make.  I am not worried, he is maybe 85 lbs, his druggie girlfriend is bigger than he is.  I make a fist and  raise one finger and put it against the tip of SGHOD's nose.  "First and final warning, you just hit my girlfriend with your backpack".  SGHOD answers something back that doesn't make sense (I can't even remember what he said), but I do know that I did not get through to him.  I make sure he hears what I am saying, "FIRST AND FINAL WARNING, YOU JUST HIT MY GIRLFRIEND WITH YOUR BACKPACK".  That he hears.  He cusses and apologizes in an aggressive manner.  Not the correct response, I do not accept his apology.  I am holding myself very still.  I motion to CSG to come over to me and directly in front of SGHOD's face I tell CSG "He just hit my girlfriend with his backpack".  CSG immediately turns to SGHOG and tells him he has to leave.  SGHOD ignores CSG.  CSG is nose to nose to SGHOD and tells him he has to leave and points to the top of Art Hill.  SGHOD yells, "I DIDN'T MEAN TO HIT HER, I'M SORRY" in an unapologetic aggressive manner.  CSG grabs hold of of SGHOD's arm and tells him he has to leave.  SGHOD responds, "I LOVE POKEY LAFARGE AND I CAME TO SEE HIM I'M SORRY JESUS PLEASE" (or something similar).  SGHOD holds onto the fence in front of him with both hands and ignores everything else CSG says to him.  CSG leaves to speak with his supervisor.  SGHOD turns to me and yells "I DIDN'T MEAN TO HIT HER GOD DAMMIT" (or something similarly aggressive).  I am very calm and completely focused on SGHOD.  Leaving his Supervisor, CSG and another CSG cross through a gate in the security fence and they start to make their way through the crowd to our location.  I know what is coming.  I turn to Tiffany and tell her to stand up and switch places with me.  Tiffany doesn't want to make things worse and tells me she is going to just sit in her folding chair.  Again I tell Tiffany to stand up and switch places with me.  Tiffany cannot see the approaching CSG's so I finally think to explain, "They are coming through the crowd to throw this guy out."  Tif stands up and moves behind me.  CSG and the second CSG arrive and tell SGHOD that he has to leave.  Without turning to face them, SGHOD tells them he is just going to watch the concert.  The CSG tells SGHOD that he has to leave.  Without turning to face them, SGHOD tells them he is just going to watch the concert.  A third CSG arrives through the crowd.  The two CSG's grab hold of SGHOD and he wraps his legs through the security fence and yells at them (I can't remember exactly, he said so much crap).  Tiffany's folding chair gets kicked, folds up and flops down in the mud.  A fourth CSG arrives on the concert side of the security fence and they all attempt to subdue SGHOD and unwrap him from the fence.  The crowd backs away and allows a wide space around SGHOD.  I retrieve Tif's folding chair before it gets stomped into the mud.  SGHOD looks a little bit like a rabid dog, out of control and all wild eyed.  SGHOD throws an elbow and clocks the original CSG in the side of his head.  SGHOD disappears behind a wall of CSG's.  They remove him up Art Hill.  The druggie girlfriend shuffles along behind.  The entire time I was facing SGHOD and he was about 2 feet away from me.  My legs shake as the adrenaline flushes from my system.  I tell Tif she can sit in my folding chair because her chair is covered in mud.  She elects to stand and watch the rest of the concert.  Pokey Lafarge does a great job.  Some of the people directly behind us ask, "What happened".  Witnesses are not reliable, people do not pay attention.  We watch the rest of the concert, 4 more songs.  Concert over, fold up chairs.  Tiffany notices that about 20 feet behind us SGHOD has snuck back down Art Hill without his druggie girlfriend.  He can't figure out where Pokey Lafarge went to.  Keeping an eye on him we move off away from SGHOD and have an uneventful walk back to the car.  Pokey did a great job.  All told, I lost about 4 minutes out of my life...

(The Section between the Elvis Stage and the Pokey Lafarge Stage)

Gonna try making these...

Love these doughnuts from my Friends over at Thibeault's Table. I made them when I first saw them on her blog and they are as good if not a little better than Krispy Kreme! 

Yeast-Raised Glazed Doughnuts

1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups vegetable oil or shortening, for frying

Glaze

1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the egg, milk, butter, and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture, mixing until well combined. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes by hand or mixer until you have a smooth, soft dough. Place the dough in a buttered bowl, turn it over to grease the top, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in bulk.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with a round cutter. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise again for about 1 hour, until doubled again.

Place oil or shortening in a heavy pan or deep skillet and heat to 350F. Place the doughnuts in the oil, two or three at a time, and fry until golden brown. Turn over and cook the second side. This should take no more than a minute for each side. Overcooking will make the doughnuts tough. Drain on paper towels.

To make glaze, stir the milk into the confectioners' sugar until it is smooth, then add the vanilla. When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle (but still warm), dip the tops of the doughnuts in the glaze, then place on a rack or plate to let the glaze drip down.

I dreamed about Pap-pa the other night

It was a good dream.  I was in Portageville, MO. and my Aunt Kathy asked for my help with a large walk-in shower in her basement whose water was running rust colored.  She showed me her new faucets that had multiple fancy electronic components poking out of the back that plugged into the shower wall.  She laid down on her side in the bottom of the shower and peered up at her problem spouts.  After looking at the replacement hardware I declared that I couldn't fix the problem but Pap-pa probably could.  At one point (IRL) Pap-pa owned a whole city block of Downtown Portageville and earlier in the day in my dream his fictional General Store Mgr asked for my help conducting a Store Inventory.  In my dream this was the kind of General Store that carried every thing you might need on a farm or in your house, a little of this and a little of that.  Some of the merchandise had set on the shelf unsold since the 50's in it's original boxes.  Lots of old Point of Purchase signage that nowadays is considered 'collectible'.  I'm pretty good at running Inventories so I volunteered to do the count and had completed it prior in my dream.  After speaking with my Aunt Kathy I entered the General Store through a door 3/4 up the wall on the right side of the store towards the back.  You can see the entire length of the General Store from that vantage point and as I entered the store and stood at the top of the stairs Pap-pa entered the store through the front door.  I distinctly remember the feeling of Pap-pa entering the room as I stood on the landing of the stairs.  In my dream it was like a roar.  Not a brash loud uncouth roar, but as a laughing positive presence that filled the room.  Pap-pa walks down the aisle joking with everyone he passes because he knows everyone in town, and everyone in his General Store knows and likes him.  His Store Mgr walks up to him and Pap-pa asks how the Inventory went and the Store Mgr reports that I did a good job and the Inventory number came in at pretty much what she thought it would.  Pap-pa turns and looks up at me and says something like "Of course David did a good job, he's my grandson isn't he?"  I smiled down at him and wiggled my fingers hello at him.  It was like Pap-pa was still alive and I was in the room with him.  It was so real.  Talking about the dream the next day brought tears to my eyes because I could so easily recall what it was like being around Pap-pa.  It was a good dream.

ALEC Legislation, Citizen's United, The newest Republican JIM CROW Laws, Mass Shootings...

America is taking a beating folks...

The War On Christmas...

The HATE & IGNORANCE you hear the most this time of year 

is usually shouted by people that claim to be "Christians" 

but have clearly never even read the Bible...

Finally...

I biked 6 miles today.  1/3 of the Greenway is impassable due to flooding.  I'm happy to report that my butt doesn't hurt...

It's a CONSPIRACY I say, a CONSPIRACY!

Between my sore butt, waiting around for my delinquent Sony repairman, and the rainy spring weather I haven't been biking since last week.  At this very moment I am sitting on my sore butt in my apartment clubhouse waiting for the Sony repairman while watching the pouring rain come down.  It has been over two weeks since they finally admitted they had to fix the broken 'select' button on my laptop (cause it's under warranty).  The Sony repairman has failed to call me on two different days after he promised he would.  He called three times to cancel a repair appointment when I was sitting there waiting for him.  I cancelled one rescheduled repair appointment after he cancelled a morning one, he doesn't do mornings it seems.  I'll be damned if I dance to his darn schedule.  The odds are he won't call me back or show up for the scheduled repair today.  I'm on to his tricks.  "Hello Sony!"

David<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOT biking!

The Reasons I Love Riding My Bike

1. It makes me happy
2. Fashion (winks)
3. Exercise
4. Social Contact (a head nod counts)
5. Weight Loss
6. Nature (turtles on floating logs)
7. Time to think
8. Music appreciation (cell phone playlist)
9. Bragging Rights
10. Showing off RAMBLER (::honks my tank horn::)

Bad Weather, so no biking for me...

 

 

 

It's raining, it's pouring,

The old man is boring.

He went to bed,

his legs felt like lead,

and his butt was sore in the morning.

(think I might have overdone it a bit yesterday)

ADVENTURES IN BIKING!

This is what I see every time I load RAMBLER on the back of DEERSLAYER

For me biking is more than exercise.  I pick out my outfit for my bike ride.  I fill up my water bottle.  I carry my bike up to my car.  I load my bike on the back of DEERSLAYER.  I drive past Dairy Queen, Fritz's Custard, and my favorite house in Valley Park.  I drive down an original brick paved road and underneath a railroad bridge built in 1930 to The Meramec Greenway parking lot that I favor.  I select the play list I'll be listening to while I ride.  I pick the leg that I'll be staring on and...

I push off.

 

 

Today I pretty much rambled.  No land speed records set by yours truly.  I rode the Simpson Lake leg.  I rode the leg that reminds me of Ft. Riley.  As I finish the first half of the Valley Park leg I ride past the entrance to the Levee bike trail.  I wonder what it's like to ride the bike trail way up there.  As I turn around for the second half of the leg I decide to pedal UP the entrance to the Levee bike trail.  It's steep.  I turn left and coast down the bike trail off of the Levee to discover that the bike trail starts about 100 ft from where I got on.  Now I have to pedal back UP to the Levee bike trail.  It's steep.  I follow this new trail (new to me anyway) as it parallels the Valley Park leg of the Meramec Greenway.  It ghosts along between Valley Park and the Meramec Greenway and I've seen snippets of it as I drive thru town and when I'm riding on the Greenway.  It's high up, and the wind is really ripping across the top of the Levee.  I pedal along and discover what Valley Park looks like from the other side of things.  Not all that pretty really.  Following the bike trial I end up crossing the road that I usually drive on to get to the Greenway parking lot on top of the Levee Gate.  I'm not sure if that's the correct name for it.  It's where a road pierces the Levee and there is a huge cement gate you drive through and there are metal tracks that cross the road where you can lock in big cement doors to seal off the Levee in times of flood.  ::shrugs::  Riding on top of the Levee there is a big change in perspective.  I was used to seeing the Levee Gates from ground level as I drive thru them not from the top as you ride over them.  Here is a picture of what I am talking about...

 

My Keister cries "Uncle"

 

 

As you approach the Levee Gate the paved bike path turns right and descends to street level where sensible people can then cross the road and ascend back up the paved bike path to the other side of the Levee Gate.  I think you can see where this is going.  Straight ahead of me the bike path degrades to a loose gravel trail that goes right up to the cement bridge on top of the Levee Gate.  Not an exactly bike friendly approach.  I of course do the UN sensible thing and pick up speed on the sketchy gravel path and barrel my way to the Levee Gate bridge.  RAMBLER has a front Springer Fork and my new RavX saddle has lots of trail bump reducing features.  It is not enough, not nearly enough.  I hit the cement slope.  Hard.  I make it up to the top owing to momentum and dumb luck only to realize that the exact same incline is waiting for me on the other side of the Levee Gate.  In for a penny, my tailbone gets a pounding!  ::whee, BUMP, ouch::  I ride the bike path on top of the Levee until it starts to veer left away from the Water Treatment Plant next to Simpson Lake.  Uncharted Territory.  I don't know where this path goes or how far.  I know, let's text Tiffany and ask her!  Me, "I'm on the Levee Trail that runs next to the GREENWAY.  I'm on the leg that veers left at the Water Treatment Plant next to Simpson Lake.  Where does this Levee Trail go?"  Tif, "I dunno."  Thanks Sweetie.  So all full of the Lewis & Clark spirit I follow the trail to see where it leads.  It's really windy on top of the Levee.  As I pedal along I get to admire all the small dark ducks floating in the settlement ponds next to the Water Treatment Plant.  I have no idea what species.  Pedal.  Pedal.  Pedal.  I get to see the back side of the other side of Valley Park.  Ugly. Ugly. Ugly.  The bike trail dead ends about two blocks from the large Catholic Church next to the levee near a railroad bridge trestle.  It looks like this...

 

Pay no attention to all the Canadian Geese poop I had to dodge on the bike trail

 

That's RAMBLER in the corner.  I love my bike.  It's a 1995 copy of a 1955 Schwinn Cruiser and it weights over 60lbs.  I'm bragging.  Twice.  Once for how cool my bike is and the second time for how much it weighs.  Here's another picture so you can appreciate just how pretty my bike is...

 

::swoons::

Since I've stopped to take some pictures I get out my water bottle for a drink and no sooner do I have the screw lid off than the wind blows across the top of the water bottle and it sounds like I'm on a HEE-HAW rerun.  Gloom Despair and Agony on me...  Saddle up and pedal back the way I came, take the bike trail off ramp besides the Levee Gate Bridge and link back up to the Greenway at Simpson Lake.  All in all I'm guessing I biked somewhere between 14 and 15 miles today.  I'm tired.  Here's a pretty picture...

 

Flowering tree at my apartment complex

 



BIKING UPDATE!

Every April I put up my patriotic bunting and I take it down on July 4th

Saturday March 30th Tiffany and I headed out to the Meramec Greenway.  She to walk a part of the trail and me to ride RAMBLER.  I ended up stopping three times to adjust my new saddle.  Did I mention that IT'S HUGE!  The first time I had to level the saddle.  The second time I moved it as far back as I could on the seat post.  I finally figured out that I had it set too high and needed to lower the seat post about an inch or so.  Come to find out, the wrench that came with my bike tool kit DID NOT fit the nut on my seat post so I couldn't lower my saddle.  So I ended my ride sooner than expected.  That and I was really wore out.  I had not biked any since the end of last summer (or so) when my Serfas saddle bit the dust.  So Tiffany is surprised to see me behind DEERSLAYER loading my bike when she is done walking.  At this point I'm a little worried that it's not the height of the saddle that's slowing me down and making biking difficult, it's that I haven't biked in a long time and I have to start all over again just to get where I was when I stopped biking last year.  Depressing.  So a whole week goes by and I don't bike. I don't lower my saddle.  I just stew. 

.oObubbleOo.  .oObubbleOo.  .oObubbleOo. 

Sunday morning and Tif's at Church so I'm like, LET'S BIKE!  I lower my saddle.  Fill my water bottle.  Head out to the Greenway, and...

BIKING HEAVEN!

 

I haven't lost my biking skills.  It WAS the height of the saddle and I pedal my way across 12 miles of the Meramec Greenway.  Did I mention that I voted for PROPOSITION P?  I did!  Yay more Greenway!  So the weather was beautiful yesterday.  Lots of people on the trail.  Cardinals, Woodpeckers, Bluebirds, the whole works!  The trees are still bare but they will be budding out soon.  I'm biking around Simpson Lake and I think to myself, it's still too early for turtles to be out sunning themselves on floating logs and then I come to the floating log that has the turtles sunning themselves on it.  Great Day for Biking!  After I'm done I wait for Tiffany to get home and we end up going out to MOBO GARDENS and walking around. 

Magnolia Tree in bloom at The Missouri Botanical Gardens

We love to walk around the lake in the Japanese Gardens.  Everything is blooming and budding and the smell of the flowers is intoxicating.  So a couple of  quick stops on the way home.  As we walk the grocery store I realize my legs are weak and my back is a bit sore.  I am 47 you know.  The harsh reality is 12 miles on the bike and walking the entire length of the Missouri Botanical Gardens is a bit too much exercise for a guy that hasn't biked since last year.  Carrying my groceries home in the rain from Tiffany's apartment to my place I step on a big dirt clod on the sidewalk that is actually a mud clod (rain does that to dirt).  Long skid short.  David goes down.  Hard.  The harsh reality is 12 miles on the bike, walking the entire length of the Missouri Botanical Gardens and carrying heavy groceries home in the rain is WAY TOO MUCH EXERCISE for a guy that hasn't biked since last year.  The most important question is...

Did anyone see me slip on the mud and fall down?

 

Luckily everyone else has more sense than me and are already in their apartments.  Cause, it's raining.  Set my groceries down on the kitchen floor and carefully walk to my bathroom.  I do not want to get blood on my new Dickie's Shorts.  Prop my leg up on the toilet and wash the dirt and mud from my skinned knee.  Apply over-sized band aid to my knee cap and sleep like the dead.  Monday morning.  Wake up.  Remove bandage to allow my wounded knee to breath and heal properly.  Pack up RAMBLER and head out to the Meramec Greenway and bike 9 miles (I'm a glutton for punishment.  My legs were tired but I know that will go away as soon as I bike past the 3rd mile.  The trees are still bare but after last night's rain the entire understory has greened up overnight.  There were some people walking on the trail and I got to see 6 pelicans on Simpson Lake.  I tried to get a picture but they were too far away for the zoom on my camera phone.  So instead please enjoy a picture of RAMBLER on the back of DEERSLAYER parked in Micky Dee's lot where I am sitting in a booth using their free Internet to post on my blog...

I had the small McChicken Extra Value Meal (don't judge me)

 

I drove my bike route...

GOOD NEWS!  The snow is melting on the Meramec Greenway...

BAD NEWS!  The melting snow has flooded the Meramec Greenway...


I'm hoping to get to bike on Saturday.  I'm pretty sure it will be too wet on the bike trail tomorrow on Thursday.  Friday I'm spending the day with Tiffany and her nieces at SIX FLAGS (tough assignment, I know).  So hopefully Saturday is the day that I am...

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

This is a picture of my new bicycle saddle.  I had a large Serfas saddle that I thought was 14" across.  I discovered the RavX saddle and it had all the features of my original saddle and was much cheaper.  Because of my weight I am hard on my bicycle and on my saddles.  My Serfas saddle had come loose by the nose and I can longer use it or ride RAMBLER.  I picked up my new RavX on ebay and got a really good deal on it.  It arrived the other day and...

OhMyGod! 

 

It is HUGE!  My new saddle hangs 2" off of each side of my old saddle.  My Serfas was only 10" across.  Luckily I have a big butt and no one will notice how over sized my new saddle is while I am riding (except when it's loaded on the back of DEERSLAYER).  We just got 12" of snow here in STL and as soon as it all melts I will be flying down the bike trails.  For Christmas my brother got me a video camera mount for my handle bars and gave me his old video camera.  Expect the video asap...

 

14" Baby!



About sums it all up...

 

DEAR GOD by XTC

(Songwriters: PARTRIDGE, ANDY)

 

 

Dear God, hope you got the letter, and...
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer.
But all the people that you made in your image,
see them starving on their feet,
'cause they don't get enough to eat,
from God,
I can't believe in you

Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but...
I feel that I should be heard loud and clear.
We all need a big reduction in amount of tears.
And all the people that you made in your image,
see them fighting in the street
'cause they can't make opinions meet
about God,
I can't believe in you

Did you make disease, and the diamond blue?
Did you make Mankind after we made you?
And the Devil too!

Dear God, don't know if you noticed, but...
your name is on a lot of quotes in this book,
and us crazy humans wrote it, you should take a look,
and all the people that you made in your image
still believing that junk is true.
Well I know it ain't, and so do you,
dear God,
I can't believe in
I don't believe in

I won't believe in heaven and hell.
No saints, no sinners, no Devil as well.
No pearly gates, no thorny crown.
You're always letting us humans down.
The wars you bring, the babes you drown.
Those lost at sea and never found,
and it's the same the whole world 'round.
The hurt I see helps to compound
that Father, Son and Holy Ghost
is just somebody's unholy hoax,
And if you're up there you'd perceive
that my heart's here upon my sleeve.
If there's one thing I don't believe in

It's you....

Dear God.

 

Proud to be an American!

A disgrace to the sport of cycling...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

I have Search Images that run continuously in my head, they help me spot things that I am interested in.  I have a life-long interest in animals and I'm pretty good at spotting different species as I drive down the road (even when other people miss them).  So let's talk about what I saw today while sitting on my balcony.  I don't get good Internet reception inside my apartment so as today's latest thunderstorm was ending I packed up my PC and hauled it outside.  The rain had just finished and I'm seated in my MIZZOU folding chair and staring over the top of my laptop screen out across the common area of the apartment complex .  In my immediate field of vision is the crest of a little hill to the left of the asphalt pathway that winds thru the Apartment Complex.  I catch a glimpse of something grey moving from right to left (downhill) just past the crest of the hill.  It's longer than it is wide, thick bodied and as it moves the back is hunched and undulates.  I had the good fortune to observe wild animals while on vacation in Florida and my very first thought is...OTTER!  It was not moving like a cat and it was larger than a squirrel.  I'm staring at the spot where it disappeared and I can see squirrels further away and this animal was way bigger than a squirrel.  I have been around and handled ferrets and this animal was heavier than a ferret.  So I'm sitting there chuckling to myself and have just about convinced myself that I mistook a squirrel for an otter when the second one moves into my view from right to left on the same track as the first.  Here is where it gets weird.  The second animal was just as thick at the first one, just as long and moved the same way.  The coat was different though.  The only way I can describe it is...CALICO.  Not kidding.  I have never seen an otter with a coat anything like this.  So there are three choices:

1. I am crazy and dreamed the whole thing up
2. I saw a squirrel/ferret being followed by a cat
3. I saw two otters out on a romp after a thunderstorm

As soon as the second one disappeared below the crest of the hill I jumped up and set my PC down on the footstool in my apartment and grabbed my umbrella and went outside to see if I could get a better look.  As I'm walking up the asphalt path towards the crest of the hill I'm thinking "have they bred Calico Ferrets yet?"  I get to the spot where the two animals disappeared and NOTHING.  I completely circle the apartment  building where they were headed downhill towards and nothing.  No clue, no sighting, nothing.  As I near the woods on the edge of the apartment complex, several squirrels are giving their alarm calls.  Maybe they are upset at something that made it into the woods before I got there.  Maybe they are upset at me.  As I'm walking back to my place I'm doubting myself and thinking, some one's pets have gotten loose.  Maybe they are in the same family as ferrets and that is what I saw.  As I pass the fenced pond on the apartment property I'm thinking there is nothing here that otters would be interested in, no habitat...

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