Side Tracked

I spend a lot of time thinking, reading and wondering about American culture. More specifically, about how it has drastically changed over my life time. I know you can't stop progress, but I'm not talking progress here. All 12 definitions for the word "progress" found on dictionary.com allude to some kind of forward motion. When we use this word there is an assumption that this forward motion results in an improvement upon the prior state. I take issue with this assumption.

I went out on my bike in search of new sights yesterday. I wanted to explore the famous Tower Groves Park region of south central St. Louis. It is know to be a hip,popular and progressive place to live for young urbanites. A lot of money has been spent to revitalize this historic district. However, I got a little side tracked on my way there.

On the way to my original destination I had to ride through an area known as The Hill. The Hill is mostly an Italian American neighborhood. Its name is due to its proximity to the the highest point in St. Louis. Italians from northern Italy immigrated and settled the area in the late 19th century. The heritage remains evident today. I read that approximately 3/4 of the residents are Italian American. As I was riding by a construction sight a couple of the men who were around my age were shouting at each other in Italian. From every street I could smell a mingling of garlic, prosciutto, bread and tomatoes.

The characteristic that struck me as most discernible about the area is its lack of outside influence from corporate America. There are numerous locally owned businesses of the kind that vanished from other communities decades ago: hardware and kitchen supply stores, pharmacy, bakeries, tailor, salami curing factory and numerous amazing eateries. Barely a franchise to be found. As well, there are neat, well maintained and modest brick, single story homes and duplexes, circa early 1900s, lining every street. No subdivisions. None, I searched.

How did they manage this? Was it a conscientious decision by the town council with support by its constituents? Luck? Divine intervention? Have they had to fight to maintain of way of life they cherish? These are all unanswered questions. I can only surmise. This place is a community, in every sense of the definition. If you have any doubts, show up at Adrianna's Restaurant at high noon and you will be convinced. It has a shared heritage and culture that is valued and maintained by its residents. Is that what it takes? Am I out of luck not being an Italian, doomed to a life of subdivisions and strip malls and progress?

The Count Down is On

I can't believe the school year is winding down and the end is in sight. That means I only have a little over 1 month to see all of St. Louis I intend to. So I better get busy.

This past week I did a few long rides out in West County. I decided to ride my mountain bike. This was a good thing because there was a lot of curb hopping to be done due to the traffic and road construction. The sights are truly beautiful if you are willing to ride about 10 mile of horrendous city traffic before you get to the rolling hills.

I must qualify this last statement. To really see the beauty of the landscape one must have a well developed sense of imagination. One must also suspend one's belief in the wisdom of humanity. For me it is a coping mechanism. I can and I must imagine how breathtaking it was before the advent of The Subdivision. Truly, this category of development is the bane of the contemporary American landscape.
The street names are so trite and ubiquitous. Does any suburban area not have countless streets with such whimsical names as Ridge Crest Ave, Stony Pointe Drive, Aspen Bluff Blvd, Springwood Court, Lost Pines Lane? Do the masses understand the irony of those former bluffs, springs, ridges and crest having been bulldozed to make way for these idyllic little Pleasantvilles? No, I thought not.

But I did enjoy my many miles immensely, in spite of. And I found hidden pockets of treasure in the form of strongholds of un-pretentiousness. In one case, I was winding my way along a county road with a 6,000 sf house every acre or so and I noticed a sharp left that dropped precipitously down along a roaring stream. It was definitely the road less traveled and it felt like I was in an entirely different zip code. The homes were all the river-side cottage types and the inhabitants looked like your average blue collar, hard working folk who maintained their own lawns and kept their own gardens. It was so quaint I could not believe it had not been co-opted by developers. The reason surely being that this area is obviously in jeopardy of major flooding ever 50 years or so. The best part is that the road ended in a trail that took me back to the road from whence I came. Just like in New England.

And then the weather gods were smiling upon me. I left for 3 days to attend a Foreign Language Conference a the University of Kentucky in Lexington. It rained here in St. Louis the entire time while the sun shined on me in Kentucky. It stopped raining upon my return to St Louis.

At the conference I was lucky enough to attend talks on such topics as: The Argument/ Adjunct Distinction in Syntax and the Semantics of the Spanish Subjunctive, Transitivity and Subcategory Gustar in Spanish, Syllabic minimality in Spanish Truncation. Exciting stuff. Well, if not exciting at least interesting. I also attended a few workshops on language technology. It is amazing what some people are doing in the classroom with technology. Mostly at the university level since it requires an investment in technical infrastructure. Most public school do not possess funds for this kind of techie-bling . Unfortunate.

Owen's Gowen Goth?

I had to zoom in on this photo for you to be able to truly appreciate the hilarity of it. No, he is not wearing lipstick. The only explanation I can come up with is that my camera adjusted his rosie, luscious, red lips (you know, the kind of lips that certain women pay for) with its auto red-eye eliminator.


Spring is here, wet and windy. I just rode my first 30 mile ride of the season in gale force wind that had me at a crawl on the way west and flying on the return trip east. There is no chance of mountain biking on trails anytime in the near future since the ground is like a sopping sponge and the mud is formidable.


We just got back from a long weekend in warmer latitudes. It was not a whole lot warmer than St Louis but there were palm trees, sandy beaches, and an ocean. That kind of backdrop really changes one's outlook. Life is just a little better for a while. Although I certainly would not go as far as Tony and proclaim it to be the most wonderful place on earth. Or something to that effect. It's the south; which means it is a dandy place to visit and then go home.

Our wealthier relations, my brother Brian and his wife Chari, rented a house for 5 days on Tybee Island across from Savannah, GA and invited my parents and us. Not being the types to pass up free AND really liking my family, we graciously accepted the invitation. Chari is 8 months pregnant and was looking forward to having Owen around to play with their 2 1/2 year old daughter, Alaina. There is a mutual worship that goes on between Owen and Alaina. Very cute.


We were only 3 blocks from the ocean so that, of course, was the theme of the trip. We cycled the beaches, swam, built sand castles, fished and ate a LOT of seafood. The first evening we went to an over-priced seafood restaurant and had mediocre food so we decided to cut our losses and eat in the rest of the trip. The boys, both young and old, successfully caught our dinner a couple times. My dad went down to where the boats come in and bought a bushel of oysters for $30.00!!! Tony and Brian were determined to finish eating every last oyster long after they were full.

Spring has Sprung.

This photo was actually taken over three weeks ago. Trees are starting to leaf out and the cacophony of birdsong is ever increasing in decibel level in the wee hours of the morn. Man, do I love spring!!!!!!!

Let's see......since we last spoke, time is flying and soon we will be back in our beloved home state.


We skipped school and headed to Russia (pronounced Roosee), Ohio to visit Tony's family. Tony headed to Idaho for INL obligations. Owen and I hung out with Sharon and Fitz during the worst snowstorm the area had seen all winter. Our visit happened to coincide with a climbing competition in nearby Dayton, Ohio.

The competition was at Urban Crag and the format was an on sight comp. This format was new to us. On sight means that the kids are sequestered until a few minutes before they climb, get a few minutes to visually review the route and then have to climb. While most kids seemed to be consulting one another on the possibilities, Owen had no one to talk to so he gave it a glance and returned to climbing in the bouldering cave. This comp had more kids than I have ever seen. Owen got a third place! As always, he was stymied by the long reaches but did manage to flash the crux of his final climb before being stopped. The two kids ahead of him were a good 4-6 inches taller and both were 10 years old.

Then I was off to my Wilderness First Responder course in Salt Lake held at the University of Utah Medical School. This program is put on by the Wilderness Medicine of Utah (WMof U) http://www.wmutah.org/home.html I highly recommend it for anyone who spends a lot of time in the wilderness or works in the field of outdoor education. It is the least expensive program out there since WMof U is a non-profit organization. Most of the instructors are serious outdoor athletes who also happen to be medical students at the university. Salt Lake is a fantastic city to be stuck in for a week. Great food and awesome mountain views. Dare I ask for anything more?

A dawn view from the east of the city

Upon return our very favorite family, the Bruemmer Clan, came from Idaho came for a spring break visit. Owen was beside himself with joy and happiness during their stay and sunk into a deep depression (that lasted a full half hour) when they left us. I neglected to pull out the camera to record the festivities, but let it be known that fun was had by all. We biked, partook in cultural offerings, dined sumptuously and cavorted.... as would be expected with this lot. Owen dreamed of stowing away in their luggage but in the end decided to wait the eight weeks until our return to Idaho.

Now we are off to Tybee Island, off the coast of Savannah, Georgia for an extended weekend with the my family.

75F and Sunny. Easy Come Easy Go

We began our week's commute thus: Slowly and gradually things warmed up. This weekend the glass was half full here in the heartland. Whereas Monday I was wondering how I was going to make it a whole 3 more months until I got to go home, by Sunday I was glad to be here. It is amazing how a little thing like weather can so affect one's outlook on life.

Saturday morning we left at 8:30 am on our bikes with a promise of temps in the upper 50s and did not get home until 8:30 at night. We spent the day participating in very urbane sorts of activities. After a parent/teacher conference at Owen's school we rode around town doing errands: art store for b-day party gift, REI, Whole Foods for lunch. After dropping our booty off at the house we rode the length of Forest Park, something Tony had never done before, and then took the train from the Central West End into down town to check out the Home and Garden Show. Very anti-climatic. It was more a consumerism nightmare than anything else. I figured it would be all earthy and crunchy, a real tree-hugger's destination. Instead it was Ginzu knives and earth movers and 40K terrariums. It was held at the indoor football arena and was packed with vendors and buyers. Yikes. With all the walking, we did manage to work up an appetite and ate at the best Japanese restaurant I've experienced to date.

Sunday was a day of hot weather and riding around while Owen attended a birthday party. I was hoping it would last. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Forecast for Monday and rest of week? Winter snow mix with chance of 6 inch accumulation over night. Now the cup is back to half empty.

Forest Park

Last year I refused to run in Forest Park, opting to drive many miles 4 or 5 days a week to run on real trails. This year, with a slightly new perspective on life, Forest Park does not look so bad. The trails are truly bloody boring, no rocks, roots, downed trees and such, but it beats running along roads and on sidewalks. There are a wealth of options as far as lengths of run. Everyone is out getting ready for the St Louis Marathon in April. I am starting line coordinator for the second year in a row and I may actually recognize a few of the people who will be toeing the start line.

Forest Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. With 1,298 acres, it is 500 acres larger than Central Park in NYC. It is home to most of the city's cultural institutions. Forest Park hosted the 1904 World's Fair Louisiana Purchase Exposition as well as some events in the 1904 Summer Olympics. How St. Louis got to host both events is an interesting story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1904_Summer_Olympics Two things the park has in spades are beautiful architecture and lots of grand old trees that make for great views as I run by. Not quite the same as running through a mountain meadow of the Cache Creek Trail or along a mountain stream like in Bozeman but I will take what I can get.

What follows is a series of photos of the sights along a 7 mile loop that starts from my house. To arrive at the park I try to go down different street each time since the neighborhoods between home and the park are kind of interesting. Mind you this is only a small part of the western portion of the park. My mileage is not up to making it to the eastern regions as of yet.

Washington University. In a few years this snapshot will be impossible because there are plans to build dorms or something where those cars are parked. I am told that not long ago that parking lot was green space. Ah, progress at its finest.
The Natural History Museum. Free Admission.
Nellie breaking the law off leash.

A bridge over one of the waterways in the park. As recent as 300,000 years ago the Mississipi River flowed through the eastern region of the park due to a glaciar that diverted water from the main flow of the river. When settlers arrived, this region was swampy, with a few small lakes. The area was subsequently drained and the water was tamed into polite, confined waterways. Although a majority of the River Des Peres flows underground, thanks to the good folks at the Metropolitan Sewer District, the section runnning through Forest Park has recently been restored to flow above ground and link the existing lakes.
A tree inside a tree along a trail just west of the Fine Art Museum.

The World's Fair Pavilion just got a face lift in 2007. When I first arrived in St. Louis and ran by here all the concrete on the stairs and fountains were crumbling and in an unfortunate state of disrepair. The entire hillside was torn up this past summer and remodeling began just about the time we returned. The building is used as an events and banquet center and goes for $1,400 for a weekend wedding reception.

The trail ahead winding along side the River Des Peres.

St Louis Art Museum. Free Admission. Front, west view. Note the desperate children on the hill trying to sled on 3/4 inch of snow. You can't help feeling a bit sorry for them.

This is one of the nation's leading comprehensive art museums with pieces representing almost every culture and time period. As well, at any one time there are usually 6-8 traveling exhibitions. My current favorite is the Frank Breuer Photographic Collection of Industrial Spaces of Holland, Germany and Belgium.

A view of the Art Museum from the east.

Fountains in the Grand Basin Lake lie at the foot of the hill leading up to the Art Museum. Both the museum and the basin were constructed for the 1904 World's Fair.

These trails run through stands of oak that are home to some urban wildlife. Since St. Louis is right smack dab in the middle of a migratory bird superhighway, sightings of an array of birds is the norm. You must click on this link I found of bird photos taken by a local. Each photo was taken at the park. From Kingfishers to Egrets to Kestrel, the variety is amazing. http://webster.edu/~corbetre/birds/park-bird-photos.html

OBFR turns 8 yrs. old!!!!

On February 21, 2008 at approximately 11:15 am we celebrated the anniversary of Owen's 8th year of life. As luck would have it his entire school was commemorating this event by taking the the entire week off. So Owen invited his good buddy Tate for a day of playing in the mud/snow, wrestling in the house and generally driving me batty. Since I was not about to bake a cake for both the actual day and for his party on Sunday, Owen opted that we go to the Cheesecake Factory, a least favorite of mine, for a post special birthday dinner treat.

The day before the party Owen and I baked his chosen cake. I was determined to attempt a pretty cake and not just settle for tasty. The pastry gods were with me. In my opinion. Owen did not allow me to put as much frosting as it needed to make it look like the Gourmet Magazine cover, but I don't care for lots of frosting either.

In spite of the weather prediction of a continuing warming trend for the party day, we woke to a fresh blanket (more like a sheet) of snow and colder temps than the previous day. Since the plans were a rain or shine hike on the Chubb Trail, all the kids showed up at 10 am dressed for a polar expedition: snow boots, face masks, snow pants, thick mittens and hats. It was obvious that these kid's parents do not hike and are clueless to the concept of layering and the BTUs generating by walking uphill. Within the first 1/16th of a mile Tony and I were loaded down with all categories of winter clothing.

There was some definite whining and complaining by some about being tired but good times were had by all. We came back to the house and the kids went wild while I rolled out the dough for calzones and each kid built their own from a table full of ingredients. Then cake, presents and due to the volume that 8 kids can generate I sent them up to the park to play until parents arrive at 4 pm. Upon arrival at the park Tate immediately fell into the icy pond up to his neck even though the water is only 2 1/2 feet or so. Owen valiantly jumped in after him and got wet 2 1/2 feet up his body. True friendship.