We've had a day off from driving...back on the road today. We did some
sightseeing (see below) but I also had time to think about a couple of the
people we met - one in Springfield, Illinois and one right here in St. Louis.
I haven't got into the habit yet (or screwed up the courage) to ask people if
I can take their picture. I expect they wouldn't mind. As many who've worked
in broadcasting in Canada have learned, Americans are not shy about sharing
their thoughts and opinions with most people who ask. Cynics have said
it's a national trait - everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame. But I think it's
a reflection of another national trait - generosity.
In Springfield we stayed at the Route 66 Hotel and Convention Centre - hosting
on the weekend a gathering of antique car owners. We ate at the hotel diner, full
of Route 66 memorabilia on the wall. The two young women providing the service
were obviously good friends, joking with each other and the customers as they
shared the duties, covering each other as they delivered the large and tasty breakfasts
to the tables.
Jenny was beaming about her visit to the nail salon where she had her fingernails
painted in an elaborate spider web design. But Halloween's more than a month
away, I said! She launched into an excited story about how she and a bunch of
friends were helping another friend try to start a business as a special effects
and costume retailer. They were spending the next month dressing his home as
a 'haunted house' and preparing for their own roles as horror figures. The
plan was to advertise his haunted house for Halloween and charge $7 a person
entry fee. The proceeds would be used to help launch the friend's business.
I found myself thinking about the generosity and enthusiasm with which Jenny
approached her part in this project. She can't be making much money herself
as a waitress on this make-believe highway. But she sure seemed to have faith
in her friend's talent and wanted to invest in it the only way she could.
It also reminds me of someone close to us, in Halifax, who volunteers three or
four hours a week to help a good friend make a specialty food sold every Saturday
at our Farmers Market. An investment of time to generate a profit of goodwill
and engagement. I could use some of that in my own life, I think.
Later that day, after walking around St. Louis, we rested our tired butts on the
stone stepsof the newly renovated Peabody Opera House which opens next week.
They were sponsoring the outdoor concerts and the headliners for this night were
the English Beat - an 80s - 90s ska band from Britain.
The fellow sitting next to us wore a pork pie hat and dark rimmed glasses and
a friendly smile. He started out shy, but gradually warmed to asking us all kinds
of questions. When he found out we're tourists he launched into a litany of
suggestions for things to see in St. Louis. Brian pointed out that Missouri was
marking the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war. When Blair
commented that it had had a particularly nasty impact on Missouri families who
split and fought each other, Brian had a quick reply. " 'My family were all
Confederates! No division for them!" He said his family roots in America go
back to the 1600's in Maryland.
We went on to talk about music we liked and music from the mid-west. Blair and
I both like the group Wilco which really impressed Brian, especially when Blair
could name the previous incarnations of said group!
WE followed some of his suggestions the next day - Monday.
We travelled by MetroLink - St. Louis' light rail rapid transit system.
A far cry from the wagon trains celebrated in the Jefferson Museum of Western Expansion built in the ground below the great Gateway Arch of St. Louis.
It was conceived in the late 50's and finished in 1965. The architect won the contract
for it before he knew exactly how he was going to build it. They had to find some
new math equations to calculate the design. Funny how the vision drove him...as well
as his faith in the human ability to figure things out.
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ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch
Outside we watched the Mississippi for a while. We even dipped our fingers in it. We'd been reminded of its mythic status - the river highway through the heartland. I think the St. Lawrence is just as powerful a symbol - opening the continent via the Great Lakes. But the legends attached to the Mississippi resonate more than the Laurentian stories do: journey down it to the Gulf of Mexico and the warm south; cross it and enter the western wilderness.
Even today tugs pushed barges loaded with coal, gravel and God knows what else - moving faster than I'd thought possible. (zoom in on the photo below - what looks like the far shoreline is actually a barge that's as long as a football field!)
There are bronze statues in these American cities. In Springfield, Illinois we saw
Abe Lincoln and Martin Luther King. In St. Louis, Lewis and Clark with their Newfoundland dog, Seaman, stand forever in the bow of their river boat - no sign of fatigue after two years of exploration to the Pacific and back.
Then we hopped the train and headed across town to the Delmar Loop - named by
a national newspaper as one of the ten great streets in America. It was pretty quiet on a Monday afternoon. But we had a great sandwich and then walked north, stopping
every ten feet to check out the bronze stars at our feet - celebrating famous people
who'd had something to do with St. Louis - everyone from Phyliss Diller to Stan Musial and of course Chuck Berry! The father of rock and roll got more than a star.
He has his own bronze statue.
We ended our touring day at Chuck's bar...no sign of the man himself. But after
a day of walking and riding we headed back to the hotel and listened to some music
we bought at a place called Vintage Vinyl -
almost a museum itself to every form of modern music that exists...from vinyl to digital.
