Southern, Gothic, and Supernatural

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Hubby Tony and had a very interesting evening last night.  We attended a production of a new-to-me musical called Ghost Brothers of Darkland County. 

When I first read about Ghost Brothers in the newspaper a few weeks ago I was intrigued by its pedigree.  The show was written by Stephen King, had music and lyrics by John Mellencamp, and was produced by T-Bone Burnett.  The program billed it as "A southern gothic supernatural musical of fraternal love, lust, jealousy, and revenge."

In my experience plays and musicals have multi-night runs at a given theater.  However, this production was more like a concert; last night was the only performance in St. Louis. It was presented at the Peabody Opera House, a 1930's-vintage venue that was renovated and reopened several years ago.   Tony and I arrived at the venue about twenty minutes before the show started.  We walked past the two huge limestone bear statues that guard the outside stairs and into the beautiful marble lobby.  Once I had my purse checked we used the sweeping stairway to go up to the next level, where we entered the theater and took our seats. 

Ghost Brothers of Darkland County was one of the most unconventional musicals I've ever watched.  As you'd expect, the music was first-class and diverse.  There was some rock, some blues, and some roots songs.  The plot that Stephen King created was properly dark and creepy, and there were quite a few twists that I wouldn't have guessed were coming (especially the ending).  Tony and I spent most of the ride home discussing our interpretations of what had gone on.

Mound City

When we heard that the high temperature for today was going to be close to 60 degrees, Hubby Tony and I knew we wanted to do something outside. He reminded me about the Groupon for Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site I had bought some time back that needed to be used. Just like that we had our day planned.

Cahokia Mounds is just east of St. Louis on the other side of the Mississippi River in Illinois, and is where the largest prehistoric Native American city north of Mexico once stood.  The 2,200 acre area is now a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site that preserves the central portion of the city and about half of its mounds.

Our Groupon included audio tours, so Tony exchanged his driver's license for two iPod Touches and we set off.  We completed two of the tours, but ran out of energy after we walked up the 154 steps to the top of Monk's Mound (the largest Pre-Columbian earthwork in the Americas) and decided to come home.

Monk's Mound--Wikipedia

Five years ago today: Illuminate Me

If You Open It They Will Come

Our Thanksgiving dinner gathering was smaller than usual this year, and by 6:30 everyone was gone.  Hubby Tony put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and I threw the tablecloth and napkins in the washer.  Then we went into the family room and pulled out our laptops to check in with our respective virtual worlds.

It was way too early to write off the night, but I'd eaten so much it was hard to move.  Jokingly, I mentioned that the malls were open if we decided we wanted to walk.  Tony took that thought and ran with it.  Soon he had me convinced it was a good idea.  We decided which mall to go to, put on our coats, and got in the car.

I've proudly never frequented a store on Thanksgiving Day, so I was amazed by the number of cars in the mall parking lot.  I wound my way around up to the top level of the parking garage and parked close enough to the door that we could leave our coats in the car. When we got inside I saw that the majority of the stores were open and ready for business.  Mall walkers like Tony and me were definitely in the minority.  Most of the people were carrying bags, and  some looked like they'd already made a large dent in their Christmas shopping. 

It was hard to maneuver around some of the large groups of shoppers, but we managed to do two laps of the first floor and two of the second floor.  As we headed back to the car we agreed our walk was a nice way to end the evening. 

Five years ago today: Slow Cooker French Dip

Time To Scale Back

In our family Thanksgiving dinner is all about tradition.  It hasn't changed much in decades, and we like it that way.  There will be turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Green bean casserole with french fried onions on top, and yams with a marshmallow topping.  Jello salad with cranberry sauce, crushed pineapple, and nuts topped with a mixture of cream cheese, Dream Whip, and marshmallows. Rolls with real butter.  Pumpkin pie with whipped cream and some type of chocolate dessert.  And that's just for one meal!  Who knows what the rest of the weekend will bring.

This year Hubby Tony and I won't have any overnight company, so we have more control over what we do to take care of ourselves.  Tonight we'll have something healthy for dinner, then hit the gym to burn off some pre-Thanksgiving  calories. If time allows we'll fit in a nice brisk walk tomorrow.  I'm ready, but just in case I'm getting out my most comfortable pair of elastic waist pants.  It never hurts to be prepared.

Dreams Of Hope

I think you might have to live under a rock not to be aware of what's going on in Ferguson Missouri and the greater the St. Louis metropolitan area right now. Last night the grand jury in the Michael Brown case decided not to indict Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot him. Before he announced the verdict, the County Prosecutor detailed the work of the grand jury, and revealed how there were inconsistencies between some witness testimony and the physical evidence. He offered condolences to Michael Brown's family, saying that “No young man should ever die."

His words of consolation didn't help.  Almost immediately after the verdict was read peaceful protests began.  So did trouble.  We've had civil disturbance and rioting in several areas.  I spent a good part of the morning getting caught up on all the events, but when I found myself getting anxious and overwhelmed I decided to declare a temporary personal moratorium on any radio station, TV station, or website that was discussing the events. 

In the middle of all the chaos I decided to go through the posts in my reader.  When I got to Christine's Blog I realized her message of hope was just what I needed to see, and asked if I could share it.

Five years ago today: Giving Thanks

Lending A Hand

This afternoon I made an Aldi run to get produce for the week and pick up a few extra items I need for for Thanksgiving.  While I was there I also had the opportunity to do my good deed for the day.

If you're not an Aldi shopper, a little explanation is in order.  The store is busy on Sunday.  There's always has at least one cashier working, but they don't open additional registers until the lines get long. When I was ready to check out today two stations were open, but one had five baskets past the end of the belt,  The other had one.  I knew they'd eventually call an additional cashier up, but in the meantime I chose the shorter of the two lines.  When I got there I figured out why it was so short. Other shoppers were avoiding that line because the elderly man ahead of me had an overflowing basket, the fullest I've ever seen.

However, when I took a second look I realized the basket was filled with flats of canned vegetables (which the cashier would be able to ring up en masse) and bags of potatoes (which she could count and multiply by the quantity).  The man should get through the line pretty quickly.

While we were waiting for our turn we struck up a conversation.  The man explained he'd come in to get a couple of things for himself, but when he saw that the bagged potatoes were on sale he decided to get some for a local food bank.  Then, since he'd be going there anyway he decided to add the canned goods too.

When it came time for him to put his food on the belt I noticed he was having trouble lifting the vegetable flats from the cart.  I told him I was at a better angle and I'd help him.  He handed me the flats, and I put them on the belt.  (I'd like to say that my motives were completely pure.  However, I also figured that getting his things up quickly would mean it would be my turn faster.)

The cashier saw the man putting all the bags of potatoes on the belt, and told him to just leave them in his basket.  As I suspected, she made quick work of his large quantities of the same items.  After the man paid for his purchase, she turned to my things on the belt.  When she started to put my lettuce in the man's basket I realized she didn't know we weren't together.

Five years ago today: Hooray For Me!

Feeling Of Foreboding

I’ve been feeling a little apprehensive the past few days.

Every time I read the newspaper, turn on the radio, or watch TV, I'm confronted with the all turmoil related to the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri. Since August 9th when Michael Brown was fatally shot the area has been on edge. The original surge of violence and rioting died down after a few weeks, but there have been sporadic outbursts, mainly in Ferguson and Clayton (the county seat).

The grand jury has been hearing evidence in the case since late August. When they started, the county prosecutor opined they’d reach a decision by the end of November. An announcement was widely expected this weekend, but the group's still deliberating. The longer the deliberation goes on, the tenser things become.

Protesters have released a long list of possible places they’ll show up to demonstrate if the grand jury decides not to bring charges against the police officer, including government offices, businesses, cultural institutions, and malls. Stores in the Ferguson area are boarding up their stores in anticipation of more rioting. Earlier this week the Governor declared a state of emergency, which authorizes the National Guard to be deployed if necessary. One school district in the area announced they wouldn’t hold classes on Monday or Tuesday (it was already scheduled to close for Thanksgiving starting Wednesday.)

Everyone has an opinion, and all of the entities say they’re taking action ‘just in case’. I think they’re acting out of fear. Basing your actions on fear becomes self-fulfilling; if you think something bad is going to happen, it probably will. I don’t live close to Ferguson, so I don’t pretend to know what the people in that area are feeling. However, most of the people who are spouting (or posting right-wing or left-wing opinions to my Facebook page) don’t either. All they’re doing are fanning the fear, and the flames.

If you feel so inclined, would you please send some prayers or positive thoughts this way? We could use them.

Making A Plan

Hubby Tony and I are a long way from retirement, but some people we know have made the leap, and it's a popular discussion topic among our friends.

Right now we're both healthy, and expect to be around for a long time.  Based on a cool Life Expectancy Calculator Tony could easily live another 25 years, and I could have another 30.  That would give us a lot of years of freedom after we've stopped working.  I'm optimistic that we'll be able to tap into Social Security, but I've heard you should also have scarily large amounts of money put aside to supplement it.  We want to make sure we're covering all the bases, so today we had an exploratory appointment with a financial adviser to find out what advice her firm could offer us.

The adviser had given us a detailed questionnaire to fill out and bring with us.  Tony did most of the work, but he asked me for my opinion on some of the non-factual ones, like when I actually wanted to retire, and how much we wanted to budget for yearly travel.  Today the adviser went through the questionnaire with us and asked a lot of questions, filling up several sheets of a yellow legal pad with notes.  We also talked briefly about things like the pros and cons of long-term care insurance.

In a couple of weeks we'll get a written report from her and then figure out what direction to go in.

"Why Can't We Live Together"

Timmy Thomas first asked in 1972. Forty-two years later it's still a valid (and unanswered) question.

Just A Little Is Enough

Am I the only one who didn't know about Starbuck's secret menu?

A while back a friend told me about all sorts of drinks you can order that aren't shown on the official coffee shop menu.  For the most part they're crazy combinations of flavored syrups and toppings that I'm not interested in.  What perked my ears up, though, was the secret "short" drink size.  On the posted menu coffee comes in 'Tall' (12 ounce), 'Grande' (16 ounce) and 'Venti' (24 ounce) sizes .  If you ask, though, you can get a 'Short' cup (which is only 8 ounces).

Yesterday I was out running errands when I decided I needed a pick-me-up.  It was relatively late in the day, though, so I didn't want to load my body up with caffeine.  I decided to see if I could put my new found knowledge to the test and went into a nearby Starbucks.  When I got up to the top of the line I asked for a Short coffee.  The barista didn't blink; he just asked if I'd like room for cream.

And my smaller cup was just enough.