HEY MISTER, TAKE OUR PICTURE!

It happens to all of us who walk around with a big camera. It gets people's attention and starts a conversation, leading to a request for a photo. I met this group when I took Ellie back to the ice rink at Winterfest yesterday. Three of them were wearing variations of the jersey of the local hockey team, the St. Louis Blues (hence the "blue note" logo).

However, the man in the back was wearing a jacket with the emblems of the English Premier League football team, Arsenal. The woman in yellow is from Manchester, England. She told me she is a strong supporter of the Manchester City team and that Manchester United "stinks."             

THAT KID AGAIN, WITH ATTITUDE

I've not previously run photos of my granddaughter, Ellie, two days in a row, but this one speaks to me. The hard sidelong look. Fingers of the right hand loosely on the rail, left hand in a fist. The long, unkempt hair, the dirty jacket that causes her no concern, the rosebud lips and the little girl's Lambie thrust defiantly into her throat.

She is nine but this gives me a vision of how she might appear at twice this age. Her mother and I started college at 17, as will she if that's what she chooses. How will her image compare? I hope this photograph is preserved.                

MADELEINE MONDAY

I have more pix from Garden Glow that are worth posting but I thought we needed a change. The Lou has had a dinky Winterfest in a plaza downtown for some years. There is a small ice rink set up through New Year's Day, a one-day Christmas market, a run somewhere in there, and three heated and insulated "igloos" for the you've-got-to-be kidding price of $250 for 90 minutes / 7 people, drinks and snacks extra. (Empty the whole time we were there.)

Still, the little rink was perfect for a nine year old with growing ice skills. Mrs. C and I were delighted by the look of joy on her face when she realized that she could get around on single-bladed skates and without the little training sled for the first time. Such confidence! Neither of us can skate and she did it all on her own.

One of our dear friends in Alabama might notice what is poking out of her coat.           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ON THE ICE

One of the most interesting features of Philip Glass' birthday party at the Rockefeller Center ice rink was the presence of professional ice dancers. Their jackets said Ice Theatre of New York. The changing lights made for dramatic effects.                 

Madeleine Monday

As mentioned, we took the tyke to the seasonal skating rink in Kiener Plaza on Saturday. There was one under the Arch last year that had a synthetic surface - don't know if this was the same. Ellie didn't care.

I don't know if she will have the chance to really learn to skate. Her mother could do it years ago but seems to have lost the touch. Neither Mrs. C or I can't do it at all. So Ellie still uses the double-blade shoes and started off with this sled thing. She ditched the sled after a while and just hung on the rail. She claimed later that she was zooming around. We did not disillusion her.           

First Time On Ice

We took Ellie to the holiday rink in Kiener Plaza yesterday afternoon. First time on ice skates. The little kids can have a double-bladed model and this sled-cum-walker to hang on to. After entering the rink under the watchful eye of the SLPD, she found that she just loved it.

Her mother, Emily, hadn't been on skates in at least twenty years and found it very difficult. Mrs. C and I wouldn't even consider going out there. (I never learned and I'm too old to start.) But this kid, who is nearly fearless, has a lot of promise.     

Back To What Passes For Normal

Time to get back home. Too much to do, no ideas, the usual. So go walk around with a camera.

Someone funded an outdoor ice rink in Kiener Plaza downtown, open from Thanksgiving to New Year's. As you can see from some people's dress it's not terribly cold. We have had only a couple of nights below freezing and as high as 74 F / 23 C in the last week. It ain't right.  

Thursday Arch Series

There was a lot of ice-related stuff going on over New Year's weekend. Once a season, the National Hockey League (which, for some reason, involves two nations, the U.S. and Canada) holds a game outdoors in a baseball or football stadium. It was here this week with our St. Louis Blues (good name for a team) against the rival Chicago Blackhawks. We won, 4 - 1, while 46,000 people in Busch Stadium tried to follow a tiny black dot in the fog.

Other things were going on, too. A temporary ice rink was set up in the square where downtown meets the Arch grounds. I sympathize with the man in the second photo. I've tried three or four times but I cannot ice skate (or ski, play golf or tennis, you name it). My only neuromuscular talent is in my right index finger.          

Love On Ice

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Look at the expression on the young man in the top photo, looking at the camera looking at him. Do you think he enjoys teaching?

The bottom couple look like models. Lessons have been learned here but more are still to come. Hard to see in this version but she has quite a rock on her left hand.   

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

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There is an annual skating with Santa event at venerable Steinberg Rink in Forest Park.  We'll get jolly St. Nick himself in here shortly, along with his eerie connection to me. For today, we will look at small girls learning to skate and having a good time at it.

Significant news in our family last night. We learned that our first grandchild is expected in late summer. I'll be 63, so about time. Grace, that proposed trip to Australia in August is right out.
 

Koyaanisqatsi

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Koyaanisqatsi is a Hopi Indian word than means life out of balance. It is also the name of my favorite movie of all time, Philip Glass and Godfrey Reggio's meditation about the state of our society and planet. However, the concept doesn't end there. I am familiar with life out of balance.

I haven't the slightest drop of athletic ability, leaning rather to the ungainly and clumsy. For example, I cannot ice skate. There were a few childhood attempts, all unsuccessful. (As an adult I made many attempts to learn to ski, which usually resulted in painful quads and a face full of snow.) Fortunately, I am not alone. This man is one of the couple at the far end of the rink in yesterday's post. He was on my level and I found that comforting.

Speaking of Glass, Mrs. C and I are attending a Metropolitan Opera video broadcast tonight of his Satyagraha at a local theater. It's my favorite 20th Century opera, very much a minority opinion but firmly held. Hey, who wouldn't want to see an opera sung in Sanskrit?

The Deserted Rink

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We have a big ice skating rink in Forest Park and more in the suburbs. A few corporations decided to put up one downtown for just December and January. It's sponsored by Monsanto, the seed and farm chemical giant, and the newly-renovated Peabody Opera House across the street. Peabody is one of the world's largest coal companies and is headquartered here.

Well, that's a nice gesture. However, they seem to have forgotten to publicize it. I heard a brief reference to it on the radio. The only information I could find online were small news items on the web sites of two local TV stations. There was only one couple there when I had a look last weekend.

An oddity of the place is that one end is dominated by a huge statue of Friedrich Schiller. He'll watch your shoes while you skate for a small tip, as long as you hum the Ode To Joy while you make the circuit. Seid umschlungen, Millionen! Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!