Jump For Joy

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They do call it the joy parade. This guy was going his own thing, swinging in front of the parade proper as it rounded a corner - note the drumline in the background. He saw me with the big camera, gave me a wave and did this great leap. His outfit refers to the Super Mario Brothers. He's dressed in the right clothes and colors, carries a mallet and (although you can't see it in in this photo) has the characteristic "M" logo on his visor. Freedom of expression.

By the way, my friend, the photographer and painter Dan Jaboor, got some amusing shots of me working the parade. Click here and scroll through the first five.

Downtown St. Louis 365 has another one of those strange vinyl fabric murals.

I Love A Parade

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Parades have a certain special quality, something shared with religious processions and military victory marches. People feel important to be in one. Observers are amazed by the color, pageantry and sound that shuts down the business of the street. The People's Joy Parade that takes place at the beginning of the Cinco de Mayo festival has that flair, but with a Hey, kids! Let's put on a show! attitude. It started off with the St. Louis Drumline, all percussion, all hot.

Lots of good shots at the parade and festival. We'll run with these for a bit.

A weird baby mural is discovered on Downtown St. Louis 365.

Cinco de Mayo

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There is a notable tendency in this country to adapt certain days as an excuse for drinking in the streets and a big outdoor party. St. Patrick's Day has been that way for decades. Halloween has turned in that direction.

More recently it's been Cinco de Mayo. If I understand correctly, the day is of passing note in Mexico. It marks the anniversary of a victory by Mexican revolutionary forces over the French colonial armies (did you know that Mexico was for a time a colony of France in the 19th Century?) The big national celebration is Independence Day in September but Cinco de Mayo is all over the US now, sponsored by beer and tequila companies. Our town's party takes place on the nearest Saturday on Cherokee Street, the center of our small Hispanic community. This señorita has the good sense to stick to ice cream.

The festival is preceded by the People's Joy Parade. Lots of folk in this town have figured out that if you want a good time, just start a parade. Got a ton of good pix so more to come.

Downtown St. Louis 365 has dancing waters.

An Old Coot

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I thought I knew every bit of Forest Park after hanging out there for 44 years, since my earliest days at St. Louis University. (It was a favorite beer swizzling spot for undergrads in those ancient times.) Well, wrong again.

I was wandering down a little-used path with my camera when I came across this enormous monument to Friedrich Ludwig Jahns. The plaque describes him as the father of systematic physical culture, which I think means working out in contemporary language. He had a lot to do with the promotion of the Turnverein (gymnastics) movement, which was popular among the German communities in the US a century or more ago. You still see Turner halls here and there.

Some modern scholars associate his nationalistic philosophy with the roots of Naziism. And here he is, glowering across the decades, in a green and quiet corner of our great park.

Lots going on this weekend. Last night we went to the opening of the big annual art fair in Laumeier Sculpture Park. Just downloading pix as I write this. Today I'm the official volunteer photographer for the wacky and wonderful People's Joy Parade,the lead-up to the Cinco de Mayo Festival on Cherokee Street in our small Hispanic community. Photo ops galore. Dinner with friends tonight. The final concert of the St. Louis Symphony season tomorrow afternoon, followed by Mothers Day dinner at Mrs. C's favorite Lebanese restaurant. Whew! All of which will get in the way of cruising the portal and leaving notes. I know, excuses, excuses.

Downtown St. Louis 365 visits the edge today.

Get Your Kicks

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...on Route 66. It goes through St. Louie, Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City looks oh so pretty (not). I don't think U.S. Route 66 officially exists any more, at least nowhere around here. It was the stuff of American lore, the main highway between Chicago and Los Angeles before the Interstate Highway system was built. I wonder if young people have even heard of it. This picture was taken near the end of the exit ramp from I 44 (which replaced Route 66 from here to Oklahoma) at 18th and Lafayette.

Downtown St. Louis 365 gets wet feet today.

Thursday Arch Series

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The Mississippi is dropping now. It will be below official flood stage at St. Louis by Saturday. Downstream, though, around the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, the flood is breaking all records.

This is what it looked like along the Arch grounds last Sunday. The row of little dots in the bottom-center shows the top of concrete bollards that mark the border between the sidewalk and cobblestone levee. The water is usually way to the left of that.

Sorry for the lack of comments yesterday. I had a bunch of printing to do when I got home from work, stuff for a group show I'm in that opens in a week, a couple of things for a charity auction and a copy of the header from Downtown St. Louis 365 for The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis. Busy, busy, busy.

Downtown St. Louis 365 observes that the flood is fascinating to everyone.

On Guard For Thee

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No, obviously not Canada and there's no maple leaf on that flag. Once again we visit with Brad, whom we first met in the post of December 9, 2010. He's there, standing just like this, dressed just like that, every Sunday from 10 to 4, rain, snow or sun, until the Lord tells him otherwise. He's usually down around that tent, something of a stage area when it's not inundated, facing the Arch. During the flood he stands on the stairs below the monument facing the river, as if guarding it from the forces of evil. See Psalms 12:7-8.

On a similar theme, Downtown St. Louis 365 adresses the sacred and the profane.