73 Degrees in STL today!!!

We took a little walk down Broadway this afternoon. It was a beautiful 73 degree day in the city. Plenty of folks were out on their porches while kids played football in front yards as traffic whizzed by along the main throughway. After a number of blocks we happened upon Bellerive Park, a little spot with a picnic area and playground that overlooks the Mississippi. At the far end of the lot were some old crusty brick steps. We followed them down, back onto Broadway, and encountered Sister Marie Charles Park. 

This was another little public park along the Mighty Mississippi where you can get a good view of the river, the barges, the arch and downtown STL...from a distance.
We walked along the concrete path that was sandwiched between the river and the railroad tracks. I snapped this photo moments before the train went by and I exchanged waves with the 3 railway workers standing out front on the engine. 

After returning home and getting rid of that maxi pad from the driveway (mentioned in an earlier post today), I decided to google Sister Marie Charles Park. I'm a curious person and like to research "things" that I come across. 

The park, named for Sister Marie Charles, in the historic part of the Carondelet neighborhood, is one of the few places you can get a good view of the river that made St. Louis possible. There are also a number of Civil War era buildings in this area.

Apparently it is also listed as The Best City Park for Public Sex according to the Riverfront Times. The follwing is an excerpt from them regarding the park: "The park looks to be awfully popular, but all those men there didn't show up to watch the barges float by and ponder the meaning of life. The area between the railroad tracks and the river is where the serious business goes on, but sometimes bobbing heads can be seen in the front seats of the cars and trucks in the parking lot."

Shady Jack's Saloon - STL

Noticed this spot while rolling back from the airport to the city today off I-70. Rad biker bar with a suspended old chop roller hanging from the rafters in the breezeway. Decided to pop in tonight for their $15 dollar Thursday special: a pizza and a bucket o' beer. Motorcycle memorabilia and other oddball stuff adorn the place while a waitstaff consisting of scantily clad sweeties fetch your libations. Cool place. Lookin forward to checkin' it out this spring.

https://www.shadyjackssaloon.com/

The Gent Strikes

Tuff Enuff

Need a 2013 calendar???

Click to Get one here!

I make 12 month wall calendars for www.hondachopper.com 

They are professionally printed on high gloss stock and feature 

CB750 Honda chops and customs from all over the U.S.A
Order today!!!

I'm not the Unabomber.

I was told by peers to keep quiet that I've read "Industrial Society And Its Future", but just because I'm curious, doesn't mean that I subscribe to that way of thinking. I've also read Helter Skelter but that doesn't mean I'm going after "piggies"...man, what an overly paranoid culture we exist in.

In Mississippi this past June a rather older, African American dude came up to me as I was gassing up. He looked a little rough, no rougher than I, and he engaged me in conversation. He liked my bike, wondered where I 'd been and where I was going. We had our little 10 minute conversation and that was that. He wished me well, and I did him the same.

Now I know people that would have been highly uncomfortable in that situation. Why? I'm not saying why, I can't answer for them...but mainly because it was outside of their comfort level. As one friend of mine and I discussed, "folks is folks" and as me and another friend agreed, "It's the same everywhere".

We all have the same struggle on this earth. Every one of us. We may come from different backgrounds, and different families, and different social classes, but when it's all dissected down to the nitty gritty of it all, no one knows whats what, and everyone is trying to do the best they can. That is the majority.

Our government, our media, our "culture" tries to make us think otherwise. If I'm walking down the street and cross paths with someone, I'm gonna say "hey, how's it goin"...I'm not look down at my feet and pretend they are not there, or act nervous because I think they are different than me (hell they may be the nervous ones).

If they pull out a gun and shoot me because I said "hello" then I guess that is how God meant for me to go. I know there is a lot of evil in this world, it's around us everyday. But I don't believe that its the guy asking for change on the sidewalk or the drunk in the bar....it goes a lot higher than that, and it may be the people we "trust" the most.

Art From Recycled Skateboards

Haroshi has made an impression on the art world in recent years for his recycled skateboard sculptures. The Japanese artist is set to open a new solo show, Virtual Reality, at Jonathan LeVine Gallery in NYC on Saturday, January 12. 

See in person:

Haroshi
Virtual Reality
January 12—February 9, 2013
Jonathan LeVine Gallery
NYC

(from Juxtapoz)

"Using my pdr tools for evil."

Brain's is nuts.

Grant's Trail

Went riding the bicycle trails thru St. Louis today and stopped along the path to snap this pic. I sure stuck out being a long haired, bearded man riding a ladies mountain bike with a work jacket and jeans on. Eveyone else was wearing their "gear"....ya know, spandex and helmets and such...in addition to riding gender correct bikes!

Talking Thinking Blues...

So what are your thoughts on programs that channels like "The Learning Channel" and "The Discovery Channel" broadcast that perpetuate the possibility of Mermaids or an actual Zombie apocalypse? I'm curious (and a bit scared) how dumb, complacent and without any sense of real culture our America will be a decade from now. Everyone blames "politics" for our circling of the drain (and rightfully so), but take note of what we are consuming as well. Television that doesn't really educate and/or entertain, but makes us a desensitized, mean-spirited, shallow and selfish society. Some of our parents and grandparents were concerned when Elvis shook his hips on the Ed Sullivan show, I wonder what they're thinking now?

Many kids in our country have some sort of electronic device in their hands at a very early age. Whether it be a game controller, cell phone, or an i-something-or-other....this will have an effect on our future society. Technology can be a good thing, but I'm concerned that in our given state it very well could lend to our demise. I realize I'm the crotchety fugger watching it all happen and making my inane comments...and maybe my perception is wrong...we can hope.

Travelling through twenty six states this summer I know first hand that there is still a sense of community in our country. I also know there is a ingrained trait of doing right by your fellow man. However I've also seen the other side, the side I mention above, and it is real. I can only hope that there are enough of us that instill values in our children, and each other, that will counteract what the popular "culture" force feeds us everyday of our lives.

GTP's Book is finally done!

George's book, "A Bathroom Reader" is fresh off the press and ready to sit atop the hamper next to your toilet bowl. If you read the Horse Backstreet Choppers mag, you know who he is, if not, buy his book and find out! Get your own copy now!

BUY HERE!