Lenten KUBE Preparation: St. Cecelia's

Sooooooo....we find ourselves in another Lent but it is not our typical St. Louis Lenten season. The weather has been mild and temeratures being more moderate have moderated our spirits as we enter the season. Lutherans, Catholics, Christians everywhere with our Jewish and even our Muslim brothers share this special season where we prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of...The NCAA Tournament!

Wait, that is probably not right. Lent is when we humbly prepare our self for the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is said that “Lutherans Love Lent” by Lutherans and the intimation is that we love to be miserable. We like to file bad. Whether because of our German roots or just a general morose spirit we like to out Catholic the Catholics and grab Lent as out own from Ash Wednesday to Easter. We go to Church every Wednesday and put away our alleluias as we travel through the season. But lets face it, what is Lent without the Catholic parish fish fry? Pretty damn sad is the answer.

So we opened the season with our favorite fish fry and St. Cecelias. St. Cecelias is in a south city neighborhood that is doing anything but gentrifying. It is finding equilibrium with a brand new mix of lower income white, Latinos and blacks and it is finding it’s way. St. Cecilias has done the right and very difficult job of not just surviving but providing the engine of stability for this survival and their ministry in their school and their church is a testimony to the good that can come from organized religion and the catholic church. We all should be paying attention to what they are doing in their parish.

But we come not to speak of serious matter but to celebrate their Lenten tradition. I would guess that the parish picks up a significant portion of it’s annual budget through these fish fries. They are fund raisers and at any one time I would guess they have at least 50 people, students, old people, teachers, Priests and administrators working the event. The first time we went we had to stand out in the rain for a ½ hour before we ever even got into the place. This year we showed up around 6 and were able to walk right into the auditorium where the line snakes around the gym. There are immediately tables that allow you to invest in their ministry. T-Shirts and tchotchkes are available and then at the next table you can buy a beer while you stand in line for $2.00. Tecata, Corona and Corona Lite or pitchers of Bud Light. Then a table where you can by chips and pico de gallo for another couple of bucks to munch on while you wind your way to the back of the gym. You go behind a 1 foot raised stage about 10x10 where they have entertainment in the form of dancers from the school, mariachi bands and sometimes just little kids dancing as they music from south of the border.

It is festive and you reach the far corner of the gym there is another stand where you can buy another beer, at this station there was Tecate, Bud and Busch (so you know it is a nice event). You then go down the far side and eventually end up at the front where a Priest with a large hand held STOP sign directs traffic to the ordering lines and people with trays full of food deliver it to the folks anxiously waiting at the tables. The menu is pretty straight forward. Cod in Mrs Pauls shaped squares, Jack Salmon (on the bone), Fried Shrimp, Chilli Rellenos. That is it I think. Then you get to pick your sides from french fries, macaroni, rice and I don’t remember what else. There is a cart rolling around where you can buy tamales but because of lent they do not have meat. Good masa but unsatisfying.

So you order and they give you a number and you sit. You squeeze in among the people at the tables. The crowd is incredibly diverse. All ages and nationalities and everyone is having a good time talking, drinking and taking in the scene and it is a scene. It is noisy. It is bustling. it is cramped and everyone is bumping into you. There are hipsters there. There are moms and dads. There are folks like us who don’t belong but you don’t feel like you don’t belong because every Friday they build up their own community and it is really a beautiful thing. It really is. You wait a long time for the food because they have a small kitchen and a small deep frier and they are over worked. The chilli rellenos is consistently good and although it always just strikes me as a meatless stuffed pepper it is well done and works well in this type of food service. The cod wqas actually excellent and we lucked out getting some right out of the deep fryer. The shrimp was passable but what do you expect from fried shrimp and the jack salmon (which can be good at local bars) is best avoided. The beer is cold. ll meals are served with a side of home made verde and the green sauce is spicy and satisfying on everything they serve.

But the food really is secondary. Come on down. Plan on spending at least an hour and a half and make an evening of it. Support a great parish and have some fun during this blessed time of preparation... for the NCAA’s. Go Billikens!

BORDER FENCE NOW!

Sooooo.... I know I am generally perceived as a loony, lefty, liberal (that is what we call alliteration) and while these things might be true it is time for me to take a good, hard stand in favor of finally building a fence or wall on our southern border. I am in favor of something 20 feet tall, with razor wire on top and trenches or moats filled with snakes and/or alligators, and/or sharks in relatively deep water. It should have guards with live ammunition and instructions to shoot to kill. Helicopters should also patrol the area with snipers and we should have the most sensitive electronic surveillance cameras. Land mines should also be included. BIG ONES! If there is a possibility of reintroducing quicksand it should at least be researched. Consider making it a no mans land.

Why should we do this? Why am I so much in favor of such a large, violent edifice on what has always been a peaceful border? There are a lot of reasons and most of them are pretty well documented.
1. They are taking our jobs. It is clear that they work for lower wages and whether it is due to their lack of education inbreeding or lack of opportunity they are dragging their dirty worthless behinds north of the border and stealing jobs from our tax paying, God fearing, legal citizens.
2. They will not learn our language. They come up here with their strange language and strange customs and they corrupting our culture!
3. They are using our health care system and running up huge bills here. While I understand that their health care is inferior to ours that does not give them the right to a free ride.
4. They are sending their children to our schools. Using up our superior education system.
5. Two words....”ANCHOR BABIES”! Some of these stupid, sad foreign people from the south are moving up here and having babies who automatically become members of our State and make it harder for us to send them back.
6. One word...DRUGS! Our State never, ever had a crystal meth problem until the immigrants came north.
7. Inbreeding. We do not want these people intermarrying with our sons and daughters.

So it is time for harsh action. I know it will be expensive and unpopular with the soft hearted but this wall/moat/mine zone needs to run from Southwest City all the way to Cooter! Also it might be time to straighten the border out and get rid of the boot heel and run it straight across which will also give us most of Bull Shoals Lake. I know it seems like over reaction but Arkansans are not like us. They speak a different language. They have little or no education. They are dirty. They are sickly. They manufacture bad drugs. They bass fish more effectively than us and they have GOT TO BE STOPPED! I am sick of the arguments. I know it seems inhuman to keep them in such a dirty, stupid inhumane place but they will eventually take over our State and our language. Arkansas is 41st in the country while we are 31st here in Missouri. That was a real eye opener for me WTF Nebraska?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/11/state-education-rankings-_n_894528.html

I am concerned generally that our State Government is doing nothing. Despite our current Secretary of States BRILLIANT effort to pass an immigration law in 2007,
http://www.senate.mo.gov/07info/BTS_web/Bill.aspx?sessionType=r&BillID=6818
and our legislators continual efforts to address our States terrible immigration problem,

http://peoplesworld.org/missouri-republicans-press-slew-of-anti-immigrant-bills/

these efforts have been somewhat misguided in that they have been directed against Mexican American immigrants. I have read on 5 different pro legislation websites that BASED ON A 2005 CENSUS THERE ARE ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 35,000 AND 65,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN OUR STATE! That is how huge the problem is! It is either 65,000. Now we have 6 million people in Missouri so this population is estimated at being between ½ % or as high as 1% of our total residents! But tthat is not what we are talking about, we are talking about those damn people from Arkansas! There are almost three million of these people hovering south of us and will migrate up here if we do not take action now!

If this works out we might be able to put one to the north as well. The Iowans have always seemed creepy to me.

Write you legislator. Take action now! Defend our borders from people who wear plastic hog heads. If we do not stop them now who knows what might happen.... we might end up in the Southeast Conference! Oh the humanity!

February Depression Posting!...and some Stones...and Rick Santorum...what a hoot.

PERFORMANCE ART TRASH CAN!

Soooooo..... Look, I have to apologize in advance because I had have mislead you. I am not depressed this February.... and it is KILLING me. This is the time every year that I write about February, depression and my favorite February obsession....Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Instead, here we are half way through the dreaded, dreadful month and...well... I don’t know how to say this but I feel OK. Perhaps it is being self employed. Perhaps it is having my children all gone. I don’t know. My job is busy. I have been working 7 days a week. my wife is working 7 days a week. My Church still does not have a pastor but... everything is kind of OK. In fact it might be good.

My guess is that it is the mild winter we have had. I hate to be cold. I really hate a cold biting wind. But it has not been like that. It has been one of the warmest winters I remember and it has been awesome. In January and early February when there are days you do not need a coat...well, that rocks. Maybe it will be like this year after year and I will never have to be sad again in this darkest of all months. I got up Friday morning and heard the song birds singing and just thought....OOOOOOHHHHHHH NOOOOOO! If things run at all true to form the end of the month or the month of March will have tons of snow and hard freezes and these poor little song birds will be crushed...like February tends to crush the very light of the soul.

***

But lets move on to other things. Had breakfast again Saturday at 11 Mile House. For first half hour I was the only one there other that the guy sweeping the floors and the chatty waitress. The bacon was chewy but other than that it was a perfectly serviceable breakfast. I will give them a few more tries on Saturday morning. one morning I will have a bottle of Busch and play the jukebox at 7:00 A.M. That will be a good day my friends.

***
They, (whoever it is that does sucj things) re-released a special deluxe super duper edition of the Rolling Stones perfect album “Some Girls”. The album had a great mix of ten really good songs and at least 3-4 classics like “Beast of Burden”, “Shattered” and “Miss You”. I rediscovered from that original album the song “Before They Make Me Run” which has been on non stop play in my car.

After all is said and done
Gotta move while it's still fun
Let me walk before they make me run
After all is said and done
I gotta move, it's still fun
I'm gonna walk before they make me run!

With Keith Richard’s rasping the lyrics while he was facing criminal charges in Toronto and recording in Paris... it is just a great angst song. The bonus tracks on the reissue are voluminous and include great songs like “So Young”, “Tallahassee Lassie” and Hank’s “You Win Again”. It is worth buying on iTunes or in the store. Relive it, and if “Beast of Burden” is not the best break up song ever...kiss my ass.

***

Rick Factotum:

Really? Really Republicans? In a year when our economy is the issue. When Big government is THE Problem... you are going to run a converted big government, earmarking Senator who got fired from his own State after one term? I agree the guy is like able though I have in protest stopped wearing sweater vests which he has at least temporarily ruined for me. If you run him, instead of the election being about Big Government which is the election you want, it is going to be about Gay Marriage and Contraception (not even abortion but contraception).

Quote: "One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country.... Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that's okay, contraception is okay. It's not okay. It's a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be."

As a Christian I might agree with some of this. As a sometime libertarian this stuff really frightens me. As a human being I am mortified.

Quote: "In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might find they don't both need to. ... What happened in America so that mothers and fathers who leave their children in the care of someone else — or worse yet, home alone after school between three and six in the afternoon — find themselves more affirmed by society? Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism."

Really? It has nothing to do with the fact that a high school educated man can no longer go out and find a job that supports a family? It is all the radical feminists fault? let me be clear, I hate radical feminists, but reading stuff like this makes me think i would rather have a beer and argue with them than sit with this self satisfied goof with all the answers.

And finally this, though there are more:
Quote: "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does. ... That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be. It is one thing."

I like a conservative Christian man who is really going to spend a lot of time being out there in front of the battle against “gay sex”. WTF? As near as I can tell there is no one under 40 who holds these views. I know that is a generalization but I mean we need to deal with the world as it is and it has moved on. even if Rick has not.

The Missouri Primary! Really?

Soooooo.... the Missouri Legislature appears to go out of it’s way to look stupid and more importantly to open up our State for continued ridicule and derision. What other State in an election year, when State budgets are way past tight and needing to be cut, holds a primary election to do....(wait for it).... NOTHING?

Here is what KC Star said: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/03/3409159/steve-kraske-missouri-primary.html

Apparently the STL Post Dispatch does not have the resources to report on something like this. There is also a fun little web site called http://wasted8milliondollars.com/ that has a little to say. I guess that it happened like this. Missouri’s genius, term limited, angry Republican controlled legislature determined that they wanted a bigger voice like South Carolina and Florida to pick a President and so moved our primary date up. YAY! They did this despite Republican and Democratic national Committee rules which say a State that holds primaries prior to March 1 loses half it’s delegates. A few are approved to do so, New Hampshire, Iowa etc... I don’t know if South Carolina is and I know Florida is not. Florida did this 4 years ago by the way and the parties of course restored their delegates at the conventions. Tough love. Evidently the Missouri legislators got spooked and decided not to have any gumption and challenge the stranglehold a few backward, non representative States have on the process and decided to have the Republicans pick their delegates by caucus on March 17 by which time the Republican nomination should be locked up by someone not named Newt.

The Republican legislature did try to fix this by sending a bill to Jay Nixon to move the primary date but the bill of course also had other elements to it like limiting Nixon’s ability to pick a successor if the Attorney General resigns. They also had a chance to over ride the veto but some legislators elected not to show up to vote that day. Brilliant! Geniuses! I assume that every time the legislature gets together that they convene a MENSA meeting. Where do we find these people? WHy can’t we do the simplest things correctly? In a time of austerity how many millions will be wasted on a meaningless primary, and how many back door deals will be cut in the upcoming caucuses? These guys cannot shoot straight.

So what to do? I believe that it is an obligation and privilege to vote even when the system is bungled so badly as to make the system meaningless. How do I cast a protest vote? Should I write in Howard the Duck? The Silver Surfer? Either would be excellent choices but I am too lazy to go to the hassle of writing someone in because I like the computer voting. So perhaps I pull the trigger and vote for another mythical character, Herman Cain! I am ready for his comeback. As the tea party slowly starts to hold their nose and accept the chameleon Romney as their best way to get the socialist, communist, social activist black man out of office I am more than ready for a Cain Comeback! But here is a place where you can review the Sample Ballot so you can be prepared to cast your meaningless vote:
http://stlelections.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=218-feb-2012-sample-ballot-democrat&catid=38-subpages
WHOA! Keith Drummond is on the Ballot! I believe I have changed my mind. Keith’s website (which tells you nothing) can be found at http://www.drummond2012.com/ . He is from Houston, seems angry and looks to be the right guy for the job. Where do I get my lawn sign?

Ooops...got this out a little late and at the last moment...Ron Paul got the vote! Who knew?

Diner Review: The 11 Mile House

Sooooo...The Eleven Mile House! I used to live in Warson Woods, right down the street from theplace. I enjoyed going there for years mainly to see old people drink Manhattans. I ate theKirkwood Burger and the Kirkwood Klucker. They are a burger or a piece of chicken with baconand rarebit sauce. It was easily chewed and tasty. I was there a week or so ago with aluncheon companion when I noticed that they were open for... wait for it....BREAKFAST!

From The Website:

OUR HISTORYTHE ELEVEN MILE HOUSE WAS ORIGINALLY ONE OF MANY "MILE" HOUSES AS ONE TRAVELEDWEST FROM DOWNTOWN ST. LOUIS. FOR MANY YEARS IT WAS A FREE STANDING BUILDING ATTHE CORNER OF MANCHESTER ROAD AND WOODLAWN; IN 1946, THE "ELEVEN MILE HOUSE"OPENED AS A RESAURANT IN THE BUILDING, COMPLETE WITH A POPULAR BEER GARDEN.THE ORIGINAL BUILDING WAS RAISED WHEN GREENTREE CENTER WAS DEVELOPED AND NOWOCCUPIES PART OF THE SHOPPING CENTER'S STOREFRONT. THE DECOR OF THE CURRENTRESTAURANT IS REMINISCENT OF THE CORNER BAR & GRILLS OF YESTERYEAR.MANY GENERATIONS HAVE SINCE PASSED THROUGH THE ELEVEN MILE HOUSE, WHILE OTHERSCONTINUE TO FREQUENT THE ESTABLISHMENT, AND CONSIDER IT TO BE A SECOND HOME. ASTIME CONTINUES TO CHANGE, SO DO WE. OUR GOAL IS TO SEE ANOTHER 62YEARS AND MOREFAMILY GENERATIONS. WE, THE FAMILY OF THE ELEVEN MILE HOUSE, WANT TO THANK YOUFOR YOUR CONTINUED LOVE AND SUPPORT.

So I am pretty excited about the place. It is dark. It opens at 7 which although no good for aweek day but it is a perfect time for Saturday breakfast. Fortunately they are only open forSaturday Sunday breakfast. Did I mention it was dark? Dark is good in the morning and I havebeen looking for a place to perhaps start a regular Saturday breakfast with my retardedacquaintances. Just a 7-8 thing. I think it might be perfect. Tables, booths and did I mention it isdark? They also have drinks! In the MORNING! Anyway, I went. it was not life changing. For the first half hour I was the only one there. The waitress was chatting up the guy who was mopping the floor, doing the dishes and carrying thebread in. She might have been a little too chatty but the iced tea was good, made fresh thatmorning and not dragged out of the walk in from last night. The TV was on but the volume wasoff and it looked like “Head of the Class” or some other excellent show was on.

Taking a seat farenough away from the door but facing the door to watch all the action unfold. It was no unlike thedive bars that serve breakfast in south city and south county. The fact that they serve booze atbreakfast hours is a prominent factor on the menu with them encoujraging you to that morningBloody Mary or Mimosa.I opted for an alcohol free breakfast this morning (patting myself on the back). As a service tomy readers, here is the breakfast menu which is at best basic. Basic is good.

BREAKFASTThe Eleven Mile House Two eggs, two bacon strips, sausage patties, two buttermilk pancakes and toast7.95
Steak & Eggs Six ounce charbroiled strip steak, two farm fresh eggs, golden hash browned potatoes andtoast. 10.95
Bases Loaded Ham, sausage, bacon, two country fresh eggs, golden hash browned potatoes and toast.7.75
Pancake Breakfast Your choice of three regular or blueberry pancakes, served with bacon or sauasagepatties. 7.75
Country Ham & Eggs Served with golden hash browned potatoes and toast. 8.25
Eleven Mile High Breakfast Two farm fresh eggs, golden hash browned potatoes and authentic southernstyle biscuits andgravy. 6.95
Three Egg Omelet your choice of any three: bacon, ham, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green pepper,tomatoes, swiss, jack,american or pepper cheese, with golden hash browned potatoes and toast. 8.95
Egg Sandwich Fried egg, cheese, and bacon or sausage on Your choice of white or whole wheat bread.4.95
Bagel Egg Sandwich Scrambled egg, cheese and bacon or sausage on a bagel. 5.85Two Egg Breakfast Your choice of eggs any style served with golden hash browned potatoes, and yourchoice of a biscuitor toast and jelly. 5.65
One Egg Breakfast Your choice of eggs any style served with golden hash browned potatoes and yourchoice of a biscuit ortoast and jelly. 4.95
HOT OFF THE GRIDDLEServed with your choice of bacon, sausage or hamRegular and Light Syrups AvailableBlueberry Pancakes. 6.15
Hot Griddle Cakes. 5.65
Short Stack. 4.95
French Toast. 6.25
ALA CARTEBacon or Sausage. 3.75
Hash Browns. 2.75
Country Ham. 4.25
Biscuits & Gravy. 4.35
Hot Oatmeal. 3.95
Bagel with Cream Cheese 2.65
English Muffin 2.05
Toast white or wheat with butter & jelly. 2.05
BEVERAGESFresh coffee. 1.95
Hot Tea. 1.95
Milk 2% or skim sm 1.65 lg 1.95
Hot Chocolate. 1.95
Fresh Chilled Juice
white or wheat with butter & jelly. 2.05
BEVERAGESFresh coffee. 1.95Hot Tea. 1.95Milk 2% or skim sm 1.65 lg 1.95Hot Chocolate. 1.95Fresh Chilled JuiceOrange, grapefruit, apple, tomato,and cranberry small 2.50 large 3.50Iced Tea. 1.95Green Tea. 1.95
ADULT BEVERAGESBloody Marysmall 2.50 large 3.50Iced Tea. 1.95Green Tea. 1.95
ADULT BEVERAGESBloody MaryTomato juice, vodka, and celeryBloody BullTomato juice, beef broth, vodka, and celeryMimosaChampagne and orange juiceBaileys and Coffee.ScrewdriverOrange juice and vodka.

Biscuits and gravy were fresh and hot with a nice textured biscuit and a very acceptable whitesausage gravy. The sausage patties were of the thinner variety but tasty and not requiring anyconcern about done-ness (no one likes pink pork). The hash browns were shredded as Godhimself intended and were perfect.I have been looking lately for a place to gather the faithful on Saturday mornings. Many friendsstill have small children (never a welcome addition to breakfast revelry) but there is certainly agroup of people who I could gather with on Saturday, read my paper and verbally abuse thatwould make Saturday morning more palatable before work. Consider yourself invited. I willtrying it out for each upcoming Saturday in February.I have high hopes for the 11 Mile House.Not too far out of the way. Dark. They also have a jukebox and I will look forward to crank thatup some Saturday morning, nursing a hangover and order a bottle of Busch and see what theday has to offer. What could go wrong?