Fear and #Ferguson

Soooo it is the day after Black Friday, coming close to closing out a week joyously that we might all well just want to forget as we continue our hope that things “just get back to normal”.  We seem to hope that everyone just returns to their place, away from our place and stops complaining and protesting.  Al Sharpton can fly out to Philly where some poor rookie cop made a gruesome mistake and take the tourist protesters with him and we can get back to good old fashion St. Louis segregation (economic and racial) and be safe by empowering an underpaid group of primarily white males (whose lives are at risk every day) to profile and “broken windows” police the rest of us to peace and safety and bliss.

http://www.thenation.com/article/177842/its-time-end-broken-windows-policing

We are so afraid of the questions that have been raised…. again.  Forget about Michael Brown (with my apologies to the Brown family for their loss) and forget Officer Wilson (who whether he knows it or not will be haunted for the rest of his life).  Michael Brown is inevitable in our society.  Over and over again Michael Brown will continue to be gunned down.  Not every day.  Not every week, but certainly every month, year after year and the fact is that we as a society have decided we don't give a shit.  Let our underpaid police worry about it and take of it.  If they make a mistake we can crucify the poor cop and feel better about ourselves  and if they don’t make a mistake then killing people to keep us safe is just their job.

It is 2014 and the “wrong side of the tracks”, or highway still prevails in St. Louis and every adult who pays attention knows where the borderlines are.  We stay on our side of the tracks and the poor and the non assimilated stay on their side. If they kill each other or occasionally one of our policeman kills one of them… it is what Richard Nixon would have called “acceptable losses”.  We pay our police better on our side.  Our kids occasionally take their parents high powered automatic weapons and go on a killing spree. Then and only then our police need to shoot them down but otherwise God and only God can protect the officer that kills one of our fair and precious children.

We self identify as the most Christian nation on earth.  “In God We Trust” emblazoned on our money (think, just for a second how wrong that referencing God on our money should be for a Christian), the Ten Commandments chiseled into our courthouses, but we have totally rationalized the existence of an underclass that lives mired in cycles of poverty, violence and lack of education.  How can this be?  And don’t, PLEASE DON’T, for all that is Sacred quote Matthew 26:11 “The poor will always be with you.” as some kind of justification.  READ YOUR SCRIPTURE IN CONTEXT!  Christ was admonishing the law observes that since they had a brief opportunity to spend some time with their God incarnate, that perhaps they should take an opportunity to do so.

So we are afraid.  We say we are afraid of violence.  We say we are afraid of lawlessness.  We say we are afraid of REVOLUTION!  So we buy guns, we board up windows and we call out the National Guard.  We berate our politicians and leaders for not keeping us safe.  We cancel parades.  We don’t go “downtown” because it might not be safe.  

HOW MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST IN THE FERGUSON RIOTS!?  

I am not perfect about it and I could be wrong but I do read the paper every day and I think a strong case can be made that the number is zero.  I pray for the business owners and people of ferguson who have lost property and might lose their businesses.  It is a tragedy, but no lives have been lost despite all the burning and looting and protesting.  But we, in Clayton are afraid.  There is also no reason that our police should be subjected to bricks, bottles and batteries being thrown and fired at them and I pray for their safety as well because they are our mercenaries in an undeclared war against whomever threatens our status quo.

I think if we would pause and be honest with ourselves we are afraid of the questions raised by the situation.  

Why are we comfortable with an underclass?

Why is it OK when they kill each other as long as they don't do it on our streets?

Why are their deaths only memorialized in the Law and Order section of the Post Dispatch?

Why hasn’t the privileged Christian Community lent their time and attention to their brothers and sisters?

Could the government do things differently to assist the suffering?

Why can’t we change the situation?

Why is it so hard?

Why can’t they just be like us?

Why do we want them to “be like us”?

Why do we need so many guns in so many hands?

What am I supposed to do as a Christian?

Are the government programs making it worse?

Why can’t the black community raise up leaders that are not self promoting?

Why can’t the white community raise up leaders that are not self promoting?

As a Christian, as a human, what am I supposed to do?

Sorry, these are my questions.  I pray that you have your own set and I pray it is not a set of questions about why “those people” are causing so much trouble.  As a Christian I beg you to remember that those people are God’s children and we are called upon not to turn our backs.  I am an old man (in my head I am perhaps an old Jewish man but that is neither here nor there but I am old enough to remember not only when Dan Fogelberg was alive but I remember when he was relevant.

“You better change, before the sun goes down.

You better leave, before you are, the last in town.

You better raise your fortresses, or tear them down,

tear them down.”

What a difference it makes when a community steps up. On South Grand they actually had property damage. They had protesters. They got out of hand and broke windows...a LOT of windows. They didn't board up in the face of loss that never happened, but when it happened they came out and made something beautiful. Something... thoughtful.  

I am not asking for anything other than we not accept a return to the status quo,  Think and pray about what God is calling you to do in response to the pain and suffering that he is showing to us.  Talk with people about it and stop being afraid of violence and looting and burning and property damage and start being afraid of why we cannot seem to work together and pray together to find answers.

PEACE!

Diner Review IX: The Buttery

Diner Review
The Buttery
3659 South Grand Boulevard
St. Louis 63118
314-771-4443

It was with some trepidation on a recent Sunday that I finally made the journey to “The Buttery.” Clearly there was a lot of fear just regarding the name. Certainly there should be no fear in too much butter. There can never be too much butter, or too much grease. As the Diner Reviewers “Home Boy” Martin Luther said...”We hold these truths to be self evident.” No, the fear had to do with the type of building and the location on South Grand. The fear was that there might be a dreaded butter “substitute.” That evil, vicious, yellowish oil that is “butter flavored.” This crap has ruined more breakfasts and frankly more restaurants then any other evil besides “butter like spreads.”

Not to fear. The Buttery provided an excellent breakfast, free of butter substitutes. Unlike some diners that I have traveled to, The Buttery is in a true racially diverse neighborhood. A neighborhood not of all one ethnicity. A neighborhood that is in transistion but know one knows whether it is transitioning from something bad to something good...or vice-versa. The Buttery stands in it’s own free standing lot wedged between an old office building and a Blockbuster. There is metered street parking on Grand and a small lot behind where you would not want to leave your lap top on the seat while you were dining.
Going in you notice all the good things. A grill driectly behind the counter and a long straight counter with a dozen stools with red pleather all ready for a big butt to plunk down on. There are also several two person booths (dueces) and about 5 four people booths. The booth benches and tables are made of the appropriate wood grained plastic that gives a person a feel of quality.... or not. There were no calendars on display which is troubling but a CD juke box was available. On this trip the repetoir on the jukeb ox was not reviewed.

The staff was comprised of a 50 year old lady, a 40 year old man and another lady who was mildly impaired of an indeterminate age. They were not overly friendly (likely because they were busy or perhaps because they were unfriendly) but they did meet every request this diner made quickly and without rancor. There was some friendly banter between the man and the woman along the lines of “when I want shit from you I will squeeze your head.” Good stuff.

The menu is a one page, two sided, yellow laminated presentation which once again stinks of diner quality and professionalism. They have all the important items available for breakfast including a slinger although it was not sampled. The gravy was acceptable and had good flavor although it was slightly gluey and did not contain a lot of sausage or any other meat. The biscuit with the gravy was covered in gravy, unidentifiable due to same and unremarkable other then as a medium for the gravy. Nothing wrong with that.
The hash browns need to be discussed. They are shredded hash browns (the importance of which has been frequently discussed in these pages) but the shreds are thick, more like a Nightcrawler then an Alabama Red Jumper. This leads to a slightly more “meaty” hashbrown patty, and it was a hashbrown patty. It appears that The Buttery uses the Waffle House hash brown form (when you do not order them “scattered”) and as such you hash browns come out in a round patty, about an inch thick, pleasantly brown on both sides. All in all I would have to call the hash browns...out standing.

Brakfast sausage patties were smallish and pre-formed but had excellent flavor. The iced tea was questionable as to what week it had been brewed in but over all I would say that was my only complaint regarding “The Buttery.” In 2006 the RFT voted it Best Diner saying:

Best Diner (2006)
“For so long, we've had so many questions about the Buttery. What kind of a diner name is that? Does anybody actually go in there? And most important, why haven't we gone in there? So we did, and we weren't disappointed. The Buttery boasts one of the best cheap breakfasts in town (served anytime, 24/7). The vibe is mellow (and almost otherworldly, the way everything else seems to fall away as soon as you walk in the door). Then again, there's a kick-ass jukebox stocked with a surprising and wicked array of metal and other high-volume hits to jolt yourself back into reality. And the reality is, whether you're looking for a well-done burger, a tuna melt or your standard eggs-potatoes-toast combo, the Buttery's...well, Best.”
While the RFT vote of “Best” is impressive (i.e. Best Fried Chicken, Kentucky Fried Chicken)

I was more impressed when doing my research to discover it was mentioned as a possible stop for a “Bad Girls Road Trip” in a lesbian website called “Curves.”
http://www.curvemag.com/Detailed/106.html

Can there be higher kudos then the picked breakfast place for a bad girl lesbian road trip? I think not. As is my habit now I gave the diner a second visit with a guest in order to confirm my “findings”. I am after all a professional and must impose rigorous methodology to my efforts. This “personal discipline” is the hallmark of my blog and of course...my life. The Buttery disappointed on my second trip. The iced tea was old, (from at least the night before and then left in a walk in if I am any judge...and I am), the hashbrowns still in their puch shape but undercooked and the bacon...average. My breakfast companion ordered the slinger (with sausage) and was pleased although it was served with beans which pleasing to some I find...distasteful at beakfast.

I was able to visit with the jukebox however and generally found it pleasing. It is one of the CD models and has a a large selection of country and classic rock. On a strong hangover it might be just the thing.
I will keep an eye on The Buttery in the future but for now...6 Slingers on the 10 scale.

Official List of St. Louis "Diners"

So it comes down to your input dear reader...what are the "real" diners in St. Louis. I want your help...I NEED your help, America needs your help. If we do not get this list right then it is a complete retreat and the terorists win. I think that is what the President told us. Here for your review and comment is a list of St. Louis Diners which need to be visited, photgraphed, catalogued and reviewed. Four our purposes we are limiting the inquiry to the City and County of St. Louis. Below for your review is a partial list but I await to be corrected and where appropriate berated.

1. Courtesy on Hampton
2. Courtesy on Kingshighway
3. Billies in Soulard
4. Big Ed's Chili Mac Diner on Pine, Downtown
5. Spencers Grill in Kirkwood
6. Eat Rite on Vandeventer
7. Eat Rite on Lindbergh near Ronnies
8. Olivette Diner on Olive
9. Tiffany's Diner on Manchester in Maplewood
10. White Palace on Olive in Midtown
11. Hoagie Diner on Olive in Midtown
12. Former Chili Mac now Spencers in Clayton
13. Goodies Diner in North County
14. Big Ed's Chili Mac Diner on Broadway
15. The Buttery

Questionable:
1. South City Diner
2. Waffle Houses
3. Majestic Diner in West End
4. TJ's Diner in Concord
5. Place in Union Station that used to be O.T. Hodges

Purposely Excluded and PLEASE do not argue with me about this:
1. Uncle Bill's Pancake House
2. Mimi's "Diner" in Chesterdield Valley
3. That Big Thing That Says "Diner" up by the airport

These are important discussions. I need feedback. I suspect that I am forgetting a few and further (gasp) that there are several which have escaped my unblinking eye (see Lord of the Rings). Anyway... think on this. The list needs to be exhaustive. I believe one of them can be formally tackled each month and that means that I need to get to work for January's formal review. God this is exciting.