About To Start

 

Tomorrow is Veterans Day in the US. There was a ceremony yesterday at the newly-restored Soldiers Memorial downtown (more about which soon.) Then there was a big if sparsely attended parade. The fire department always hoists this huge flag for such events.

We had a fair sized investment firm here, A. G. Edwards, that got bought out by Wells Fargo a few years ago. They kept that business here. The company brings out its iconic stagecoach for parades. That's the central branch of the St. Louis Public Library in the background, also lovingly restored a few years ago.         

The Wild West of Downtown St. Louis

Explanation to come.        

Too Early

In front of chez Crowe last night. It's not even the middle of November. We have winter, of course, and may get a couple of very cold snaps, but we don't get a lot of snow. A white Christmas is rare. Wasn't quite ready for this.

People in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New England may stop laughing at me now. However, I had occasion to speak to someone in Maine on the phone a couple of days ago. They hadn't had any yet.

Qu’ils Mangent de la Brioche

More neon art at Laumeier, this one by David Hutson himself. This was hard to me to read at first because what look like N's to me in the second word are actually R's. This is the original French of the famous words attributed to Marie Antoinette, usually rendered in English as "let them eat cake," the words she supposedly spoke after being told that the peasants had no bread.

There are problems with the story. The word brioche doesn't actually mean cake. It is a very rich bread with lots of egg and butter; it would have been as unaffordable to the masses as cake. However, there is no evidence that Marie spoke these words. They have become part of a legend.

Note the unusual bread slicer in the lower right. It resembles Le Rasoir National, a clever compliment to the words.       

Big Boy

More signs from the neon art exhibit at Laumeier Sculpture Park. I don't  remember these restaurants and signs when I was growing up in the Northeast but I sure do from the time I hit the Midwest. They were sometimes called Bob's Big Boy. No relation but, like this guy, I was a lot heavier back then. (I'm about 70 pounds lighter that at the time of our wedding.)      

This a very old sign. Note the character: cut-away coat, vest and bow tie - formal evening wear. And spats! Now, if only he could do something about his hair.