Friday, December 01, 2006

Another Storm Slams the Midwest


Here we go again. Just five months after the last "greatest storm of the century," which, by the way, really wasn't, now we get socked with another really "great storm" which really is a great storm. I can remember the last time St. Louis got iced in - it was in the late 70's and I was still in high school. I was on the phone with a friend when she said, "Did you see the lightning out there?" The next morning, we went outside our homes to find an ice-covered wonderland. Of course, being the cocky teenagers we were, we went outside to see how much skating we could get in. I remember icicles hanging from the gutters that almost reached the ground.

Last summer's storm knocked out power to area residents for as much as nine days. We were very fortunate that we only lost power for three days - my neighbors were out for all nine. Food loss wasn't that bad for us because we were able to ship all the frozen food to my mother's apartment in Bridgeton (she still had power).

Now that we have had the first major winter storm of the season, we are once again very lucky. We have not lost any power, but our phone was out for two days. Right now, static on the line is so bad, that we may as well be out of service. My neighbors, however, are not so lucky - again. The very same neighbors who lost power for nine days last summer are now out of power for going on two days. I can almost feel their frustration at once more being thrust from their homes to hotels or relatives and friends' homes for refuge. One of my neighbors had water coming into the house - how much is not known. They were finally able to shut off the water.

The ice and snow created an icy wonderland that reminded me of the big ice storm from so many years ago. The sun peaked through the clouds and streamed down through the icicles, becoming iridescent and beautiful. As I was driving, I had to constantly remind myself to keep an eye out for downed power lines instead of enjoying the icy show. The icicles weren't as impressively long as I remember from the last ice storm, but that was okay by me. When I arrived at my mother-in-law's house, I discovered that she, too, was extremely fortunate. She still had power and phone service. However, on either side of her home, there were downed power lines and her street was blocked off in front of her neighbor's house.

My opinion of this latest storm is that it is worse than last summer's storm. While I still believe this storm still isn't the worst storm of the century, I believe it might run a close third or fourth. Last summer's storm, even with the heat, was still workable. A person still could get around town if needed. This storm has most people trapped in their subdivisions waiting for snow plows to clear out the streets. Last summer's storm didn't leave a couple of inches of ice on the cars - this storm did. Cleaning off cars and getting into cars is an ordeal.

Even with all this, we will get through itas we have gotten through storms in the past.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Christmas Cookie Baking

It's that time of year again. Right around Thanksgiving I begin to slowly kill myself baking cookies and quick breads for half of Missouri and Illinois. I don't know why I put myself through this torture - I'm not even sure anyone appreciates my efforts. One of my neighbors always sends over a small and delicious date nut bread and my aunt always makes a fantastic assortment of cookies and a snack mix.

Since no one in my husband's family does these bake-a-thons, maybe I feel like I need to carve out my own special spot in Christmas memories. Or maybe I just want to show-off.

When the cookie baking frenzy begins, my husband and two children (15 and 11) each have their appointed jobs. My 11-year-old daughter helps with the mixing, the rolling, and the cutting. She artfully arranges the raw cookies on the cookie sheet, disregarding the spacial demands of the cookie being baked. Christmas tree cut outs playfully dance on the cookie sheet - nine cookies when we could fit twelve. Leftover cookie dough vanishes while I am not looking.

My husband and my 15-year-old son each are the official cookie tasters. They take their jobs very seriously. There's a science to making Christmas cookies, you know. The future of Christmas hangs in balance with this process.

Once each batch is baked and placed on the cooling rack, my son stands over them, sniffing the aroma and carefully monitoring the cooling process. The moment the cookies are cool enough to handle (1.32.1794 minutes after removal from the oven), he picks up a cookie of his choice.

Close inspection entails the following:
  • Browness levels on the bottom of the cookie - is it a golden brown or a light brown?
  • Is the cookie the proper thickness?
  • Number of crumbs - this is essential when considering dunking
  • Exact amount of colored sugar sprinkles on the sugar cookie - this is the essence of flavor
  • How many chocolate chips are visible on top?

Next, he feels the cookie for proper texture, shape, and weight. This is a skill handed down to him from his father who learned it from his father, and so on.

Once the cookie is popped in his mouth, the verdict is announced through bulging chipmunk cheeks, "rood oogie wom!" followed by a thumbs up signal. My son loves his job. My husband ambles in and snatches whatever cookies I don't manage to slap his hand away from. Crumbs and broken cookie pieces instantly find their fate is sealed when he grabs them off the table.

Of course, clean up is always left up to me. Everyone vanishes as soon as the oven is turned off. Three contented bellies have plopped down before the television while I fight with the remaining mess.

And then, I start dinner.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

The mayor of Overland really knows how to stir up the hornets' nest. Or maybe she just likes making people mad. Or maybe she's a really troubled person who can't stand the thought of a city with effective government. Or maybe all of Overland is nuts and she is the only sane person in the joint. Whatever the case may be, Overland city residents are getting fed up with the games that she and the city council members are playing with our tax dollars.

The mayor can't seem to play by the rules - she tries to fire and replace the police chief without going through the city council; she refuses to hold council meetings in a facility large enough to accommodate all attendees; she claims that her opponent's henchmen are enflaming the citizenry and are the real cause of all the dissention in city hall.

In the meantime, the citizens of Overland are assaulted with mass mailed propaganda from a small faction of ward aldermen who are the mayor's "buddies." These flyers claim that council meetings are packed with non-Overland residents who are intent on disrupting and abusing the democratic process. Another flyer, sent by "PrimeWATCH Publications" makes the appearance of a police bulletin by cautioning residents about signing suspicious petitions will lead to identity theft. This flyer came out at the exact same time as a citizens group, which is registered with the county board of elections, is passing around and collecting signatures for a recall petition. I called the police department to see if they endorsed this flyer and two officers said the flyer was a piece of propaganda and assured me that the petition was a legal and official document.

It is really sad when elected officials must use devious means such as scare tactics to interfere with the democratic process. Overland residents are smarter than these people think and we cannot be so easily deceived. We simply want all this dissention to go away and have our city brought back to life with a city government that cares about Overland's future.