This is a song - German oom-pah folk song - made famous by numerous bands. Today would truly be a good day for listening to this song in St. Louis - it's a beautiful day...spring for certain...although we're worried about our friends along the flooded portions of the Meramec and Kaskaskia Rivers.
I hope and pray that they'll remain safe whether they must evacuate or not.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Issues Etc. Issues
Okay,
I was shocked. Amazed that someone who should have enough brains and wherewithal to know what would happen IF Issues Etc. were taken off the air.
But, David Strand of the LCMS amazes me.
I suppose he thinks he is immune to hype and conversation. He's finishing a day when, quoting from HIS voicemail box,
"THIS MAIL BOX IS CURRENTLY FULL."
Does he suppose it will be empty anytime soon?
314-996-1200. That's the number in St. Louis to the International Center of the LCMS. The mailbox for the SYNOD is FULL, too!!! Why?
Issues Etc. is a VITAL program for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. And, although David Strand and the Board of Communications Services must not have though so, it is proving to be a difficult day to be on the receiving end of the listeners stricken by the factual evidence --- Issues Etc. needs to be on the air. It is vital for Christians to have a show that is serious, informative, and creative.
Who deserves better than you? Jesus. And He ALWAYS got proper dues on Issues Etc.
More to follow. I have to re-post some of the other blogs I have read today. I will be putting much more on here later. Wow.
I was shocked. Amazed that someone who should have enough brains and wherewithal to know what would happen IF Issues Etc. were taken off the air.
But, David Strand of the LCMS amazes me.
I suppose he thinks he is immune to hype and conversation. He's finishing a day when, quoting from HIS voicemail box,
"THIS MAIL BOX IS CURRENTLY FULL."
Does he suppose it will be empty anytime soon?
314-996-1200. That's the number in St. Louis to the International Center of the LCMS. The mailbox for the SYNOD is FULL, too!!! Why?
Issues Etc. is a VITAL program for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. And, although David Strand and the Board of Communications Services must not have though so, it is proving to be a difficult day to be on the receiving end of the listeners stricken by the factual evidence --- Issues Etc. needs to be on the air. It is vital for Christians to have a show that is serious, informative, and creative.
Who deserves better than you? Jesus. And He ALWAYS got proper dues on Issues Etc.
More to follow. I have to re-post some of the other blogs I have read today. I will be putting much more on here later. Wow.
You HAVE to see THIS one! Issues Etc.
You have to love You Tube for what it can mean to someone.
Wouldst thou indulge just for a moment?
Issues Etc. on You Tube.
Also:
Check out THIS - found since my last posting. The Issues Etc. ARCHIVES are coming back already.
Have to see what happens next.
Wouldst thou indulge just for a moment?
Issues Etc. on You Tube.
Also:
Check out THIS - found since my last posting. The Issues Etc. ARCHIVES are coming back already.
Have to see what happens next.
Issues Etc.
My condolences to all who have involved themselves in the wonderful radio program ISSUES ETC. - which was canceled by the Board of Communications Services of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on 18 March 2008 (Tuesday). Host and Pastor Todd Wilken as well as Producer Jeff Schwarz are to be commended for their strength and courage to say what had to be said, do what had to be done, and present programs each week which made up - sincerely I say this - THE BEST RADIO SHOW I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH IN MY ENTIRE RADIO CAREER!!! That's almost 24 years of radio...this, my fellow listeners, was the BEST PROGRAM --- not just best Christian program; not just the best Lutheran broadcast; it was the BEST PROGRAM. And it was a talk show with MILLIONS of people who have listened through the years (on AM 850 KFUO and online). It was both Lutheran and Christian, and it kept it's promise of being Christ-Centered and Cross-Focused.
I dare to say: ISSUES ETC. was the BEST PROGRAM ON RADIO in 2008!!!!!
Todd, Jeff --- God blessed us with you, and we know you feel blessed because of Issues Etc. Your supporters --- the millions who are behind you --- will show themselves to be "the best listeners in radio" and best supporters from the guest lines, too, many times over in the coming years.
My three years associated with Issues Etc. - and you both - marked a period in which I felt I was blessed for having been given the opportunity to work with two first-rate humans. It's a struggle to find peace while working in broadcasting. There was a great peace and piece of mind working on Issues Etc.
That having been said, I realize that my true peace is in the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and the gift given to us that is eternal life.
God Bless ISSUES ETC. for shining some of that grace and fellowship into our lives.
I dare to say: ISSUES ETC. was the BEST PROGRAM ON RADIO in 2008!!!!!
Todd, Jeff --- God blessed us with you, and we know you feel blessed because of Issues Etc. Your supporters --- the millions who are behind you --- will show themselves to be "the best listeners in radio" and best supporters from the guest lines, too, many times over in the coming years.
My three years associated with Issues Etc. - and you both - marked a period in which I felt I was blessed for having been given the opportunity to work with two first-rate humans. It's a struggle to find peace while working in broadcasting. There was a great peace and piece of mind working on Issues Etc.
That having been said, I realize that my true peace is in the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and the gift given to us that is eternal life.
God Bless ISSUES ETC. for shining some of that grace and fellowship into our lives.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The LAST Snow Day
Less than two weeks ago, I took my 9-year-old daughter to play in the snow. We live less than two blocks from beautiful Carondelet Park. Or, at the time it was beautiful. I noted that day, on the way home from nearly three hours of going down the hills at the ballfields, the red dye markings on and near quite a few of the trees. I figured it must have been something that I missed. I had heard nothing about them planning to take down trees in the park - the storms of 2006 had taken out several, and we had a nice storm last fall which didn't help things much --- several more of these majestic beauties had been felled by nature. I was keeping myself in the dark - I truly had no idea that a concept of a recreational complex was more than just a mere thought or set of drawings on a designer or architect's desk and a discussion that Mayor Slay's office had entertained.
Admittedly, I have not read the newspapers with the most frequency this year or last, and my online reading was limited during much of that period because for a long time, I had NO internet connection at home. This led me to curtail some of my semi-regular reading to become a less-than-regular reader of sites that discuss such matters. In fact, I read the message board on the URBAN ST. LOUIS FORUM http://www.urbanstl.com just within the past 48 hours to see more of what is happening around town - only to find that the project I was missing which would directly impact ME and MY VIEW was less than two blocks from home!!!
Not that I completely missed things. I saw some of the trees down within the past two days. Yesterday I got home well after dark - during the morning I had not gone to the Holly Hills overpass as I do most days - so I did NOT see the "civic progress" being made.
TODAY - I came home in the light --- backup for a moment...on the weekends, I go to work in the literal dark...so coming home in the light on Saturday and Sunday is a regular event unless someone begs me to "go out" in the evening. TODAY --- I saw how the BEAUTY of CARONDELET PARK has been DEVASTATED by this project...if one is to call this a mere project. Millions of dollars will be spent to build something that has not been duly scoped out by public officials, and has OBVIOUSLY NOT been given a fair amount of publicity to area residents (I'll poll my neighbors this week and see how many if ANY of them heard about or attended any meetings in regard to the "rec complex" at the park...anyone here betting that I have fewer than 4 say they even KNEW of the plan?).
There is NO WAY to replace the true beauty of that treeline during my life, and probably not in my daughter's lifetime, either. A recreation complex, as desired (I am not going out on the limb to say it was wanted) as it may be, is not going to be beautiful to a citizen who lives in the neighborhood and feels a loss in the destruction of those grand trees.
Why did I title this blogpost "The LAST Snow Day"???
I don't see myself staying in the city now. I moved into the city because I had a feeling that it would be nicer than my "near north suburb" --- which was true until this weekend. Now, I envision moving to that "near north suburb" because there are BIG TREES and a hill where I can take my daughter sledding on a snow day.
Thank you city officials:
Snow days at CARONDELET PARK are now extinct.
Admittedly, I have not read the newspapers with the most frequency this year or last, and my online reading was limited during much of that period because for a long time, I had NO internet connection at home. This led me to curtail some of my semi-regular reading to become a less-than-regular reader of sites that discuss such matters. In fact, I read the message board on the URBAN ST. LOUIS FORUM http://www.urbanstl.com just within the past 48 hours to see more of what is happening around town - only to find that the project I was missing which would directly impact ME and MY VIEW was less than two blocks from home!!!
Not that I completely missed things. I saw some of the trees down within the past two days. Yesterday I got home well after dark - during the morning I had not gone to the Holly Hills overpass as I do most days - so I did NOT see the "civic progress" being made.
TODAY - I came home in the light --- backup for a moment...on the weekends, I go to work in the literal dark...so coming home in the light on Saturday and Sunday is a regular event unless someone begs me to "go out" in the evening. TODAY --- I saw how the BEAUTY of CARONDELET PARK has been DEVASTATED by this project...if one is to call this a mere project. Millions of dollars will be spent to build something that has not been duly scoped out by public officials, and has OBVIOUSLY NOT been given a fair amount of publicity to area residents (I'll poll my neighbors this week and see how many if ANY of them heard about or attended any meetings in regard to the "rec complex" at the park...anyone here betting that I have fewer than 4 say they even KNEW of the plan?).
There is NO WAY to replace the true beauty of that treeline during my life, and probably not in my daughter's lifetime, either. A recreation complex, as desired (I am not going out on the limb to say it was wanted) as it may be, is not going to be beautiful to a citizen who lives in the neighborhood and feels a loss in the destruction of those grand trees.
Why did I title this blogpost "The LAST Snow Day"???
I don't see myself staying in the city now. I moved into the city because I had a feeling that it would be nicer than my "near north suburb" --- which was true until this weekend. Now, I envision moving to that "near north suburb" because there are BIG TREES and a hill where I can take my daughter sledding on a snow day.
Thank you city officials:
Snow days at CARONDELET PARK are now extinct.
Ironing Out The Works
That's the title of a blog entry I made on Morning Show Travel.
I was discussing the project in the area near Weber Road and I-55, at the land surrounding the STUPP BRIDGE CO. administrative offices. I have to wonder if the HQ for STUPP BROS. will move to Bowling Green KY once the "Iron Works" retail project really comes along - if it does happen. On that, I didn't comment, but I wrote about the latest "news" about the proposal.
Read my opinion on this project here.
I was discussing the project in the area near Weber Road and I-55, at the land surrounding the STUPP BRIDGE CO. administrative offices. I have to wonder if the HQ for STUPP BROS. will move to Bowling Green KY once the "Iron Works" retail project really comes along - if it does happen. On that, I didn't comment, but I wrote about the latest "news" about the proposal.
Read my opinion on this project here.
Muddy Sidewalks
(St. Louis, MO, USA)--- I walk quite often in the St. Louis area - at all times of the day and night. In fact, the early morning hours are one of my most active travel times because I work an early shift on weekends --- as well, I am up early most mornings with my daughter making sure she is off to school. So, when construction projects are ongoing where I frequently travel, I make many a mental note. It used to be (and may again become) my job to note construction along roads and highways in St. Louis --- I am one of those people who has made a living as a professional traffic reporter.
The other day --- Wednesday during the late morning --- I made such a notation in my head, yet by this morning I had completely forgotten an important stretch of sidewalk that had been "under construction" on my prior trip. Whoa. That almost was a poor choice of words. Almost --- ONLY BECAUSE somehow I did NOT fall this morning on the sidewalk ALONG SKINKER BLVD. BETWEEN THE FOREST PARK PARKWAY and NORTHWOOD AVENUE. By all accounts --- okay, I was the only one who even saw what happened at 5:40am --- I slipped on the mud for the better part of three seconds, yet remained upright and continued without straining my back. That was a feat, take my word. I can't say that it was as bad as some incidents which were clearly more my fault...but this was at least partially on me because I SHOULD have remembered the muddy stretch. After slipping, I did what some of my fellow traffic reporters obligatorily say on any wet or icy day: I did "use caution". Maybe I should have seen that thin sheen of mud, maybe not. Those amber lights don't really make MUD show up on a dark street, do they? Whatever the case, I made a mental note at every portion of slippery sidewalk to "use caution" and not traverse the concrete at my normal "UPS pace". By the way, a "UPS pace" refers to the quick walking pace that many people who have worked for United Parcel Service have adopted --- it's quicker than a regular walk in the park.
What bugs me about this is simple. Those construction projects along Skinker were of different varieties. One was a cable system at work. Another was perhaps a similar line going underground, while a third was a water department project. Naturally, I could find no reason to STUDY the differences among or between the three projects --- but my reflection upon traveling through those "three construction zones" on the sidewalk makes me think that there was really very little difference. ALL three were "cleaned up" to the standards that the on-site boss felt was necessary. I am sorry that boss-person wasn't trying to walk on the muddy stretch of sidewalk left in the wake of the dirt and dust his or her crew didn't really "clean" up...it was more like...sorta clean. Okay - yes, it's nitpicking, but it's my near-fall, my blog, my playground of words (or lack thereof this morning). I just wish, occasionally, that someone who didn't have to suffer through such a near-incident and who has some fault in the cause of the "near-incident" would truly walk in my shoes --- walking shoes, not construction boots.
Construction boots probably would have "non slip" soles and make it through the grimy stretch just fine.
I'm just thinking as I type: If you do the grime, you should have to feel the crime...you know what I mean --- take a fall --- so someone like me doesn't slip.
The other day --- Wednesday during the late morning --- I made such a notation in my head, yet by this morning I had completely forgotten an important stretch of sidewalk that had been "under construction" on my prior trip. Whoa. That almost was a poor choice of words. Almost --- ONLY BECAUSE somehow I did NOT fall this morning on the sidewalk ALONG SKINKER BLVD. BETWEEN THE FOREST PARK PARKWAY and NORTHWOOD AVENUE. By all accounts --- okay, I was the only one who even saw what happened at 5:40am --- I slipped on the mud for the better part of three seconds, yet remained upright and continued without straining my back. That was a feat, take my word. I can't say that it was as bad as some incidents which were clearly more my fault...but this was at least partially on me because I SHOULD have remembered the muddy stretch. After slipping, I did what some of my fellow traffic reporters obligatorily say on any wet or icy day: I did "use caution". Maybe I should have seen that thin sheen of mud, maybe not. Those amber lights don't really make MUD show up on a dark street, do they? Whatever the case, I made a mental note at every portion of slippery sidewalk to "use caution" and not traverse the concrete at my normal "UPS pace". By the way, a "UPS pace" refers to the quick walking pace that many people who have worked for United Parcel Service have adopted --- it's quicker than a regular walk in the park.
What bugs me about this is simple. Those construction projects along Skinker were of different varieties. One was a cable system at work. Another was perhaps a similar line going underground, while a third was a water department project. Naturally, I could find no reason to STUDY the differences among or between the three projects --- but my reflection upon traveling through those "three construction zones" on the sidewalk makes me think that there was really very little difference. ALL three were "cleaned up" to the standards that the on-site boss felt was necessary. I am sorry that boss-person wasn't trying to walk on the muddy stretch of sidewalk left in the wake of the dirt and dust his or her crew didn't really "clean" up...it was more like...sorta clean. Okay - yes, it's nitpicking, but it's my near-fall, my blog, my playground of words (or lack thereof this morning). I just wish, occasionally, that someone who didn't have to suffer through such a near-incident and who has some fault in the cause of the "near-incident" would truly walk in my shoes --- walking shoes, not construction boots.
Construction boots probably would have "non slip" soles and make it through the grimy stretch just fine.
I'm just thinking as I type: If you do the grime, you should have to feel the crime...you know what I mean --- take a fall --- so someone like me doesn't slip.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Certainly, Ollie
For quite sometime I've been reading blogs, writing them, posting comments to many blogs around the web. Many - if not most - of them pertain to life in St. Louis. This blog is yet another. It could prove helpful, or it could become a pain in the neck. Or it could be a helpful pain in the neck. Actually, I hope it becomes a helpful pain in the neck.
I beg of you - monitor me. If I am ever libelous, please be kind and tell me. I'll attempt to be fair and opinionated at the same time: a hard tightrope on which to balance.
I live near Cardondelet Park off South Grand and Holly Hills - I am a long-time journalist, newsman, and other things, including broadcaster, singer, musician. That's the basics, except the older I get the more crass I think, and the more I speak out.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to respond.
STL Citizen
I beg of you - monitor me. If I am ever libelous, please be kind and tell me. I'll attempt to be fair and opinionated at the same time: a hard tightrope on which to balance.
I live near Cardondelet Park off South Grand and Holly Hills - I am a long-time journalist, newsman, and other things, including broadcaster, singer, musician. That's the basics, except the older I get the more crass I think, and the more I speak out.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free to respond.
STL Citizen
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