Mary Lou Lee / Bob Lee

Mary Lou Lee will be laid to rest next to her husband, Bob Lee, on Thursday, July 3, 2008. The internment service will be held in the Pavilion of the National Cemetery, Glenstone and Seminole, Springfield, MO, at 1 p.m., on that date.

Mary Lou was a tissue donor through Mid-America Transplant Services.

She is survived by her children, Bob, Jim, Tom, Mary, Carol, Jane, John, Ed, Ellen, and Joan; 15 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mary Lou died on March 26, 2008, one month shy of her 80th birthday. She wanted her services to be held after school was out for the summer as she did not want her school-age grandchildren and great-grandchildren to have to miss school to attend her funeral service.

"Have it in the summer," she said, "and have everyone wear a big hat

Heading Off To Iowa - By The Numbers Heads To Missouri

I like to travel with my private nurse. We are heading off to Iowa tomorrow. Taking the big Suburban and the Airstream that, after a year and a half, I finished restoring tonight! We plan to meander up there, taking a couple of days on the way to Fairfield. I will take more photos than I took on the last trip.

As the private nurse and I head north from Springfield, my little brother John is heading north from Florida to Springfield for our Mother's internment (Pavilion, National Cemetary, Glenstone and Seminole, 1:00 PM, July 3, 2008---Big Hats are Welcome, big attitudes are not) and is blogging his journey. A mighty fine read with lots of pictures!

The Definitive Book About Mamie

Mamie! A little Bess, a little Ethel, and a lot of my paternal grandmother!Below is a picture of my Dad's Mom, Mary Ellen Teppe. Her son, Walden C. Lee, a portrait photographer, took the picture. I have several proofs of her from that session. We called her "Moo", and her husband, we called "Paw". Moo and Paw. My Mom's parents, we called them "Granny" and "Man". Moo's nickname was "Mazey".
I recently came in possession of thousands of Lee family photograph negatives. I will be scanning these negatives into my computer. I am looking for a good scanner that will scan negatives and color / black and white slides. Any bus rider got any recommendations? I got about $250-300 to spend.

Andy, Andy, Quick, Get Rid Of The

Ethanol Stock. The website Earth2Tech counts 11 proposed plants that have been cancelled because financing was unavailable. As one expert on the biofuel scene said: “US ethanol producers are screwed."

Another Reason To Keep The Pools Open.....

He looked at the woman lying on the fur and

said to her, "Madam, I'm Adam." What is the name of the woman lying on the fur?Sherlock Holmes died and went to heaven. As he was passing through the Pearly Gates, St. Peter pulled him aside and said,
"I am so glad you are here. God is in an absolute tizzy. It seems that Adam and Eve have disappeared and are nowhere to be found. God wants them to be the centerpiece for a big to do on creationism and he can't find them. You have got to help us."
Sherlock Holmes said, as any of us would do, ala St. Paul, when God asks, through St. Peter, for our help, "OK".
Quickly Holmes found the first couple. They told him they were tired of all the commotion and attention paid to them, they just wanted to live, ala Paris and Nicole, the simple life and thus, disappeared into the vast wonders of heaven.
Sherlock Holmes told the first two that he understood their dilemma. However, he said, you two are such a part of God's history that you owe it to him to follow his directives in this case. Adam and Eve sheepishly agreed to follow Holmes back to God.
God was amazed that Sherlock Holmes found Adam and Eve so quickly.
"How did you do it," asked the Lord God Almighty, with a thunderous roar!
"Elementary my dear God," replied Holmes. "They were the only two without navels."

America's Handshake: The Fist Bump

Going To Iowa

Getting the Airstream ready for the big trip of the year. Going to Fairfield, Iowa. Ryan tipped me off to this song, catchy tune, good beat, easy to dance to. I'll have to watch Juno.

Ringing The Bell

My grandfather worked for American Car and Foundry in St. Louis. One Saturday, when I was about ten years old, he borrowed a co-worker's pickup truck and brought home a bell off of a steam locomotive.

A James Taylor Song

It's Outrageous, Why It's Just Danged Outrageous!

Yes, It is danged outrageous that my friend Karen has to drive clear to across the street from the Chrysler plant on Bowles Avenue and I-44 up by St. Louis to get me White Castle hamburgers. Next to meeting with Mr. Miller or Mr. Cook in a styrofoam cup, nothing is quite like a big arnj and a whole bunch of White Castle hamburgers! Thank you Karen!

Well, that's my statement about the lack of availability of fresh White Castle hamburgers in the Springfield metro area. Want to hear my statement on strawberrys?

Some Stuff We Just Don't Want The Press To Report (We're Doing This For Your Own Good, You'll Thank Us In The Morning)

Read more here. and here, and here, and for more analysis and commentary, here.

Anybody Got An Empty Theater??

This guy has "Branson" written all over him.

Who'll Carry The Mail To Bloody Gulch?

"Who'll carry the mail to Bloody Gulch?"

"I WILL!"

"How old are you?"

"Seventy-six."

"That's the spirit!"

Dedicated To The Ones I Love....

Take It, Tom!

Those Rockin' Russians

Back on May 30 we posted this: Pretty neat, eh? Well, the private nurse found us another one! This one is the Red Army Chorus and The Leningrad Cowboys singing their version of "Sweet Home Alabama". Take it away, cowboys!

Gay NASCAR - - Not That There's Anything Wrong With That.....

ESPN has an online article about NASCAR fans, well, not just any NASCAR fans, but gay NASCAR fans (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Money quotes:

The 2008 version of the DeVine 9½ (which actually is 13 drivers) includes Elliott Sadler ("he's like a big bear"), Brian Vickers ("we call him Brian Wreckers"), Reed Sorenson ("a local Atlanta boy"), Carl Edwards ("duh") and Dale Earnhardt Jr. ("he loves rap music and opposes flying the rebel flag -- what's not to love about that?"). But the one driver who always ranks No. 1 at Gaytona is Betty Jack's favorite driver of them all -- Jamie McMurray.

"That first season I started watching NASCAR, he got his first win at Charlotte. He was so genuinely emotional and excited he won me over in an instant. I just wish he could get back to enjoying racing like that again. At the Daytona 500 this year, we met him and David Ragan at an autograph session, and Jamie just looked so sad. I really feel for him, and I think that's the dirty little secret of even the manliest male NASCAR fans. They love it for the emotion as well. It's their version of a soap opera."

The site is Gaytona.com.

Does This Come As A Surprise?

Karen Goodman, a real estate professional from St. Louis, writes a pretty good blog about St. Louis Real Estate. A recent post of her was about St. Louis condo sales.

I take it like this: if St. Louis is having trouble selling condos, can Springfield expect the same? Sort of like my thinking that if "The City" sales tax revenue is declining, can the county expect the same?

Dave? Dave's Not Here.

Harold and Roseanne are here, but where's Dave?

It Was Just Another Day On The Farm For "Jeep Junkie" And "By The Numbers"

Meander over to Brother John's blog, he's weaved a pretty good tale of horses, Scottish ships and a 1974 Chevrolet Caprice. You should enjoy it.

Black Jaguar Shot In Newton County

Black Jaguar shot in Newton County.

417

417

The Day The Music Died.....

Tape Recorders Taking The Place Of Live Musicians In Branson? Shay It Ain't Sho, Shoji!This just in from Darin over at Branson Missouri: Branson live music dying out.

Given the pseudo environment of Branson (bun hairdos and long denim skirts, fake rocks and fake cities) fake music was bound to arrive.

There is a nice free, albeit small, skate park in Branson. I took my grandsons there over Memorial Day weekend. They had a good time. So thanks to the parks department of Branson for thinking of sk8rs! I'll be taking the boys back soon! Following is the obligatory skateboard ramp photo of grandson Trey attempting a 'rock to fakie".
(I learned well from Bob G.)

How To Lose Weight

The Greatest Lie Ever Told By A President

"This government does not torture people."

Who Owns Blog Comments?

This is interesting.

Tony Schwartz 1923 - 2008

I read about this over on Chatter, Tony Schwartz passed over to the other side.

Who's Tony Schwartz? You probably know his work more than you know him.

From Chatter: Of the thousands of television and radio advertisements on which Mr. Schwartz worked, none is as well known, or as controversial, as one that was broadcast exactly once: the so-called “daisy ad,” made for Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential campaign in 1964. It changed political advertisements.

Tony Schwartz, August 19,1923 - June 15, 2008.

Firefell?

Didn't we read somewhere that "The Parks" had suggested that Firefall might be curtailed or not held because of the budget crisis?

I may be an old fashioned American, but I always sorta thought a 4th of July celebration actually ought to be held on the 4th of July, like the celebration that big church puts on over at Springfield Underground. Mike Brother's of the City's Public Information Office left this comment: "Jim - the discussion about Firefall was always referring to the 2009 event. This year's event is in the 07-08 budget." Thanks for clarifying that point, Mike. Here is the quote on which I based my question:

Parks Director Jodie Adams finished responding to questions about the program reductions likely under a proposed decrease of $934,000 from the General Fund to the Parks system. This would be 50 percent of the remaining General Fund annual transfer to Parks, and represent about a 9 percent decrease for the overall Parks budget. She said Parks has been absorbing more expense from the General Fund each year with the idea of eventually reducing the transfer completely. But the Department can’t absorb nearly $1 million in a single budget year without cutting back programs included in the original City Parks system, such as pools, recreation, the Zoo and Firefall, she said.

Brother John's Blog Picked Up Nationally!

What I Saw TodayMy little brother John, who has recently entered the blog-o-sphere with a really neat blog called By The Numbers (you'll have to read his first posts to understand the title) has had a blog posting of his picked up by a national blog!

Way To Go, John! Looks like you all got dressed up and are feeling festive! The CDM and I are waiting for our invitation! Oh yeah, John's feature, "What I Saw Today", was picked up by Jalopnik.com

Monday Is Trash Day, It's Also City Council Meeting Day

I actually miss Life Of Jason's blow by blow accounts of City Council Meetings. Every second Monday I would plop myself down in front of the keyboard and tune in to Channel 23 for the City Council meetings. I would compare Jason's account with what the TV was showing. Jason's accounts, tempered by a healthy dose of Mr. Miller in a Styrofoam cup, were pretty interesting.

Jason has since curtailed his live blogging of City Council meetings because of a conflict with his church meetings. I somehow suspect that Jason's new wife Amy might have had some influence in Jason's decision also.

Not too worry Jason, you won't lose 3/4 of your readers, we'll keep checking in, how else will we know what tie Councilman Chiles is wearing?
In other news, after 17 years, my trash company changed our trash pick up time from Wednesday morning to Monday morning, early Monday morning, very early Monday morning. Being retired, you would think that I would remember to put the trash out on Sunday night. But I got a lot of things on my mind, like writing this blog and making posts (under the nickname of "Busplunge"*) on the SN-L website and making commentaries on other people's blogs.

Yes, my life is full. So, early this Monday morning, when I heard the trash truck stop outside my window, I could not remember if I had put the trash cart, with the correct side (as indicated on the trash cart lid) facing the street, out on the curb last night. I got up, slipped on a pair of shorts and hurried outside.

Fortunately, my son, who lives next door to us and is not retired, upon seeing that on this very early Monday morning my trash cart was not in the prescribed location on the curb awaiting emptying, hauled my cart out to the street before he went to work, thus relieving me of the obligation to load the trash cart in the back of my pickup and haul it to the Bennett Street transfer station. (I have noticed that if I miss a pickup, unless I load the cart in my pickup and haul it to the transfer station myself, I seem to have twice as much trash for the next pickup.)

I KNEW there were certain advantages to living next door to one's son and his wife! Like my son seeing to it that my trash cart makes it to the curb when I don't. Oh yeah, here's another advantage: dinner with Sophie!*Jackehammer's blog can be accessed here.

When Is It Proper To Act Like A Two-Year-Old?

It is proper to act like a two-year-old when you are two years old.

Muskogee, Oklahoma, July, 1939 - Russell Lee Photographs (Elmer Thomas' Truck)

"Not really interested in city council meetings or elections. I'm busy..."American Idol" is on! We all have our priorities..."

Why Pretension Deficit is voting Republican.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day....Our Memories Make You Immortal.

Flag Day Post

Just In Time For Flag Day.

Brother John's Account Of The Daytona Visit

John on beachJim, Kristin, Trey, Austin and Sophie are visiting Kristin's parents in Florida. Yesterday, the family drove over to Daytona Beach to vistit my brothers John and Ed and their family. John details the visit, complete with Daytona Raceway, beach and Jeep pictures, on his blog, By The Numbers.

Look at all the smiles on Trey and Austin! It sure looks like they had a grand time!Trey, Austin and Ed's son James sitting on the hood of James' Jeep. Ed, James and Jim under the hood.

Action As Promised

Thank you, the neighborhood appreciates it.

No Tag Backs

From Wikipedia:

"No tag backs" (also "can't get the butcher back", "no tiggy butchers", "no master backs", "no catch backs", "no tap backs", "no returns", "no touchbacks", "Pauric Clarke" or "can't tig the ball back" the "ball" being the person who is "it") is a phrase that can be used in most tag variants. If the person who is "it" tags another player, and then the player tries to tag the person back, the former "it" player can say "no tag backs". This means that the person who is "it" can't immediately tag the person who made them "it". This rule was created to allow the former "it" player not only a chance to get out of close proximity of the current "it" player, but to give them a few moments of immunity to catch their breath. Another way of ensuring victory is to tag someone and then immediately quit the game (often to the annoyance of the other players, who may exclude the person using this strategy from future games). Whether or not "tag backs" are allowed in the ensuing game must be established at the start of the game to ensure fairness of play for all players.

Is this "The City's" way of telling the developer, "Ain't no way are you giving Heer's back. You bought it, it's yours."

Tim Russert 1950-2008

We probably should have paid closer attention.

Stuff I Found On The Web Relating To Springfield....

(The graphic that was originially posted here has been removed per the request of the Springfield News-Leader.)

Maps no one wants you to see.
The push for access to GIS Data began in Springfield.
Property appraisals don't happen equitably.

From Walmart's Website And Local Vegetables Safe

An alert Bus rider sent the bus the following link.
Another alert Bus rider informs us that the current scare over tomatoes DOES NOT reflect on the high quality of locally grown fruits and vegetables. The rider reminds us that local food is cheaper and higher in quality. That link is here.

News Releases, Analysis and Commentary

I have lived here long enough that I "know where the bodies are buried". I certainly empathize with Mayor Carlson's comments in his recent "State of The City" speech:

People in this room can tell you questions that a person from the media will ask you about some person in this town that everybody here has known of for years and the person who's charged with covering that has never heard of them.

Several local blogs, including this one, blog on "The City". One of the blogs that I read everyday contains....well, let me put it this way: If you want to read more than news releases, you probably would want to be reading Jackehammer. Jackehammer not only reports the news, but also presents us with in depth analysis, commentary and background information.

Bus note: The illustration was used for its depiction of a "jack-hammer" since this posting was about a blog named "jackehammer". For a more detailed study of the effect purchasing celery has on underwear elastic (where this illustration was originally published) click here.

Bus note 2: Was the store Walmart? Read what happened in thefriendly Christian heartland of America"

SaveBudweiser.com

I like the taste of beer
My maternal grandfather drank Budweiser.
My paternal grandfather worked for Pabst Blue Ribbon.
I like drinking Miller High Life out of styrofoam 16 ounce cups.
I like American beer.
SaveBudweiser.com

The Front Fell Off....

Pluk een paar van zes pakken, koop knop

Pick A Pair of Six Packs, Buy Bud.
Budweiser, sponsor of the Kasey Kahne in the #9 Car has inked a deal to sell beer in Viet Nam. That's a lot of beer.
Budweiser, best reason in the world to drink beer.

Remember this post from last March?