Tag Archives: Blueberry Hill

Keeping You in the Loop

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Moose Head at Blueberry Hill

First off, Anne and I went to get our heads shaved today. This may not sound like much, but hear me out. I went in and got my basic haircut, but Anne wanted a haircut like Jane’s. Anne didn’t have a picture to show the stylist, but in the end came away with a pretty accurate rendition. Next, we did some grocery shopping, sailed by the post office and then swung home again and picked up Dave.

We drove to the U City Loop and had lunch at Blueberry Hill. The moose is part of this establishment’s rather eclectic decor. This being Small Business Saturday, we walked up and down the Loop and shopped. We didn’t buy anything, but it was interesting trying. The Loop is a way cooler shopping experience than any old mall could be.

Next, I went biking in the park. The wind had died down, but it was a lot colder than it has been. The combination of the cold weather and the already setting sun caused me to cut-short my ride. I’ll have to dig out the lights, so that getting caught out after dark isn’t such a big deal.

Last night I watched “The Conspirator”, Robert Redford’s movie about the trial of Mary Surratt, the sole woman accused in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. It is free to Amazon Prime subscribers. As near as I can tell Redford’s movie starts where Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln” ends. When I see “Lincoln” it will be interesting to compare and contrast some of the historical figures that surely will appear in both movies. Of particular interest will be the “Lincoln” portrayal of Secretary of War Stanton. Kevin Kline rather evilly plays him in “Conspirator”.

Redford’s movie is a scream of outrage at the miscarriage of justice by the military tribunals that were used to convict the Lincoln conspirators. Just when you think that this kangaroo court cannot run any further off the rails of justice, it does. The historical echos for our modern-day tribunals at Gitmo are unmistakable. I believe that the Lincoln tribunals have even been used as precedent for the Gitmo ones.

America I AM

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Saturday night, the rain came. It poured enough to cause the cancellation of Fair Saint Louis for the night, but it did cool things off some. There was still spotty showers on Sunday, so Anne and I decided to do an inside activity on the Fourth. We went to go see the “America I AM” exhibit at the History Museum. Afterwards, we enjoyed a late lunch or early dinner at Blueberry Hill in the Loop.

With 200 artifacts that chronicle the African-American experience over 500 years, “America I AM: The African-American Imprint” is a mighty exhibition. The size of the exhibit is large; it takes up both of the History Museum’s two rotating gallery spaces, but it was the quality of the show that impressed me the most. A few of the show’s artifacts that impressed were John Brown Jr.’s rifle, Jesse Owens’ Olympic medal, Rosa Parks’ fingerprints, Malcolm X’s diary and Qur’an, Muhammad Ali’s robe and Prince’s guitar to name a few. “America I AM” is the brainchild of television personality and political commentator Tavis Smiley. The exhibit will be in Saint Louis until September, 25th.

After the History Museum, we went to the Loop and Blueberry Hill. Blueberry Hill is a rock’n roll bar and not a cowboy bar as then young toddler, Daniel, once dubbed it when upon viewing it exclaimed in his always loud voice, “You’re not taking me to another cowboy bar, are you?” Anne and I were mortified, because Anne’s parents were with us at the time. That time was a winter night and the brightly lit neon beer signs peering from every window only lent credence to Dan’s accusation. This time was in the afternoon and the Loop’s sleepy summer indolence belied anything like a honky-tonk.

No, it felt more like Ann Arbor of old, back in our halcyon days there. We sat at a window table and watched the world walk by outside. After our meal, we crossed Delmar and toured the plaza where the new Chuck Berry statue has been installed. The plaza is still under construction and lyrics from his catalog of songs are just now being inscribed into the pavement. Berry still performs monthly at Blueberry Hill. Now where did I put my thrill? It was just here. 😉 

Team Kaldi’s Jerseys

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This post is in celebration of Team Kaldi’s and its captain, Captain Don.  I first met Don when I interviewed to move here to Saint Louis, worked with him for twelve years and have biked with him for about as long.  I rode with him on his first MS-150 ride.  Sandi was captain of our team that year, Team TWA.  Two years later, Don formed Team Kaldi’s.  We were a smaller team back then, but we grew quickly.  This year we should be the largest team yet.  With all of this praise, I should include at least one photo of Don, but I know that he would rather that I not.  Instead, I have included four photos of key elements of the four Team Kaldi’s jerseys.

The first jersey, the original jersey, won the jersey prize the year of its introduction.  The two subsequent jerseys, Thunderstorms on the Prairie and the coffee bean jersey did not win any awards.  This year black is back with the newest Kaldi’s jersey.  The main complaint with the first jersey (the winning one) was that it was too hot, this begat the two subsequent, whiter, but also loser jerseys.  Ladies, and I’m including the guys in on this, fashion is not about comfort, it is about looking good!  So, suck it up, ride and look fine.

We ended up going to Blueberry Hill for dinner mainly because Dave ate up almost all of the Yassa Poulet leftovers, but also because Dave wanted to go to Blueberry Hill.  Kennard joined us too.  Joe Edwards, owner of Blueberry Hill and all the other important parts of the U-City Loop business neighborhood was celebrating Blueberry Hill’s 38th anniversary at an adjacent table..

Blueberry Hill

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Rey tests the Father of Waters

Rey got the job and even though I didn’t hit a homerun, I at least hit safely.  Rey starts work next week.  Today, I have the action item to arrange another meeting.  Rey will be a Group Sales Representative for the Smokies.  Rey wanted to take us out to dinner Tuesday night, to celebrate, but I had to go out with my work guests.  A half-dozen of us engineers decided to go to Blueberry Hill for dinner.  When we arrived we were surprised to see a dozen more people from work already there.

Blueberry Hill is a restaurant/bar that has a lot of character.  It has long been associated with Chuck Berry.  He still occasionally plays there.  It is decorated with gobs of memorabilia.  One of the first times we took Danny there, it was with Anne’s folks.  It was a winter night and it was snowing.  I pulled up to the curb to let everyone else out and no sooner does Dan see the place, then he exclaims, “Your not taking me to another cowboy bar?!?”  Later when Dad thought to bring a roll of quarters to facilitate playing all the many arcade games there, all objections ceased.

Blueberry Hill is in an area known as The Loop.  The Loop is so named, because back when Saint Louis use to move by street cars, the terminus to one of its many trolley lines was in The Loop.  The street cars would loop around to head back downtown, hence the nickname, The Loop.  The owner of Blueberry Hill is Joe Edwards.  There is a smiling holographic portrait of him in the entrance.  In addition to the Hill, Joe Edwards is the proprietor of the Tivoli Theater, the Pageant nightclub, the Pin-Up Bowl cocktail bar, the Moonrise Hotel and is the founder of the St. Louis Walk of Fame.  In addition to these properties, he owns more than twice that number of lesser notoriety, in The Loop.  Have I mentioned shopping?  He has almost singlehandedly restored The Loop to its gilded age prosperity.  Joe Edwards’ current project is to restore a trolley line that runs from The Loop to Forest Park.  This project will bring back the original meaning of the nick name, The Loop.  He started all this work with the Blueberry Hill.

Joe Edwards has done a lot, but by starting in The Loop, he didn’t start from nothing.  The Loop is in University City.  This city is so named because that is where Washington University resides.  In addition to Joe Edwards’ endeavors U-City can boast two other Hollywood celebrities, Harold Ramis and Bob Gale.  Harold Ramis (from Ghostbusters fame) used his college experiences at Wash-U to write Animal House.  Bob Gale who grew up in U-City wrote the Back to the Future movies.  The U-City Lions are referenced throughout those movies.  So LA may have its Universal City, but Saint Louis has its University City.