Modern Vespa

Not really scooter related BUT I did mention my GTV in my bio and it gets pictured in some of my photos. Oh, and I ride it to take my photographs as I can get close and it's a lot easier than having to park the car. Anyway, my first blog is up on the OnSTL website. If you have a moment, please take a minute to read it and let me know what you think. And if you like it, give me a like or leave a comment. Thanks! (I'm sure I will figure out how to get some scooter related stories in there ).


http://www.onstl.com/component/k2/item/613-almost-famous

Wow! You made me nostalgic for a place I've never been. That's some good writing!

Thank you so much Trepp!!! Coming from you, that is a real honor as I read your posts with great enjoyment. I'm honored

Good stuff, Liz. A testament to your passion for St. Louis as well as your writing skills.

More, please!

Working on my next two now... That's why I'm up. Wanted to go out and get a particular shot while the sun is coming up. And before it gets too hot... Yesterday the temp plus the heat index was 100F. Gads. And it's only mid June.

My wife is a Wash U alum, and I used to do a lot of gigs with my band in St. Louis back in the late 80s and early 90s. Even though we both have very fond memories of the city (and still have friends there... mostly in U City), my wife thinks of the weather there and still calls it 'St. Lousy Misery'.

Yeah... The weather can be a hot and sticky mess. I was a bit surprised as it was not a warm or particularly nice spring. Then wham... Upper 90s. And the air quality the last few days has been terrible.

What was the name of your band and where did you play? What kind of music? I wonder if my brother or I ever saw you. More likely my brother as I had gotten married and moved in 1987 though I came home two or three times a year.

Well written, Liz! I look forward to reading more of your blog. Thank you for sharing.

It was called 'Neshoma' and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have seen/heard us. We flew in for private corporate parties and weddings... mostly at the Adam's Mark but once in a while at Union Station.

On one memorable trip, we finished playing an early afternoon wedding by mid-evening and the entire band walked over (with our instruments) from the Adams Mark to Laclede's Landing.

We ended up sitting in with a blues band for the rest of the night, getting drunk off our asses on free beer, and ended up laying on our backs in the grass underneath the arch watching the stars pass overhead at 2 AM.

Good times.

Very nice Liz! I felt your sadness. The pix helped convey your feelings.

Back a few years I had the opportunity to visit Marshall Field's in Chicago. One of the last great department stores. I was sad to know it was coming to a close.

I often miss the days when I was I kid and we got dressed up and took the train to Boston to the grand department stores. It was interesting (and nice) that we dressed one way if we stayed in the neighborhood, put on a few finer things if we went downtown, and put on our best for Boston. Train and air travel always meant dressing up.

Sorry, I digressed. Good luck with the blog!

Nice pics, especially the last two. It's a shame when old cities lose those architectural details.

Nicely composed, expressive, and descriptive enough to evoke both joy and sadness. I am an avid reader of history books. You write with my favorite narrative style.

+1 Good work!

Whenever I hear about hot Missouri summers (ours can be bad enough, just shorter), I keep thinking the state should have a summertime PR blitz called "Missouri loves company!"

Thank you, thank you very much

Very well written Liz. Made me feel nostalgic through your writing. Love the pictures. Thank you.

The quiet is deafening in those places.

A bitter sweet memory.

Harv

Great writing. Great photography.

I hate seeing those great old buildings go myself. Your city has lots of them, which is the reason I loved it while spending a day cruising around.

It's been years since I've been in St. Louis.....you really make me want to go back.

Thank you so much for you kind replies and encouragement. I have always loved writing, but wasn't sure how confident I was in regards to if I could actually do it or not. I really appreciate what you have said. It really means a lot to me.

Funny thing, while going through the old store I was struck by how much times have changed in the 28 years since I worked there. It had a huge furniture department, home goods etc., but also a full range of appliances, TVs and stereos, (and records), a full service stationary department, (I had them make my wedding invitations), art supplies, oil paints, drafting tables and stools, easels, pastels, all kinds of paper, (Rives BFK, Arches etc.), water colors, portfolios... You name it. They had a large camera department as well. In Men's furnishings, you could buy expensive cigars and humidors, as well as pipes, and other manly items. A full service bakery, baked right there, the candy department, and downstairs they had the budget department and a full scale drug store. Wow. OMG, I forgot, they also had antique stamps and coins too. Specialty stores and places like Best Buy have taken those niches over. A block down there was a huge Stix, Baer, and Fuller store, with a fantastic and elaborate bronze clock on the corner. Not as huge and not quite as fantastic as the one on the old Marshal Field's store in Chicago, but beautiful all the same. That building is now loft apartments, but I have no idea what happened to the clock. Then, on the location where the convention center stands, used to be Loewe's State Theater.... One of those huge ornate movie houses of the late 1920s early 1930s. It was a particular nice one. The theater auditorium was torn down in 1984 or 85. The incredible crystal chandeliers had been taken out buy a company that salvaged great old lighting, and sold to Johnny and June Carter Cash for their dining room. And across from Famous Barr, another fantastic theater stood, The Ambassador. Torn down in 1997 so Mercantile, now US bank could have a brick plaza that no one uses. Sigh.

Simply lovely. Beautifully written.

In the mid-90s I worked kitty-corner from the Field's store in Chicago, and their candy counter was a-ma-zing [when I could afford it!] They made my wedding invitations too.

http://www.onstl.com/people/liz-krinsky/item/629-sunday-afternoon-in-the-dog-park

My Latest entry is up. The first part was edited a bit and a tad awkward in my opinion, but fun. Next week is "Drive-In Saturday", about the last Drive-In movie theater in the Saint Louis area.

Nice. And I can almost smell the wet dogs.

Regarding people treating dogs like their children (a philosophy I embrace) ...

I have to admit that I treat my own guys like fuzzy short people. I mean, they act almost human, so why not treat them accordingly???