Don't Pay The Ferryman

 

If you live in this area, you’ll hear the Dorena Hickman Ferry mentioned.   As a bit of trivia, Kentucky and Missouri are the only two border states in the United States that are not directly connected by a road.  Someone might say “Aha, but what about at Wickliffe?”.  You can easily get to Missouri from Wickliffe, but you have to cross a bridge from there to Illinois and then to Missouri.  I’d read about the ferry online so I thought to myself – “Why don’t I just take a ride and see for myself?”.  So, I mapped a path for the Dorena Missouri landing and headed out.  The trip takes a little over an hour from where I live.  I crossed over the previously mentioned bridges.  I did note there is now a gas station when you get to the Missouri side.  You should especially note this if you are going to Dorena.  Why?  There is pretty much nothing else for the rest of your approximately 30 minute drive. 

I reached the Dorena landing with no problem.  I had read that you must press a button to summon the ferry.   However when I got there, it was already there.  The end gate was open and I could pull my car right on.  The ferry was much bigger than I imagined. It could easily hold several semis.  When I pulled on, a gentlemen came up to talk to me.   He asked if I would turn my car around so it would be easier for me to get off.  I had plenty of room and he helped me as well.  Once I got turned around, we talked a bit.  He said I could stay in my car with the air on, or I could just walk around or go to the railing.  It cost 14.00 to cross.  He gave me a receipt that he said I could use whenever I wanted to for a 7.00 return trip.  He told me it was about 1.25 miles to the opposite shore where Hickman KY is.  I had the run the ferryboat.  The part I (and my car was on) was concrete.  It was no problem walking back and forth.  I even caught a little breeze as I watched the river and shores.  I would say this was as close as I’d ever get to doing what Huck Finn did. It took a little over fifteen minutes to reach the other side.  He unlatched the gate once we got to the other side.  I drove right off and was in Hickman KY.

I’ve always found it interesting that not only is Hickman not in Hickman County (it’s in Fulton County) but it’s the county seat.  The city of Fulton in Fulton County is not even though it’s quite a bit bigger.  The county seat of Hickman County which borders Fulton County to the north is Clinton by the way.  I hope that wasn’t too confusing.  Anyway, I (being me of course) had scouted out a couple of options for lunch.  I headed for the first one called Broadway Pizza.   It looked like an old building with a faded Pepsi sign in front.  So, I tried to find the South 7^th Grill.   My GPS took me to an empty lot.  So, I headed back to Broadway Pizza.  It was a small building with just a counter to order and no seating.  I did see the lady at the counter cutting up a chocolate pie.  She told me when I walked in that the daily special was hamburger steak.  I asked if that came with grilled onions and she said “Yes and gravy”.  So, I was hooked and ordered that.  I also asked for a slice of the chocolate pie.  I sat on a bench to wait.  It didn’t take too long.  She also told me a canned drink came with it.  I got the hamburger steak, mashed potatoes and green beans plus a roll (and my drink and pie) for 8.00.  I didn’t think that was too bad.  The thing was I needed to find a place to sit and eat. 

The last time I’d been to that area was when the boys were in high school  They used to regularly run in cross country events at Fulton County High School.  So, I went to that parking lot.  I sat there and ate my lunch.  I took the pie home and ate it later (it was pretty good).  On the way home, I went through Cayce (the home of Cayce (Casey) Jones – the famed railroad engineer.  I noticed there was even a Cayce Café (Cayce would make Hickman look like a bustling metropolis).  I may have to try that at some point.  I made it home with no issue.    So, if you are looking for a neat trip across the Mississippi and a good meal afterwards, I’d recommend it.

By the way, if you don’t understand the title reference, you’re not a real fan of 1980s music 😊.

 

 

Iron Banks Lodge

 

I really enjoy history. I had a goal of visiting Civil War sites in our area after my retirement.  Unfortunately, COVID put a crimp in that.  Now that things are finally opening up, I had decided to start visiting these sites.  The first one on my list is one that is well known to many in our area.  I decided to visit Columbus Belmont State Park.  This park is well known for the “big anchor” (which I’ll talk about in a minute).  It is located in Columbus Kentucky.  This is a very small town.  It makes our local town of Kevil look like a bustling metropolis.  Don’t take that the wrong way.  I love small towns and the neat places you’ll often find there.  I certainly found a few in Columbus.

While doing research for a drive down there (it’s only about 45 minutes from where we live), I discovered there was a place to stay close to the park called the Iron Banks Lodge.  I talked with Donna and she said she’d enjoy an overnight stay there.  I contacted the person responsible for the Lodge and reserved us a room.  She told us that we would have the whole place to ourselves so we could come in the morning and stay til 11 the next day.  That sounded great so on the morning we were to check in, we headed out and got there a little after ten.

We got there with no trouble.  When we pulled up, we were greeted with a wonderful view of the Mississippi River.  The lodge was absolutely beautiful.  There was a kitchen stocked with snacks, coffee and soft drinks.  There was a dining area and big living room area.  We went to our bedroom upstairs and it was really nice.  There was a balcony on the 2^nd floor with beautiful views of the Mississippi River.  There was also a TV room with reclining seats.  We’d never stayed in a nicer place. 

It got to be lunchtime.  Even with me snacking already, I got hungry.  I had found two restaurants in the area that were also about ¼ of a mile from the Lodge.  One of them was closed for vacation.  We went to the other one which was “Beards and Roses General Store”.  It was a small general store but they also cooked food.  I got a honey bun hamburger (a hamburger between two honey buns).  Donna got a BLT.  They also make their own ice cream.  I got chocolate fudge and Donna got espresso.  We took it back to the lodge to eat and it was all excellent.  We then went to the Columbus Belmont Park (less than a mile away).  We saw the “big anchor” and part the of the chain originally attached to it.  The original plan of the Confederacy was to stretch the chain and anchor across the Mississippi River to block the approach of Union forces via the river.  They ended up abandoning that plan.  The battle of Belmont (across the river in Missouri) was one of the first of Ulysses Grant’s Civil War career.  The park has beautiful views of the river.  There are several hiking trails as well as a playground and picnic shelters.  The museum (along with snack bar and miniature golf) were closed however.  It turned out that were only open Wednesday through Sunday.  We still enjoyed our visit there.  We went back to the lodge and relaxed in the TV room.

Later we decided to walk down the street in front of the lodge.  It was a long downhill slope.  At the bottom was the Ingram Barge company as well as a boat landing.  We got to walk right up the edge of the river.  The trip back up the hill was quite the walk, but we made it OK.  We got dinner from the General Store again.  We ate and just rested for the remainder of the evening.  We got up the next morning and walked back to the park.  It was cooler and we had a very enjoyable time just walking around.  The park was not crowded at all. 

There were breakfast items in the refrigerator to eat.  There were also packaged honey buns (which I ate too many of).  Later that morning, we packed up our stuff and left.  We left with some regret because we really enjoyed our stay.  We will definitely come back so we can have another relaxing time.  I’d also like to come when the Park museum is open to check that out.  If you want a relaxing day or two or you are interested in visiting the Columbus Belmont State Park, I’d recommend you visit.  Their web site is here and you can use the contact information there to make a reservation. 

Crown Candy Kitchen

If you know anything about me, you know I am a big St. Louis Cardinals fan.  I was looking forward to being able to attend games again this year.  Fans were not able to go to games in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic.  I had eyed a couple of games against the Marlins for the week of June 14^th.  As those dates got closer, the Cardinals began losing games in groups.  I waffled back and forth about whether to go or not.  Finally, a couple of days before the games were to occur, I pulled the trigger on tickets.

Donna and I got club seats to the first game.  This allowed us to go up to the club area to cool off during the game (the temperatures were in the 90s).  The game was close.  I got to see my favorite player (Adam Wainwright) pitch.  The game was close throughout.  However, the Cardinals ultimately won 4-2.  The second night, I went by myself.  This time, I got tickets in the Champions Club.  It also has an air conditioned club area.  The difference was that it had a full buffet before the game that was excellent.  Also, someone brought iced tea to my seat during the entire game.  This game was close as well.  The Cardinals won in the bottom of the ninth on a walk-off home run by Paul Goldscmidt.  So, I got to see two Cardinal wins.   However, I went to another place (one I’d never been to before) that I enjoyed just as much.

 I’d read of Crown Candy Kitchen before.  When we visited the Collinsville church of Christ a few years ago, someone told me about the BLT they had.  It had 14 strips of bacon on it.  That sounds wonderful to me.  I promised myself we’d go there.  We finally did on this trip to St Louis.  It’s a couple of miles north of Busch Stadium.  The neighbor was slightly sketchy, but I had been assured in reviews that there were no issues.  We parked on the street in an spot with a number posted on a pole next to it.  You go to a parking machine (as I call it) and enter the number of your spot and then money to cover the time you expect to be there.  I paid 1.35 to be there for 1.5 hours.  There was a sign in front of the restaurant indicating where we should stand outside to wait to be seated.  Almost immediately, a young lady came out and took us to a table. 

The restaurant has an old time feel to it.  There are many old signs hung up in it.  We got menus but I knew what I wanted.  I ordered the BLT.  Donna got a chicken salad sandwich.  Very soon, my sandwich came out and I was not disappointed.  It was huge and delicious.

 

I ended up with a dilemma.  I wanted to get a milkshake.  I knew if I ate the whole sandwich, I could never hold a milkshake.  So, I ate half of it and got a box for the other half (to eat for breakfast the next day).  I then ordered a chocolate milkshake.  Donna ordered coffee ice cream on a cone.  They brought me out a metal cannister with the milkshake in it and real glass to pour it in. 

I filled the glass up three times with milkshake and it was great.  Donna was equally pleased with her ice cream cone.  I was thoroughly stuffed.  They had a glass case with all sorts of homemade candy.  I was much too full to seriously look at it.  If you are in St. Louis, I’d certainly recommend a visit there.

 

The Paducah Chiefs

Now that I am fully vaccinated, I really have looked forward to being able to get out a bit more.  Last week, we finally ate in a restaurant (Culvers) for the first time in over a year.   I saw an advertisement about the season for the local baseball team starting on Friday, so I decided I wanted to go to that.  We’d gone with Jonathan and Lucy a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

The Paducah Chiefs have a long history in the area.  The original team formed in 1903 and played in various iterations until 1955.  The team was reformed in 2017 as part of the Ohio Valley Collegiate League.  You can read more about them here.  One thing I do like is unlike most collegiate type teams, they use wooden bats.  They play in Brooks Stadium which is the home of Paducah Tilghman.  It’s a really nice small stadium very close to where we go to church.  They have really good concessions as well (always a plus for me).

 The game Friday was at 6:30.  I left about 5:45 and got there about 6:10.  The parking lots were much fuller than I remembered last time.  I got in with no problems.  General Admission tickets are 5.00.  You can sit in a chairback seat for 10.00.  There really isn’t a bad seat in the place.  I stopped at the concession stand on the way in and grabbed some food.  I was able to get a good seat in the shade.  I would say the stadium ended up being almost 2/3 full.  I sat close to some fans of the visiting team (the Fulton Railroaders).  They enthusiastically cheered on their own team but were not obnoxious or overbearing in any way.  The game went back and forth.  The only thing that I must have forgotten was these games took longer to play than I remembered.  I held out as long as I could but in the bottom of the 7^th, I finally left (it was after nine). 

 If you’d like some inexpensive entertainment (and especially if you like baseball), I’d recommend you check it out.  I’ll give you one tip and it’s about parking.  Be cautious about parking too close.  If you do, a foul ball can easily hit your car.  From where I was sitting, I saw several fouls bounce off of cars.  Fortunately, mine never got hit.

My Mother-In-Law

 

We got a phone call Wednesday night that no one wants to get.  My mother-in-law Bobbie Carolyn Woods had passed away.  

My mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in her leg this summer.  She had surgery on her leg.  Then, she was found to have lymphoma and had to start chemotherapy at Vanderbilt.  We had taken her to several sessions with hopes of it helping her.  About a month ago, she became very ill and had to be taken to the hospital.  She stayed there for a week or so and then came home for a few days.  Her oncologist at Vanderbilt has us bring her there for a week.  She never could regain her strength there, so she came home under hospice for a little over a week and then passed away at home.

She was a wonderful woman.  I never can accept the stereotype of a terrible mother-in-law like you see in shows such as “Everybody Loves Raymond”.  She was always wonderful to me.  She was like my second mom especially when my own mom passed away several years ago.  The first time we met is a funny story.  I had just started dating Donna and went to visit where her where she worked after my day at Martin Marietta ended.  When I came in, she said “My mom wants to meet you and she’ll be here pretty soon”.  I was in no way prepared for that so I hid under a desk.  The next thing I knew, I see a woman’s face looking up under the desk and saying “Hi”.  Fortunately for me, she didn’t tell her daughter that she needed to forget about a young man that was crazy.  In fact, Donna told me years later that she said “If she lets that one go, I give up on her”.   That “under the desk” story was going to be the one I told on Jeopardy if I ever made it to the show.  We got to spend a lot of time together over the past several months on multiple trips to Vanderbilt and I’m thankful for that.

My father-in-law (Jack but he’s Pappy to me) and her were a wonderful example of a loving married couple.  They did everything together.  You rarely saw one without the other.  They ran errands together.  They worked together on their farm raising tomatoes and pumpkins that they sold to local stores and to people that came to their home.  They were the true embodiment of the Biblical teaching of a married couple being as one.  She especially loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  I remember how happy she was when we brought Jonathan or Josh to visit her.  And oh how she loved our granddaughter Lucy.  And of course if she hadn’t been born, I wouldn’t have the four most precious people in my life. 

I’d ask that you keep my wife Donna and especially my father-in-law in your prayers.   They were married for almost sixty years.  It’s going to be really tough on him being without her.  And give everyone precious you have in your life an extra hug, because you never know when they won’t be there anymore.

Alex Trebek

 

As we left church Sunday, I got a text from Josh. It simply said “Alex Trebek :-(“ Another one of my all-time favorites was gone. Alex had been suffering from pancreatic cancer for about a year and half. Despite it’s poor prognosis, he continued to host Jeopardy. And now, he had finally succumbed to it.

I have watched Jeopardy in both its iterations. I grew up on the Art Fleming version from the mid-60s to mid-70s. This was the golden area of game shows. In the summer, I spent many a morning watching game shows all morning long. There were even a few that ran in the afternoon. Jeopardy and Concentration were my two favorites. I had home versions of both of the games.

In what seems almost ironic, Jeopardy came back to TV in 1984 right after Weird Al Yankovic released his parody of the Greg Kihn song Jeopardy. His song was called “I Lost on Jeopardy”. Art Fleming reprised his old role as host in the video for the song. A few months later, Jeopardy reappeared on TV with a host named Alex Trebek. I remembered him doing a few shows that didn’t last long (“The Wizard of Odds” and “High Rollers”). However, he seemed perfect for the show. I’ve watched the show almost continuously since then. When our local NBC affiliate could be heard on FM radio, I would listen to the show while I ran. I had multiple video game and computer versions of the game. Alex Trebek even hosted a resurrection of the old Concentration show I liked called Classic Concentration from 1987 to 1991.

The best times I’ve had watching it are over the past few years. Since I’ve retired, it’s become Donna and my afternoon habit to sit down and watch the show together. We often surprise ourselves with what we know. Donna is really good at the game. Her working of crossword puzzles gives her a bunch of knowledge. She’s especially good at categories concerning anatomy and medicine and anything to do with words and anagrams. I’m good at US History, US Presidents and Sports. We especially enjoy when there are Bible categories. I did well recently in a category I thought I knew nothing about. I got all of the Opera “questions” right strictly from watching Bugs Bunny cartoons. I’ll answer some obscure question and then Donna has to endure the story I tell how in the world I know the answer. For example, a few weeks ago there was a question about a British medical journal. I knew it was “The Lancet” from reading Sherlock Holmes. Dr. Watson regularly read “The Lancet”. It can make my day when I get Final Jeopardy especially when no one on the show gets it. I remember being in disbelief that no on knew the Final Jeopardy when it was "This American Folklore Legend came from Cayce Kentucky".

I’ve always loved trivia. I was an avid player of Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s. Both Jonathan and Josh played on Quick Recall teams when they were in school. I even became an official and got to read questions and judge those events. I’ve recently (well until coronavirus) gotten more involved in playing on trivia teams in trivia matches. One of the things I’ve always wanted to do is be on Jeopardy. I’ve taken the online quiz more times than I can count. I’ve usually done well on it. My understanding is that even if you get enough questions right, it is still random process to advance to the next round. I actually met a young man at my nephew Tim Lanier’s wedding a few years ago who was a four time Jeopardy champion. His name was Kyle Becker. I finally worked up the nerve to talk to him. He was very personable and nice. He said it was a wonderful experience. He told me he had taken the test multiple times as well and encouraged me to keep trying.

I’ve read that there are enough pre-recorded shows with Alex Trebek to last til Christmas. I have no idea who could possibly take Alex’s place. He was like a good friend that came by every afternoon to just visit and relax. I still can’t watch “The Price is Right” with Drew Carey even though he’s been the host since 2007. “The Price is Right” will always be Bob Barker to me. I don’t know what will happen with Jeopardy. There will be an enormous amount of pressure on whoever takes his place.

Thanks for the memories and good times Alex.

Bob Gibson

 

I had just finished listening to the Cardinals lose to the Padres to eliminate them from the playoffs when I got an alert on my phone.  Bob Gibson had passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 84.   The greatest pitcher in Cardinal history was gone.

When I started rooting for the Cardinals in 1974, Bob Gibson was approaching the end of his career. He had very up and down season I remember with a few really good games and some really bad ones.  I remember him pitching well in September as the Cardinals were battling the Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL East crown.  He managed to get his record to 11-12.  Alas, he lost the next to last game of the season 3-2 when he gave up a two out homerun to Mike Jorgensen of the Expos.  I remember listening to the game on the radio. The Pirates won their next two games to win the division.  He began 1975 in the starting rotation but was moved to the bullpen because he didn’t pitch well.  He did OK there but he realized he needed to retire after a game against the Cubs.  He came in relief and gave up a grand slam to a guy named Pete LaCock.  Pete’s claim to fame was he’s the son of Peter Marshall – the longtime host of the gameshow Hollywood Squares.  He didn’t pitch another game after that.

My first real memory of him was in 1974.  My mom took all of us to see a couple of Cardinal games.  The first game we saw, Bob Gibson was pitching.  He was going for his 3000^th career strikeout something only one pitcher (Walter Johnson) had done up to that time.   I remember him getting that by striking out a guy named Cesar Geronimo of the Cincinnati Reds.  Bob left the game with the lead but unfortunately the bullpen coughed up the lead.  The Cardinals ultimately lost in extra innings. 

I’ve read a lot and seen a lot of film clips of Bob Gibson.  He pitched for seventeen years for the Cardinals.  He won two Cy Young Awards.  He was a clutch pitcher in the World Series winning seven games in three Series (two of which the Cardinals won).  He struck out 17 Tigers in the first game of the 1968 World Series.  He set the modern record for the lowest ERA in a season in 1968 – 1.12.    He was a first ballot Hall of Famer. 

My best memory of him though was actually getting to meet him.  A few years ago the Cardinals had an event where you could meet Bob Gibson and Tim McCarver before they did a meal and then an interview with them.  Donna and I went.  I actually got to shake his hand.   I told him I was there at the game where he got his 3000^th strikeout.  He asked me “Do you remember who that was?”.   I told him “Cesar Geronimo”.  He smiled and said “You have a good memory”.   I stood by him for an hour listening to him tell stories of his career.  Donna said I looked like a happy child.   We got our picture with them as well.  I hated to leave and go the meal.  He did a great interview afterwards as well. 

Bob Gibson was a very well-spoken articulate man.  He did some broadcasting and was the pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves for a few years.    He was a wonderful athlete and even played for the Harlem Globetrotters until the Cardinals increased his salary to make him stop.  He roomed with the most famous of Globetrotters, Meadowlark Lemon.  He was a regular at Cardinal events and a great ambassador for the Cardinals. 

Jonathan asked me the day after why it made me so sad for Lou Brock and Bob Gibson to die.  Part of it is it’s another part of your childhood being gone.  Another part is you really start to realize your mortality when things like that happen.  I told him he’ll understand when his favorite sports figures of his youth (Derek Jeter and Eli Manning) age and finally pass away.  I’ve seen two of mine die in the past month.  I was honored and happy to have seen them play and watch their lives afterwards.