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Fun holiday! Scorpio2 and I went, first, to the St. Louis Art Museum, and browsed around the free exhibits. All the usual ancient artifacts, then the impressionists, the pointillists, the depressing Dutch, some interesting German post-constructionists. We’ve seen them a million times, of course. I find I always love seeing Van Gogh, though. He really packs a punch. Still, it’s fun roaming museums and galleries with my girl. I like watching her take it in.

My boss gave me tickets to a Gateway Grizzlies game, a minor league baseball team right over the river in Illinois. That was super fun. It was nice of S2 to go with me, as I know that she hates sitting out in the sun, and could careless about baseball. We were right behind the visitor dugout – feet and purses props upon it. I taught her some rules and showed her a little about how to keep score. She was quite a trooper, never complaining, and had to admit that such a good view of the cute batters was quite enjoyable.

Then, crossing the bridge back to the city, we looked over at the levee and saw the THRONGS of people along the riverfront, at the fair. “It’s Cindy Lauper tonight,” I told her. “What! You didn’t tell me it was Cindy Lauper! You didn’t tell me there was actually somebody good playing!” “You wanna go?” “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” she said. And so we went. Ten block walk from the parking lot, absolutely intolerable mash of a million people. Far away view among very rude people who cared nothing about blocking the view of those behind them. But still, it was fun! Cindy Lauper is adorable, totally. I’d seen her early in the year with Metal Ox, at The Pageant, and loved her. So, fun.

Friday night, I was a bit sad not to meet The Princess’s friends from Dallas. Apparently they craved a private audience with her. Understandable. In the absence of She and Her Court, S2 and I went to Fat Tony’s for BBQ. In spite of the apparent endorsement from Bill Clinton, S2 declared the ribs inferior to Hammerstones. Indeed, Fat Tony’s did look too pink for my taste, too. I like the meet falling off the bone. I had the pulled pork, which was really good, though not quite greasy enough for me. The frozen fires were good enough, and slaw really tangy and fresh S2 love the baked beans. Service was amusing, too. I think the counter lady thought I was seriously IQ deficient, since I couldn’t find the water on the self-serve beverage station. Brainstorm, though, when we decided to make a summer quest for the The City's best ribs. This post-vegetarian version of S2 is very into ribs. I sure there is something in there she needs. So, how fun will that be?

After the BBQ we took a drive through Forest Park, then I talked S1 into going over to Sqwires to watch fireworks. I don’t know why there were fireworks on the 3rd, but there you go. There were. I had noticed earlier a great view of The Arch from the Sqwires patio, and indeed, it was a pretty good place to view. Only about 10 other people seem to have had the idea, so there were no crowds. We had coffees and dessert (chocolate ravioli, mediocre but pleasant), and watched the pretty pyrotechnics. Fireworks are better from farther away, I’ve decided. At the riverfront the next night they were going off as we were leaving the Cindy Lauper concert, and it was deafening and quite unpleasant. As S1 said, if a person had just come from a war-torn country it would be a head-burying trauma all over again. Though the way the percussions echoed through the canyons of downtown was pretty interesting. In an apocalyptic sort of way.

S1, more painful bad luck. He needs a karma switch. And he needs to man up and get out of his mommy’s house. I wouldn’t mind if his attitude were better, but oft times he’s just amazingly unaware of other’s needs and feelings. How does this happen? Did I not raise him otherwise? I often think that all this insensitive posturing is his defense against his own deep sensitivity. And that just sucks. The world needs sensitive men, so badly. And yet it has convinced him that it’s totally uncool to be so. You know, I wonder about all the things I thought would make my children grow up happy and well-adjusted. Pristine pregnancies, home births, breast feeding, relaxed childhoods at home with mommy. But then there was divorce, single parenthood, years of relatively genteel, but still, poverty (though they were never hungry!). I don’t know. All I know is I love them, at that never stops.