View From The Bridge 8/10/2011

“VIEW from the BRIDGE”
By Muncie
8/10/11

AROUND TOWN
It will be a busy week with the Ice Cream Social on Wednesday at the Golden Age Senior Center. (I reminded you last week that it would take place before you get your River Press.)

At the Taste of Chouteau County, the Chouteau County Performing Arts will be selling their seasons tickets. It is a real bargain Folks. They have 7 shows lined up for your enjoyment and possibly another. That averages out to $5.00 a show. You cannot purchase a one show ticket anywhere for $40.00. There will be a show every month and isn’t that going to be something to look forward to.

Another of my dreams is to have that auditorium filled to capacity every time a show is presented. However, you have the option of picking and choosing the shows that you want to see. Not only does the book they give you at the door contain a description of each performer/performances, the River Press publishes an article about it for each show. Join the movement to support the CCPA because they are hard working folks who are strictly volunteers. In other words, they work free and the only compensation they receive is the thank you they may get for a good show from you.

It reminds me of a story that I read recently about a beautiful young woman who donated her eyes to an eye bank when she passed away. The young man who received her eyes wanted to thank the parents of the girl. He thought that they must be very special people to raise a daughter who would donate her eyes. He was able to do that through the Eye Transplant Hospital. The hospital said that they had received only two thank you notes out of the 30,000 cases they had on record. Interesting, isn’t it?

I mention this story because I would like to see more people thank the volunteers who are members of the board and the Woman’s Club for the cookies that are there each time. That is a whole lot of cookie baking going on. The cookies are all prizewinners. It is hard to choose which one you would like to please your palate with. See you there.

HARVEST
What a wonderful week we will have for harvest if the weather continues to be like today, (Monday.) The temperature is a little lower than hot, no wind to speak of, and long hours left of daylight. The full moon is on Saturday the 13th which adds to the pleasantness of the evenings.

By the way, are you enjoying any walks on the Old Bridge in the late evening after the lights turn on? What a beautiful sight it is. It is just another extraordinary view to behold in our beautiful city.

THROUGH THE YEARS
Last week I wrote about the Super Host program that was well attended this year. It would be a great advantage if everyone could attend these programs. It is difficult to pass along ideas to the many when so few take advantage of learning about how to get your town across to visitors. I am passing on some of the “sharing ideas” that we learned during a very informative session. Read on and see if you agree with their diagnosis of the characters.

Some quick stats on the Traditionalists begin with them being the smallest of the four generations. The Great Depression and WWII shaped them. They are rapidly exiting the workplace and control a significant part of the economy, represent a strong political force, and have set the standard for work rules and procedure.

The Baby Boomers are the largest of the four generations in the workforce. They were shaped by Civil Rights, Vietnam, Woodstock, and Feminism. They are nearing retirement and fighting it. They will never grow up.

The X Generation is also known as Baby Boomers, Post-Boomers and the thirteenth generation. They are shaped by Watergate, Challenger explosion, economic downturn, PC boom, massive corporate layoffs, and advent of the Internet. They resist labels and categories.

Finally, the Millennials rival the Baby Boomers in size. They are shaped by the Internet, 9/11, the Iraq War, and have busy over planned lives. They connect well with the Traditionalists and they grew up with helicopter parents. They are an impressive purchasing influence that makes them market targets.

All of the above make for great conversations around the dinner table. What I admire about the Millennials is that they converse more than my generation of Traditionalists. However, we do talk a bit more than our parents and grandparents. Traditionalists please pass on important information like medical records and where you were born and raised. Did you have any really exciting events happen in your life that do not seem important to you now but will be valuable to your grandchildren? Journals are absolutely the best way to keep accounts of family happenings, however, I wonder how many of you readers keep a journal. I have never seemed able to keep one. I need to follow my own advice before I start giving it out to others. I know you will agree.

THE COUNTY SHOPPE
I stopped in to visit the Shoppe (next to the Golden Age Senior Center,) today and found what I wanted immediately. They have a Guest Book and I read over the visitors they have had since then opened. Honestly, Folks, they have come from all over the U.S.A. and Canada. “Dew Drop In,” and just visit, look over what they have, and enjoy being in the “Art World.”

What I found today was quite exciting. They are beginning classes in September. They will teach New England Tote Baskets, Pottery Tiles, Beginning Watercolors, Kids Holiday Gifts, and Woven Snowflakes. The classes vary in cost. Get down to their corral and sign up. Their brochures are available and let’s fill up that Guest Book.

SO LONG FOR NOW
Let’s move along with the flow just like the Missouri is now traveling downstream past Fort Benton. The Missouri is now down to normal level to about  3 ft. It had been to a high of about 11.4 ft. that was 3 ft. short of flood state.

I saw a deer in town last week on Franklin. Have any of you seen deer near your homes. We had put up a deer fence after two years of having deer eat hardily out of our garden. The fence went up in the spring and in that fall; the harvest was started on the deer. I wonder if it will ever get to the point where we will be happy that we still have the deer fence around the garden.

Be happy for me that the birds are back (in force,) in my back yard. I usually do not feed them in the summer however, I just wanted to see if they would return. I put up mothballs in two places because I was told that they would keep the critters out of my yard. I also purchased a gadget that is supposed to keep them out by putting out a piercing sound that hurts animal’s ears. I put it directly in front of the garden but I still have a kitty that visits every day to use the garden as an outhouse. Oh well, it is better than the large cats that would catch the visiting birds. Now, tell me how to keep the crows out although they are helpful in that they pick seeds off the ground.

GOD BLESS AMERICA AND OUR TROOPS