Big Things Happenning

Your opportunity to help St. Louis and the environment (and save money!).
Plus, UJC reads our blog, you should too.
And, St. Louis makes its case for legitimacy.

So first and foremost, if you remember, in an earlier post, I bemoaned the public transportation here in St. Louis and made a personal commitment to get involved. Turns out that I'm not the only 'concerned citizen', and in fact, there is a large group in St. Louis, called Citizens for Modern Transit, that is working with employers and other citizens to get people to use the Metro system. In conjunction with Thursday June 19th's Dump The Pump day (to encourage people to drive less by riding bikes and taking public transportation), they are offering free metro rides! I couldn't be more excited to ride around all day and night. The trick here is to get people to ride who normally wouldn't, make them comfortable with the safety and ease of the Metro, and then convince them to lather, rinse, repeat.

The second order of business is that our Israel Correspondent's last post, which is certainly worth the read, was discovered by someone at the UJC, and she was offered the chance to participate on another expedition with journalists to the areas affected by constant bombardment from Gaza. Who says blogging can't change lives. (Consequently, if there is anyone out there that wants to give us a grant to write full time, feel free).

Finally, an update to Summer in the City. Yes, St. Louis might have just become a city in my book. What is it, you say, that pushed it over the edge? Was is population growth? An increase in government funding for development?

No, in fact my opinion was changed by two events. The first was meeting the ensemble cast of the upcoming production of The Producers at the Muny at Kim Massie's weekly show at Beale.
The second was my experience at the Botanical Gardens on Wednesday. Every Wednesday, the Botanical Gardens opens up and people flock to see music, have picnics, and just hang out outside. The sheer number and diversity of people there, as well as the general atmosphere, and absolute beauty of the gardens made me feel more at peace with St. Louis perhaps anything has previously. I know, I know, its not that profound, it doesn't seem that special, but do be there and just see the density of sights and sounds, which I generally associate with Chicago or New York, and to have it almost literally in my back yard. . .fantastic!

Check out Kim Massie: