dual personalities

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August 21, 2026

You’ve got to take the bitter with the sweet

by chuckofish

The summer is seemingly drawing to a close. The kids are all heading back to school. Only two weekends remain between now and Labor Day! Sigh. I will note, unlike a lot of flyover summers, since we have had so much rain, everyone’s flowers are still blooming abundantly. The grass is still green!

The Rose of Sharon has been particularly vigorous.

Of course, that also means that there has been a lot of flooding. It has always been thus. A lot of rain = flooding.

We are reminded that back in 1915 a flash flood of the River Des Peres inundated much of St. Louis. Between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. more than 40 people were rescued by boat from homes in the Manchester-Hampton area. At Sublette Avenue, 40 people were taken from marooned streetcars in skiffs, and a dozen more were evacuated from a Gravois Avenue waiting room. But waters fell almost as fast as they had risen, and within two days traffic was back to normal.

Well, although the kids are heading back to class, summer weather will not end. It will stay warm well into October and that’s okay, right? “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)

Have a good weekend! Try to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

(Information about the 1915 flash flooding is taken from St. Louis Day By Day by Frances Hurd Stadler.)

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August 20, 2026

Dips for dinner

by chuckofish

The twins came over as planned yesterday and entertained themselves for the entire morning. They are so grown up now. They played with Legos…

and then Lottie and I did a Hobby Lobby craft…

I made one frame, she made four. Then they went upstairs for awhile and poked around. They are very curious and there is a lot to look at in my house. I found Lottie in my closet. It must be in the genes. We went to the Sunny Street Cafe for lunch and had our usual, which they wolfed down with abandon. Then I took them to their dad’s store and I went home to collapse.

Also, while the twins were at my house I finished my small counted cross-stitch project:

IYKYK…think Martin Short.

And in other news, the prairie prince is crawling!

Watching babies develop is amazing! Life is so exciting!

3 Comments
August 19, 2026

Sauntering toward the Holy Land

by chuckofish

Yesterday I spent a good part of a pleasant afternoon reading randomly from this book:

1973 edition

What a wonderful resource! I love this from Henry David Thoreau, don’t you?

I enjoyed reading James Melville’s (1556-1614) description of the Spanish Armada being blown off course and thereby shipwrecked in Fife. The Spaniards come begging for mercy and Melville explains that the Scots are “men, and sa moved by human compassion and Christians of better religion nor they, quhilk should kythe, in the fruits and effects, plain contrary to ours…

I also read about Scott’s last expedition, retold by Charles Turley, and I have to admit, I wept a little.

While I read I listened to sad classical music and some movie soundtracks as well–this may have contributed to the weeping. I commend this practice to you. You can search on Youtube and most things are there. My favorite movie composers are: Jerome Moross, Alfred Newman, Miklos Rozsa, and Elmer Bernstein. Even a pretty bad movie can have good music, i.e. The Valley of Gwangi (1969).

Anyway, give it a whirl sometime when you have a few free hours. I’m sure you have something on your shelves that you can crack open for some delightful entertainment!

And it’s so much better than scrolling Instagram! Although I did think this was funny:

The twins are coming over this morning to hang out while their parents are working in these last days before school starts. I hope my engine is fully operational.

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August 18, 2026

Thrills and laughter, Concert after

by chuckofish

Today we remember this day in 1852 when Captain Jack’s Floating Palace arrived in St. Louis. Built in Cincinnati to carry the famous Spalding and Rogers Circus, its amphitheater for equestrain performances was capable of seating 1,000 people. Its museum contained about 100,000 “curiosities”, including Indian weapons, old-world relics, oil paintings, and zoological exhibitions of wild and rare animals.

The boat was 200 feet long – approximately two-thirds the length of a football field, and 60 feet wide. There were 1,100 cane-bottom arm chairs sold on a reserved basis. There was the “family circle,” consisting of cushioned settees to accommodate another 500 people. Finally, there were 900 gallery seats.

So many people crowded to the wharf in St. Louis for admission that special tickets were sold to those willing to watch the show through the windows.

Performers included: William Lawrence Slout; Miss Rosaline Stickney; H.P. Madigan, who served as a ringmaster, equestrian, gymnast, vaulter and pantominist; E.S. Perry; Charles Crosby, a gymnast who worked for Spalding and Rogers from 1852-56; D.W. Stone; Dr. Reed; the Le Pantomime Troupe; Masters Eustache & Jean and Monsieur Benoit. In addition, John Gossin was a clown, rider, tumbler and still vaulter. Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., surnamed the Grimaldi of America, he was an immense favorite of audiences in the United States.

Each performance was two to three hours in length. Once a show concluded and passengers debarked, a steamboat pulled the elegant barge to the nearest small town.

The palace kept a busy schedule until the outbreak of the Civil War, when it was seized by Confederate forces and and fitted out to serve as a military hospital.

I was never a big fan of the musical Show Boat or of the movie Show Boat (1951)–based on the novel by Edna Ferber–although it would seem an appropriate historical diversion.

But it does kind of make me want to watch Circus World (1964).

4 Comments
August 17, 2026

He will hold me fast

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty quiet, mostly due to the weather, which was not particularly condusive to activity.

I did take the speedwagon in for an oil change and 6-month check-up on Friday morning. I was given a loaner, so I got to drive around a 2026 4-door Mini Cooper which was fun. I still love my Countryman though.

That evening daughter #1 and I braved the heat and went to see our friend Gary and his band, Colonel Ford, play, which was very enjoyable!

On Saturday, after my night out, I had to get up early and go to Trader Joe’s to buy some flowers and then go to church to arrange them for Sunday,

After that, I went home and took it easy. I watched The Searchers (1956) on TCM in the afternoon. It is a flawed but great film–John Wayne is awesome. It was amazing watching it again having been to Monument Valley recently.

Amazing.

I took those chairs over to daughter #1’s house after that and had a glass of wine

That night I watched 28 Days (2000)–the one where Sandra Bullock is in rehab with Viggo Mortensen. I had not seen it in a long time and enjoyed it a lot. (Not to be confused with 28 Days Later (2002) about the apocalypse.)

On Sunday I went to the 11:00 service, because the boy and the twins could come to that service. However, they had a car accident on the way there, so they didn’t make it. They are fine, but quelle pain in the neck. Anyway, I saw a lot of people at the later service that I hadn’t seen all summer because I went to the 8:30 and that was nice.

We sang a hymn which seemed appropriate to the circumstances…

When I fear my faith will fail,
Christ will hold me fast;
When the tempter would prevail,
He can hold me fast!

Refrain:
He will hold me fast,
He will hold me fast;
For my Savior loves me so,
He will hold me fast.

(Ada Ruth Habershon, 1861-1918)

Our pastor gave a good sermon on Psalm 37 (Trust in the Lord’s timing!) I went to the adult ed class on prayer–another great one led by another seminary student who was learned and funny. He got a couple of good laughs from this serious Presbyterian audience, which is saying something.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

–Psalm 37:2-4

We went to the boy’s house later where he grilled smashbergers–an excellent end to a lovely weekend. Life is good.

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August 14, 2026

Count your blessings

by chuckofish

Yesterday my copy of The Sing! Hymnal–a Treasury of 200 Hymns for Worship & Reflection–came in the mail.

It is a lovely book, small and compact. It includes all of my favorites–I am amazed that I know almost all 200 of them.

A perfect book for one’s bedside table.

Yesterday I also went down to the Link Auction House to pick up three chairs I rescued for a pittance. Two are ebonized, stencil-backed, cane-seated chairs which daughter #1 will be able to use with her Hitchcock dining set. The third is a small antique Hitchcock rocking chair which I will keep or give to daughter #2.

They are always so nice at the auction house, good-naturedly helping to fit everything into the speedwagon. This kind of service is not always the case these days and I appreciate it!

It is also interesting to drive down to the Central West End and see the slow progress being made on the mansions along Lindell Blvd which were heavily damaged in the tornado on May 16, 2025. So many tile roofs to replace! Millions of dollars! Progress is slow.

They have planted a lot of trees in Forest Park, but there are so many massive stumps!

It is always a shock to see the tornadic devastation wrought in the blink of an eye.

Well, have a nice weekend! Sing a hymn (or read one), watch an old movie, pet a nice dog.

(Mr. Smith is a big fan of The Mentalist.)

4 Comments
August 13, 2026

School is where they grind the grain of thought

by chuckofish

Yes, it’s back-to-school time on the prairie! Can you believe it? Well, time like an ever-rolling stream and all that.

The twins don’t go back until the week after next. They will be in fourth grade! They have a few more days to wreck havoc before they have to buckle down.

I was always ready to go back to school (after Labor Day) after a long, hot, boring summer. I actually liked school.

c.1962

…I know, nerd alert.

Well, here is a poem I like by Howard Nemerov, my old neighbor, about the first day of school.

2 Comments
August 12, 2026

Kindling the inner fire

by chuckofish

Yesterday was another day of “extreme heat” so I stayed inside and worked on my counted cross-stitch project while listening to Ligonier conference Q&A sessions wherein complex theological concepts are discussed and explained. Unfortunately, after about 45 minutes I realized I had made a mistake and I had to tear out all my stitching! I guess I got too caught up in the fascinating repartee of the panel members. Truly, though, stitching can drive one mad.

So keep your cool and your focus…

LORD JESUS,

I am blind, be thou my light,

ignorant, be thou my wisdom,

self-willed, be thou my mind.

Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,

and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;

Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,

make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;

When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,

and there cease to tremble at all alarms.

Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word,

and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.

Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales

may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.

Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,

Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,

Thy death occurred to give me a surety,

Thy name is my property to save me,

By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,

but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.

I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,

but thy cross has brought me near,

has softened my heart,

has made me thy Father’s child,

has admitted me to thy family,

has made me joint-heir with thyself.

O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,

that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,

that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.

May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,

and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,

for unless he move mightily in me

no inward fire will be kindled.

–Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions, Banner of Truth Trust

4 Comments
August 11, 2026

“Look what TJ Maxx dragged in”

by chuckofish

We are going through another of those “heat advisory” periods where, yes, it’s hot–but nothing unusual for St. Louis in August. The weather people just love to be so dramatic. But staying inside and watching a movie is not a bad idea.

So yesterday I went to my friend-with-the-really-big-television’s house to watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026). Unfortunately I thought it was pretty lame.

Twenty years (!) after the original, “Andy Sachs reunites with Miranda Priestly as they navigate their careers amid the decline of traditional magazine publishing.” There is a lot of talk about journalism and the inference is that we should care about journalism. And should we care about high fashion and really rich people acting badly? Not if they’re not even funny. Meryl Streep is very good as usual, but she is playing a terrible person and that joke gets old. There was really no one for me to like. Also it dragged. The other ladies in attendance at this viewing thought “it was cute”, but, sorry to be a grouch, I didn’t.

You’re much better off checking out TCM and their Summer Under the Stars schedule. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this week:

Watch an old movie! You’ll be glad you did.

1 Comment
August 10, 2026

Glad when Thy gracious smile we see

by chuckofish

I had a very quiet weekend–which I needed after a very busy month of July and first week of August. I watched an online auction and went to one estate sale where the basement was like a time capsule–red linoleum floor, pine paneling and glass block bar–where, I have no doubt, many good times were had back in the day. I hope they don’t tear down the house, but that is the current modus operandi.

On Sunday I went to church, but I didn’t stay for adult ed because I was feeling like I was in a DayQuil funk. (Yes, I have been fighting off a summer cold.) I went home and took a nap.

I caught up with daughter #2 on the phone. I did a little stitching…

…I read a little…

I am ready to face the week ahead.

Our restless spirits yearn for Thee,
where’er our changeful lot is cast;
glad when Thy gracious smile we see,
blest when our faith can hold Thee fast.

–Bernard of Clairvaux, c. 1150 (tr. Ray Palmer, 1858)

2 Comments