Game Day Preparations

The Flower Child and His Bride attended an Atlanta Braves Baseball Game on Wednesday, July 30, 2008. It was the annual "Lutheran Night at the Braves" game where the Braves donate a portion of the ticket sales to "Lutheran Services of Georgia" for everyone who acquires a ticket through a special Web Site. The above image was taken during the pre-game preparations. You can see the Player Pujols warming up for the game and also the Pujols Fan in the Front Row of the Field Level Stands. It was a hot, humid night in Atlanta and the game did not proceed in favor of the Home team. The Saint Louis Cardinals won with a score of 7 - 2.

The after game summary included this statement:

Albert Pujols drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh for the Cardinals and Joe Mather put the game out of reach with a two-run homer in the eighth.

In summary a fun event for a worthy cause.

West Bibb County, Georgia "Western Loop"

Many, many years ago I attended a presentation at Springdale Elementary School concerning a Special Local Option Sales Tax for the purpose of obtaining Macon Transit Authority Busses that could kneel down and also a pelthora of proposed "Road Improvement Projects." The Western Loop consisting of Bass/Foster/Tucker/Heath/Fulton Mill was then on the drawing boards. If I recall correctly this was about fourteen years ago.

As you can ascertain from the image of the sign above there will be a Public Information Meeting this Thursday, July 31, 2008 at Sonny Carter Elementary School from the hour of 5:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M.

As a citizen of West Bibb County and also a concerned citizen of Middle Georgia, I would urge each of you to attend this vital meeting.

Middle Georgia Challenge

Once again the Flower Child is publishing a Middle Georgia Challenge. The deadline for submission via the "Comments" section of this Blog is Midnight, Sunday, August 3rd, 2008. This door is on a building in the City of Macon, Georgia. Every day thousands of people pass this building as they proceed to the homes of their Loved Ones.

The Flower Child can also assure you that this is not the entrance to a Massage Parlor. As always the Flower Child will reward the first correct answer with a delightful Lunch for One, which he will host at one of many fine lunch time dining establishments in Middle Georgia.

Transportation Update

A recent Blog entry featured a Dodge Intrepid ES which has served the Flower Child well. Today the replacement automobile was delivered. Would you believe that this automobile was actually delivered to our home here in West Bibb County, Georgia?

Automobile Maintenance

Just a few days ago I posted a report on this Blog about the great fuel milage this automobile achieved during a recent road trip to the Great Upper Midwest. Last Thursday my Bride was going on some errands and as she achieved normal road speed on Tucker Road here in West Bibb County she heard a funny sound like the front air dam falling down and rubbing on the road. The check engine light came on and the engine stopped. The automobile had enough speed to coast to a stop well off of the road on a broad wide shoulder.

The evaluation of the automobile's problem indicated that the tensioner for the timing belt had failed and that the belt jumped and caused a piston to receive major damage. The cost to repair and/or replace the engine was greater than the value of the ten year old automobile so the decision was made to donate the entire automobile to "Goodwill Industries" here in Macon, Georgia.

Lesson Learned: Listen to your Bride when she tells you of a strange sound from the car. It could be a major problem. In this case the Flower Child was told of a frequent strange sound but chose to ignore the comment.

Fine Dining - The Midwest

During the recent trip to the Midwest and specifically Northeast Iowa to visit Siblings, the Flower Child's youngest Sibling hosted a delightful Supper at Brietbach's in Balltown, Iowa. This establishment had the reputation as Iowa's Oldest Bar and Restaurant until it burned down on Christmas Eve 2007.

Shown here is the new Fine Dining Establishment which was constructed during the period of Mid-March 2008 through Mid-June 2008. It opened just in time for Father's Day in June 2008. This Establishment is Family Owned and has been in the same Family since 1861 and the Couple that owns it has seven children who all work at the Restaurant. A fine example of a "Family Owned" business which has stood the test of time. As you can ascertain from reading this Blog, the Flower Child enjoys fine food.

Saint Louis, Missouri and Ice Cream

Here you see the Flower Child's Bride and their Youngest Son as they prepare to make selections at the Famous Ted Drewes Ice Cream Store in Saint Louis, Missouri. Our recent trip to the Midwest (Holy Land) involved visiting our Son and His Bride. While anyone is in Saint Louis they must participate in the Ice Cream Treats from Ted Drewes.

Of Course the favorite Ice Cream Treat for the Flower Child is a Banana Split. This generous dessert only cost $4.50.

Perfect Male Bonding with Ice Cream as a side benefit. Note the Pick-up Truck. It simply does not get any better than this.

Flowers

It is considered appropriate that today the Flower Child share some images of the blooms that are in the Gardens. Shown here is a Dinner Plate Hibiscus.

This is an image of Angel Trumpet Blooms. These lovely blossoms hang down so it is often difficult to obtain a nice picture.

Clean Rest Rooms

Everyone now knows that the Flower Child recently completed a long Road Trip to the Holy Land. It is always interesting to read the signs that adorne the landscape and contemplate the real meaning of the wording.

Clean Rest Rooms - This one is often on the signs which promote a certain Fueling Station at the next Interstate Exit. Does that mean that all the other Fueling Stations have "Dirty Rest Rooms?"

American Owned - This one is my favorite. Does this phrase indicate that the Standards of Service is better? Or is this a phrase that is designed to pull at the heart of the American Citizen. Spend you money here so that some foreign person or business will not survive?

Of course I have a concern about the phrase that simply states that "One Should Do Business with the Locally Owned Business." A recent experience which reflected a lack of service or even concern for the customer has prompted me to seek the assistance of an out of state Business Organization to provide the "35 MM Slide Processing" I need. This out of state Business provides outstanding Customer Service and even sends the Customer pre-paid mailers so that film may be shipped to them. No wonder the "Big Box" organizations thrive here in Middle Georgia. The locally owned businesses simply, in some cases, fail to provide Customer Service. This is a shameful situation as we hear local political candidate after political candidate state that Bibb County and the City of Macon need to grow. Part of having a local area grow is to have businesses that serve the Citizens who live there.

So while Fueling Stations and other Firms attempt to lure the traveling public to their businesses, we here in Macon and Bibb County must look elsewhere to have our needs satisified. Certainly something to consider and also think about. The Customer who is seeking goods and/or services will not be satisfied with medicore service, or worse yet, a total lack of cooperation on the part of local business firms.

Budweiser

Everyone knows that the Flower Child visited his youngest Son in Saint Louis, Missouri recently. On June 28th he took my Bride and I to Gus's Pretzel Bakery in Saint Louis. As we departed the pretzel shop I saw this view. I thought I should get this picture. During recent days I have seen this same view on several Electronic Media Outlets as the ownership of the Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Company is changing hands.

Veterans Memorial - Guttenberg, Iowa

This Monument has been located in Riverside Park next to the Mississippi River in Guttenberg, Iowa since the 1950s. It has been updated to include the Vietnam Conflict. In the early 2000s a Memorial Wall of two black stones with names on each side was also added to this Monument.

Guttenberg, Iowa Navy Veterans

Alan F. E. Thiese served in the U. S. Navy as a Yeoman

David L. Thiese served in the U. S. Navy as a Fire Control Technician - Guns

John Paul Thiese served in the U. S. Navy as a Fire Control Technician - Missiles

Alan, David and John served in the U. S. Navy during the Vietnam War. David was a Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club Member. All three were Sons of Ferdinand O. and Gertrude L. Thiese of Rural Guttenberg, Iowa

Eric Michael Thiese served in the U. S. Navy as a Gunner's Mate

Eric is the Son of Norma and David Thiese of Rural Guttenberg, Iowa. Eric was in Boot Camp when the Attack on America of September 11, 2001 happened. He Served in the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier.

This Monument was constructed in Guttenberg, Iowa so that all Warriors of all Generations would be remembered.

Fuel Consumption

The Flower Child has recently completed a lovely vacation to the Holy Land. During the first 595 miles of this road trip the fuel consumption was 18.137 gallons which computes to 32.7 miles per gallon. This was not achieved by a small auto. The car used for this trip was a 1998 Dodge Intrepid. You may be aware that this is a full size auto with four doors and a trunk capable of holding the luggage for a two week trip.

Yet we hear of the plethora of new automobiles which have a fuel milage of 30 to 35 miles per gallon on our TV advertising. None of these 30 miles per gallon autos have the space that is available in the Dodge Intrepid. So after we hear about these new autos with great gasoline milage, we often forget that our Autos of a few years ago did quite well. Surely, one would think that after ten years of additional engineerging and new technology that the 30 miles per gallon barrier would have been broken before now.