Kosher In Columbia Revisited

Back in August I ran another story on keeping kosher in Columbia.  Fortunately it continues to get easier all the time and I have even found several new sources of kosher food such as World Harvest which sells otherwise impossible to find kosher canned beans.

Last weekend we attended a bat mitzvah celebration in St. Louis and on Sunday we went to Kohn's Kosher Market to replenish our meat supply.  Meat is the only thing you really cannot get here.  The last post on this topic showed a shipment we had just received by Federal Express, and we had pretty much gone through most of it.   This time we were in St. Louis anyway and saved a lot of money by picking it up at the store in person.   While there we had a great lunch and I was particularly pleased with the buffet which I had never had before. So, here are some pictures from that trip.

Now here is a question though.  When are we going to get a Chabad House?

 

Ron Taylor Project: The Last Assignment

In my other blog I talk about having only had about six real teachers in over 20 years of formal education.  I am talking about people who's primary responsibility was to impart some kind of wisdom or knowledge into me.  Of course other people took a crack at it but not as professionals.

Ron Taylor was one of those teachers.  This fall reminded me of something he said to me years ago.  After class Ron would hang around campus and sort of get wistful about things and I loved to talk with him then.  Like me he loved the campus, the idea and beauty of it, during the slow times when everyone else had pretty much gone home.  It is an awesome experience to have a whole campus to yourself!   It was a fall afternoon, around this time of year, when he had me come out to the front of St. Clair at Columbia College.  He told me that somebody should come to that spot at the same time every week and take a picture of the trees.  He thought it was worthwhile to capture the seasonal changes.  Well, that was years ago but last week I remembered.  At around 3 p.m. on a Wednesday I went out and took a picture.  It is my last assignment from Ron.

Every week for a year I am going to go to the same spot at 3 p.m. on Wednesday and take a picture of the general area Dr. Taylor indicated.  If I cannot be there at that exact time I will do it the day before or the day after, or perhaps have someone else do it for me.  I hope to use the same camera as well (my Lumix  with  Leica lens - a great pocket camera).

Here are the first two pictures.  I will add pictures to this project every week or so until next year at this time. 

Week One:  Taken on 14 October 2009 at 3 p.m.

Week Two:  Taken on 20 October 2009 at 2 p.m.

FFA Community Service Challenge: Adopt A Spot for Missorui Cancer Associates

On Saturday (17 October 2009), high school students in  FFA (Future Farmers of America) from North Shelby and Chillicothe high schools volunteered their time here in Columbia.  The location for their community service project was a traffic island they landscaped at the intersection of Broadway and Old 63.

 This specific project was a community service challenge for Missouri Cancer Associates and was supervised by master gardener Carolyn Oates:

Carolyn explained the requirements for a master gardener.  Locally master gardeners must take a class from the University of Missouri Master Gardener Extension program, and then volunteer 30 hours the first year and 20 hours for subsequent years. Master gardeners must also continue with six hours of ongoing education per year.  The University of Missouri has an outstanding Master Gardener Extension program with a very informative web site where you can go to get more information. 

 

This statement about the Master Gardener program is from the American Horticultural Society web page:

The Master Gardener program, conducted throughout the United States and Canada, is a two-part educational effort, in which avid gardeners are provided many hours of intense home horticulture training, and in return they "pay back" local university extension agents through volunteerism. Master Gardeners assist with garden lectures, exhibits, demonstrations, school and community gardening, phone diagnostic service, research, and many other projects.

In the future I plan on doing a related story on community gardens.

There is increasing concern with our food supply and an increasing interest in urban gardening.  There are highly productive, and efficient, methods for growing produce in urban settings and I predict that will continue to be a growing trend.  Newer methods of cultivation, like the square foot system are boosting productivity while cutting down on the need for harmful chemicals.  I would like to see more young people involved with the FFA which not just about traditional farming but also about agriculture education in general.  How about FFA groups for urban high schools with a focus on urban gardening?

I drove by a couple of days later and took a picture of the completed project.  Looks pretty good:

 

 

Flash Flood & the Green Valley Drive Bridge

Last Thursday and Friday the heavens opened up and we got a lot of rain in a short amount of time.  I was driving to work and the alert came on the radio warning of flash floods.  Later that afternoon , after I finished my last class around 3 p.m.,  I decided to take some pictures, and the pictures are a little more dramatic than what I had expected.  Although the rain had stopped the runoff was still considerable, kind of hilly around here, and the water was still rising. 

These pictures are of the area just east of Eastgate IGA of an old one lane bridge open only to local traffic on Green Valley Drive.  Here are the before pictures taken while the water was still up:

On the bridge facing south:

On the north side of the bridge facing north and East Broadway.

On the north side of the bridge facing south:

 

Here is what it looked like now that the water is down a week later:

A short movie.  The water is still swift and strong a week later:

Here are some pictures I took last winter of the same bridge:

 

סוכות (Sukkot) in Columbia

Sukkot , in Hebrew סוכות, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, is one of the three pilgrim festivals (when ancient Jews would visit the temple in Jerusalem) and lasts for seven days.  It occurs  between late September and late October in the secular calendar.  In the Jewish calendar it occurs on the 15th of Tishrei after the High Holy Days (Rosh Hasannah and then Yom Kippur).  Some scholars believe that Sukkot was the model for the Pilgrim celebration of Thanksgiving.  It is my favorite holiday.

A  sukkah, is a booth or hut which observant Jews "dwell" in during the holiday and it is considered a great mitzvah to have guest.This year we had over twelve guests who came to eat, rest, study, or just mediate at various times in our sukkah, and we came periously close to running out of room.  I am even thinking of buying a bigger sukkah for next year. Our sukkah is made from a kit and we set it up on our driveway, but many people build their own and it is not expensive to do so.

 

Many of our neighbors asked about our "tent" and I was happy to explain to them what it really was and the significance of the holiday.

 

Next year, God willing, I am hoping to have over twenty guest!  Columbia is not the Jewish wasteland that it once was.

St. Luke's Greek Food Festival

This event is something to look forward to every year.

For the past seven years St. Luke's Greek Orthodox church, located at 1510 Audubon, has sponsored a Greek food festival.

This event  always seems to draws a big crowd and this year it seemed even larger than usual.  Parking was at a premium so my wife and I took advantage of a beautiful fall day to walk the two blocks from our house next to Shepherd Elementary School to St. Luke's to eat and enjoy the festivities.  I am glad we did.

The food was delicious and the help was friendly. 

Different booths offered various items emblomatic of Greek life and culture.

I tried Ouzo for the first time.  I liked it.

 

Fresh pastries.

 

Then there was the dancing,...!

 

Before leaving I took a few moments to talk to Fr. Michael Monos, the parish priest, who has been at the church since February 1st of  this year.  Fr. Monos struck me as energetic and outgoing, and I think the parish is in good hands.  I am glad that we have this faith community here in Columbia to add to our diversity and contribute to our cultural life.

Father Michael Monos.

Eheu Fugaces Labuntur Anni

This collection of old Volkswagen Beetles near Cosmo Park fascinates me. The Beetle was the longest-running and most-produced car of a single design.

 

This juxtaposition of industry and nature in the photographs is a post-industrial metaphor at least for us here in the West. We view manufacturing as in decline with finance and service sectors becoming more of the economic engine. Industry declines and nature takes over. I call it "The Detroit Look."

 

There is an interesting backdrop to this story. These vehicles are located at a once thriving Volkswagon repair shop that was operated by the father of NASCAR car driver Carl Edwards. Edwards grew up around the shop and weekend racing.

The title for this post is from the Latin:  "Alas, the fleeting years slip by. (Horace)."