Cape Girardeau History and Photos

January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Athens County Historical Society

Friend Jan Norris and I spent the day at the Athens County Historical Society and Museum meeting with curator Jessica Cyders and other folks. They are a great bunch of folks who made me feel very welcome and very flattered.

It’s fun to see people get excited about small details that help them fill in holes in the area’s history. It looks like my Ohio era photos could end up with the society when I go toes-up.

I had forgotten how hilly Athens is. If Norris stayed here a week, she’d have the Athens Calves that everybody develops here. I wish I had taken a photo of her in her many layers today. “Is there any color in the rainbow that you’re NOT wearing?” I asked her. If her lips hadn’t been frozen together, I’m sure she would have come up with a smart reply.

Jan may get to see snow falling

Weather could be interesting. The first forecast I saw this morning showed Cape getting up to five inches of snow on Thursday and Athens getting the same amount on Friday. Both have been revised downward, but the official word from the weather service is “a fast moving winter storm system is forecast to race across the quad state region Thursday night and depart Friday morning. The latest available forecast model guidance suggests while it is still too early to pinpoint exact amounts and locations… it continues to look like at least some accumulation of snow… ice… and sleet is expected with this system.“

January 22, 2013January 22, 2013

Cold: A Matter of Degree(s)

Road trip Day Two checked off some boxes:

Friend Jan wanted to go to to Mary Jo Fabrics in Gastonia, NC. Done.

She got to see snow

Norris wanted to see snow. She got to see snow going through the West Virginia mountains. This area got about a foot-and-a-half of snow in the last week or so. I would like to have taken a better photo, but my model was whining and running inside.

She wanted to feel cold air

She wanted to experience cold. She got to feel minus 3-degree wind chill when we pulled into Athens around midnight. I have to admit the 10-16 mph cut right through you.

From now on, “cold” will be when she turns the AC down to 65.

Photo gallery of Day Two

Here some other photos of the day that I’m too sleepy to write about. Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

January 20, 2013

Rocking with the Shrimp

Well, Friend Jan and I survived the first 500+ miles together today. She suggested we stop for lunch at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville because she had eaten there lots of times and because she had written a rave review of the place for The Post. Indeed, she had. On the wall in the main lobby was a laminated copy of her review. She insisted on basking in the reflected glow of her former glory even while the server was attempting to hustle us to an empty booth.

Following Jan’s recommendation, I ordered a dozen broiled rock shrimp. After I had eaten half the platter, I got in the review mood and said, “I really like the crunchy texture of these shrimp.”

“You’re supposed to peel the shells off them first, doofus,” she said, with no small amount of satisfaction.

She’ll be stiffer than a plaster shrimp

Miz Jan has been obsessing over the weather all day. She keeps feeling the windshield to see if it’s getting colder.

Wait until Monday. Here’s the forecast for Athens, Ohio, where we’re going to be tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with snow showers in the morning, then overcast with snow showers. High of 30F with a windchill as low as 16F. Winds from the West at 5 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy with a chance of snow. Low of 9F with a windchill as low as -4F. Winds from the WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 30%

She’s going to be as stiff as that plaster shrimp.

January 19, 2013

Ducking My Responsibilities

Ya’ll are a tough audience. If I skip a day, I’m sure to hear from Mother who wants to know why I’m “slacking off.”

Now, it’s Friend Shari that’s taking me to task, although a bit more diplomatically: “So, does the appearance of the short blogs mean you’re packing to head to Cape? When are you leaving?”

The answer is “Yes.” I’m trying to scan and print a bunch of photos from my Ohio years to show to the Athens County Historical Society and Museum in Athens, Ohio. The game plan is to leave West Palm Beach on January 20, stop in Athens for a couple of days, then head on over to Cape until the first week of March.

The duck? Your guess is as good as mine. It was on the same roll as the cute cat. There’s a good reason why nobody has seen it in almost half a century. You can click on it to make it larger.