Cape Girardeau History and Photos

May 25, 2015

Freedom Isn’t Free

I was trying to figure out a different way to mark Memorial day when I looked to my left at the intersection of Mt. Auburn Road and North Kingshighway and spotted this Freedom Isn’t Free DAV (Disabled American Veterans) flag sticker.

That’s a nice reminder. (Click on it to make it larger.)

More welcome than this

I was a bit soured on flag decals during the 1960s because they were frequently paired with stickers like this one.

I feel the same way about SUVs sporting yellow ribbon magnetic stickers that say “Support Our Troops.” Slapping on a sticker is a lot easier than actually making sure our returning veterans have the medical and psychological care they need to integrate into society when they come home.

In 2014, three Republican Senators were the lone votes against a bipartisan bill to expand benefits and access to care for former troops. “We need to resist the temptation to create more entitlements and more entitlements,” Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions said.

Well, if we can’t afford to provide care for our returning vets, maybe we shouldn’t be sending them to places where they may require care.

OK, rant over. Let’s use Memorial Day to think about those men and women who gave their lives to make it possible for us to have political disagreements.

Previous stories about Veterans and memorials

May 21, 2015

Taking a Break

After more than a year of posting seven days a week, you may have noticed that I’ve been slacking off.

This has been a rough winter for Mother: she had her heart shocked back into rhythm in February, her pacemaker was replaced and she’s been sucking down supplemental oxygen to help her breathe (her oxygen saturation is higher than mine, so it must be working). In addition to the miserable weather that kept her trapped in the house, her circle of friends is getting smaller and smaller, which has made her a bit gloomy.

Regaining her strength

Different combinations of Mark, David and I have been keeping her company, but we determined that we didn’t have the expertise to get her back up to speed. She’s moved into the Lutheran Home temporarily so she can get physical therapy and gain some weight back. She’s got plenty of muscles from mowing the lawn, blowing leaves and going up and down the basement steps, but she’s working on learning how to use those muscles more effectively when you’re 93, going on 94.

I like the Lutheran Home

I’ve done quite a few stories over the years about healthcare facilities, including some that are no longer in business in Cape County. Most of the stories, sad to say, were about neglect and abuses.

The first thing I noticed about the Lutheran Home was that it didn’t smell. It’s clean and shiny.

The staff is friendly and caring. I’m usually there from late afternoon, through the evening meal and wind down watching a movie with Mother until she falls asleep, so I’ve had plenty of time over the last couple of months to get to know the folks who work there. They are stretched a little thin, but that’s a management issue, not anything the individual nurses, aides and therapists can control. I’m impressed.

Cards and letters

Road Warriorette Jan put the word out to her wide network of friends that she knew someone who would love to get some cards in the mail. Before long, Mother was getting batches of unique and interesting cards from all over the country. It has certainly given her something to look forward to.

If you’d like to send her a note, here’s her address until she gets back home.

Mary Steinhoff

Lutheran Home Room 217

2825 Bloomfield Road

Cape Girardeau, MO 63703

Back to work

I’m way behind on some projects, but I’ll try to post to this blog a little more regularly. Thanks to you folks who sent me email saying you missed seeing the morning posts.

I also need to thank Marty Riley and Rachael Criddle who have been a tremendous help over the past few months. It’s nice to have folks around who can explain medicines and procedures to you in non-doctorspeak.

May 12, 2015February 17, 2021

SEMO: Rev Up the Dozers

Katie Lamb had a story in the May 11 Missourian that the Ochs-Shivelbine house is slated for demolition to make room for a planned Greek Village. The Greystone Estate, located next to the doomed Ochs-Shivelbine home on North Sprigg, was demolished in March.

I’ve given up railing against the university’s penchant for treating buildings with benign neglect until they have an excuse to tear them down.

One down, one to go

Here’s a gallery of photos I took of Ochs-Shivelbine shortly after the Greystone was reduced to rubble. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

May 5, 2015

May 4 Full Moon

When I headed out to get something to eat tonight, a big orange moon was just clearing the trees. I pulled off long enough to snap off a couple frames of the moon, but it didn’t have a very interesting background, so I let my tummy make the decision to keep going. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

I knew from experience that if you aren’t in position to shoot the golden orb in relation to a landmark, forget it: you’re never going to get there in time.

Traffic light at Mount Auburn Road

I putzed around in a fast food joint waiting for my order to come up, and wasn’t disappointed to see that the moon wasn’t visible when I left the parking lot. I didn’t really want to feel guilty about not making another full moon photo.

The darned satellite was waiting for me, thought, when I hit the traffic signal at Mount Auburn Road. Fortunately, I caught the light when my lane was stopped. I shot it with the red light, too, but the green arrow seemed to work better for me.

These won’t go down as my favorite moon shots, but they were too good to pass up.