so close, so cool

So here's what happens when we start to shoot a "Missouri" episode to accompany last fall's "Kansas" show.  We get about 6 blocks from the station and stumble onto a backyard garden that's growing in all kinds of ways.  Laurie and Linda are urban pioneers living in an old porn store on Troost ("old guys with gold chains still pull up occasionally"), growing tomatoes, potatoes, corn and even cotton.  Did we mention the chickens?  And Bighead, the lovely, slobbering mastiff of the house?

From an art standpoint, the sizable walls made from discarded pallets, accented with blue bottle windows, and old letters from the Osco in Westport are the most engaging.  Reuse is rampant here at what we called the "Or-house" thanks to frequent visits to the Recycling center, or as the ladies called it "the trash exchange."

Our impromptu stop made us late for lunch at Waldo Pizza, which some viewers may recall as the home of the World's Only Memorial Restroom.  The J. Stephen O'Laughlin Memorial Restroom is also the employee bathroom at the WP, and we toured it some years back while Mr. O was living (and running for mayor in San Diego.)  He's back, and working again at the 'ol pizza joint-- sporting a jazzy new mullet at that, the better to get in touch with his "inner 816."  We all squeezed in to admire his clever self-tribute, and watched him get schooled in some rock paper scissors action back in the kitchen.

Joel was appropriately excited about meetingThe Big Ball, which was about to see one of its spiritual cousins up in Weston.   Mike took us up the scenic way through his old Parkville haunts, and for a brief recreational stretch we soaked up some laid-back Weston vibe.  Not much going on in the mid-afternoon, until we rolled up to O'Malley's.  The old brewery is getting a major facelift, and here's the best thing of all.  They "found" The World's Largest Ball of String (not twine) which had been sitting in a crowded storeroom since the late 70s.   Finley Stephens wound it (quite roundly) and got Guinness' blessing.  No easy task!  Then it sat forgotten for decades.  Kudos to the Corey and the O'Malley guys for getting it where folks can see and touch greatness.

And thanks for the Irish Ales!