The intense late summer heat, combined with travel schedules, made it harder to get things done in August.
I originally intended to write this column about how the residents of Benton Park roll out the red carpet when cycling events come through. Several years in a row, while participating in the World Naked Bike Ride, I was wowed by the neighborhood's incredible hospitality. In addition to cheering us on, folks handed out water, juice, beer, beads, and even sprayed down riders upon request.
Yet my primary contact for that story, Jessica Jobin, was traveling, so we couldn't connect in time. I invited Neil Salsich of the Mighty Pines (and NBC's The Voice fame), who lived in Benton Park before moving to Gravois Park, to meet up. He was also traveling.
As I thought about what to write about instead, I was reading an advance copy of author Scott Alexander Hess' latest novel, A Season in Delhi. I was contemplating the St. Louis native's rich and tactile descriptions of place when inspiration struck.
I would write about the most spontaneous, perhaps even cinematic Sunday I’ve had in some time. An evening where it felt many of us simply surrendered to and became one with the heat and this place.
After the late afternoon St. Lou Fringe Awards on August 20, I invited Jamar Torres, an Instagram acquaintance who was in town for the Beyonce concert, out for drinks. My husband and I picked him up from the Hyatt Regency at the Arch, and made our way to Bar PM on South Broadway. I learned that Torres, 35, is a Boston native who was living in New York when he was lured to Tulsa by its ambitious remote work program, which offers $10,000 towards housing costs, in addition to fostering community engagement for transplants and assisting with entrepreneurial endeavors.
I showed him around Bar PM, explaining how it recently expanded into the neighboring building, which was long owned by the world’s oldest performing drag queen, Bonnie Blake. Torres discussed all he'd seen and done around town before mentioning he'd like to see Cahokia Mounds. “Let’s go right now, before sunset!” I said.
There was a massive salvage yard fire in nearby Madison, Illinois, and from our vantage point it appeared Monk’s Mound was an erupting volcano. From the top, we and a dozen others had a panoramic view which included the skyline and the raging inferno.
Torres snapped photos of the soaring Arch from the bridge on the way back, and then we wound our way through Soulard, pulling over twice to say hello to people we knew before arriving at Bastille. Despite the soupy conditions, many preferred to sit outside, including "Maven of Mardi Gras" Luann Denten. The Soulard socialite held court at one of the tables on the front sidewalk. "I returned from my trip early to celebrate Dessi's birthday!" the Maven said, in reference to Panera VP Dessi Zaneva.
Longtime bartender Mark Rumback turned on the misters over the intimate, tucked away patio, where a festive crowd, which included the jovial Zaneva, laughed and mingled. We all got soaked as the colored patio lights shimmered on our faces.
Torres seemed thoroughly charmed by our old and layered metro, based on his comments that night and his glowing Instagram post. After he returned home, I asked for his thoughts on his weekend here.
"St. Louis is a city with a special charm and strong character, where I truly see the interaction of the Midwest meets the South. The people are friendly, they’re proud of their city, I see a bustling LGBTQ community, and enjoyed visiting different places such as the art museum for the hip hop exhibit, the City Museum, and visiting the awe inspiring Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site with my new friends."
Free agents like Torres are being lured away from megacities, sometimes landing in metropolitan areas a third our size. That offers an opportunity for St. Louis. We have the affordability they crave, without drastically sacrificing urban amenities and culture.
We just need people to see what we're about.
Just as I surrendered to conditions that evening, letting this place be what it will be, I'm doing the same with this column. For me it's about finding meaning and value in our efforts and experiences, even when they don't play out as intended. Finding inspiration in one another and in this complicated place. A place where even a tire fire can become part of a mystical backdrop. Perhaps even an eruption of civic pride.
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