Bob's Drive In in Imperial, MO

Bob's Drive In in Imperial, MO is one of our favorite places to enjoy classic American dining. This is a classic drive in with classic American food. We often bring our exchange students from Germany here to see  and experience American Midwest culture and food. The restaurant was opened in 1959 and recently was renovated. The restaurant is only a few miles from our home. Teddy always has the chicken strips and then a vanilla shake for dessert. Sue and I usually have a cheeseburger (in my case a double cheese) and a side of fried Okra. If you are traveling I-55 get off on the Richardson/Vogel exit and drive 5 more minutes further off the highway and you can enjoy an American classic experience and get away from the normal interstate exit restaurants. Yesterday morning Teddy was pretty excited--two of his favorite things: Mowing the lawn then going to Bob's for lunch. We always eat outside on the tables and Teddy especially likes the ceiling fans they have under the little shelter. Also, I recommend the corn dogs and the ice cream is every bit as good as Ted Drewes without the hassle of the large crowds. Many of my students work or have worked here and I often see people I know when dining here.

The Wrong Stuff by Truman Smith

I began this book once again reluctantly...I had made a nice "friend"  or something of a companion when reading my last book in Siegfried Knappe....my "book friends" are important to me...generally they are going through some type of epic struggle, generally in war...something very different than my epic struggle: raising my son as best I can, helping him navigate the world and keep him healthy. The struggles of others are a great diversion for me from my own worries and in that sense, history is a great comfort to me. I have tried to read about other special parents and what they deal with, but it strikes to close to home generally and only compounds my worries. So, luckily, I found a new diversion in the Wrong Stuff, learned more about the bombers in WWII, which will eventually help me and give me more depth when I write my book about the Hetzler Crew. Also, I did find a new book friend in Truman Smith or "Smitty" as some people in the book called him and now so do I! Smitty arrived in the ETO just a few weeks after the Hetzler Crew were shot down and killed. He was one of the few Co-Pilots that have written books and he became the PIC or head pilot on his last few missions...and amazingly he was only 20 years old!!!
At first, I wasn't so fond of the book. The overview and simplification of history I found annoying at the beginning, but I stuck with it and this turned out to be one of my favorite books. Smitty ended up flying 35 missions!! There weren't supposed to be many German fighters by this time in the war, but Smitty would definitely tell you that there were!!! Not just a few, but dozens and sometimes hundreds! The flak was always present. Smitty truly felt a lot of heat and it was a miracle that he lived through the war. I had so many favorite parts of this book, that I won't be able to cover them all, but a few do come to mind. The overriding back story in the whole book is Smitty's quest to lose his virginity...he comes close a few times and losing the "sure things" and bumbling some great opportunities with women in London due to his age and inexperience. Also, he points out how strange it was to feel so old as a combat veteran, but so young in regards to women! At one point, he finally meets an 18 proper English woman riding her horse and all  is going well and it looks like this will be IT, but...he woke up...turned out all to be a dream and even stranger, the young woman was "Queen Elizabeth"!! His brutal honesty about his lack of success with women gives the whole book added credibility and the story he tells of his combat experiences while unbelievable are no doubt completely true.
Another amazing part of the book to me was when he goes to another base to visit a pilot with whom he had graduated flight school--Paul Stout...his vivid description of the base reminded me of the Hetzler Crew's 458th bomber group's base, so I looked Stout up and sure enough, Smitty had visited Harold's base!! Sadly, Stout finished his tour of combat, but was killed later in a training exercise.
Smitty worked in TV and radio after the war and even eventually married a German woman. I did a quick search to see if Smitty were still alive and if so, what he is doing currently, but I haven't found anything yet.

Chris' Pancake House

Last week I had the privilege of having breakfast again at Chris' Pancake House. This blog entry also inaugurates a new sub-category on my history blog: Historic and/or classic dining! Chris' is located on "The Hill" in St. Louis, MO. "The Hill" is an Italian neighborhood that is best known for its many restaurants that serve dinner. I had been introduced to Chris' for the first time when I was invited to breakfast by my friend Skip Berger to talk about some research I was doing on a WWI soldier. The next summer, Suzanne and I brought my mom and step father here for breakfast. My stepfather, Dan, especially enjoyed the marble rye toast. The waiter let Dan know that it was delivered by a local bakery, Vitale's and that it was just two blocks away. We then visited the bakery, where Dan bought 2 loaves and brought them home to Springfield (MO) to enjoy! This last week was our best visit yet. Suzanne and I had a stressful morning at Children's Hospital talking to the neurologist about Teddy's possible brain surgery this summer. We took a much needed break afterwards to Chris'! I had the bacon and eggs...which I highly recommend! I rate the bacon a 10, the eggs 10, Hash browns a 9 and the cakes a solid 8.  The atmosphere out in the atrium was especially nice with the sun shining in, but it is always a little chilly, so I recommend bringing a jacket on warm days since the a/c will be nice and cool. There was a nice mix of people eating there and the wait staff was very friendly. According to a little online research, Chris' opened in 1987. I definitely recommend Chris'!