Country Bob's Cafe in St. James

I can totally recommend Country Bob's Cafe in St. James, Missouri for anyone looking for a classic, Midwest dining experience. The special on Fridays is catfish and as you can see for $7.99 the portions were large! For a buck more you get two filets...for 2 bucks more--unlimited!!! Teddy was happy with the chicken strips and he ate my hush puppies. I also recommend pie for dessert. They are homemade, none of that canned stuff that Frankie Dunn hates and yes, if he does make another trip to Missouri, they do have his favorite here - Lemon Meringue! I had the Coconut Cream (Just like on Gilligan's Island), in sticking with the Gilligan theme Sue had the Banana Cream and Ted enjoyed a huge piece of Chocolate pie. Teddy was also happy that they had fans. The prices were reasonable, the service was fast, friendly and our waitress seemed to come right out the Boar's Nest. So, next time you are crossing Missouri on I-44 (old 66) go north about 1 mile at the St. James exit to Country Bob's...not Bob's Country Bunker...that's another place. You won't be disappointed! We often drive thru St. James, so I am looking forward to trying their other dishes.

North to the Orient

I just finished reading Anne Morrow Lindbergh's North to the Orient just a few minutes ago. Because it is summer, I have relatively more time to read and to write reviews. Also, I am taking advantage of the fact that Teddy is watching one of his favorites at the moment: Abbott and Costello's Hold That Ghost. Due to financial constraints I am not flying as much as I had hoped to in recent weeks, but I am using this time to read as many classic and essential books on flying as I can and of course one of the titles that I have seen in used bookstores and heard about over the years is North to the Orient.
Anne met Charles not long after he made his famous trans-Atlantic flight and they were married a few years later. She became a pilot herself, she was the first woman to obtain a glider pilot's license (1930) and also earned her private pilot's license in 1931. On her many voyages with her famous husband, she served as co-pilot, navigator and radio operator...and navigation and radio operations are much easier now than they were then.
This book chronicles the trip the Lindbergh's made in 1931 from New York to China using a great circle route which would lead them north to the orient, not west as one would generally think would be the shorter route. Their route led them north into Canada, Point Barrow Alaska, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Japan and finally China.
For me while reading this book, I kept thinking about their baby Charles Jr., who was kidnapped not long after this trip and murdered. I think I read that she actually wrote this first book (she wrote many), which was published in 1935 as a way to deal with her son's death. It is really sad when she makes a few references to the baby in the book (he was already born, but of course didn't go on this trip).  I have to think that the death of their first son affected them and changed who they were from that time forward. I can imagine that losing a child is just not something from which parents recover...they go on, but they don't recover completely.
A beautifully written book, it captured the essence of the Lindbergh's in their early years of marriage before their son's death, before they were involved in isolationist views before WWII and before the many other challenges their marriage weathered. She casually mentions her "husband" several times in the book...just casually, without the acknowledgement that he was the most famous person in the world at the time.
For pilots such as myself and those interested in the aviation aspects of the book, it was my first exposure to seaplanes, I learned a lot about the the Sirius (the pontooned monoplane that the Lindbergh's used on many adventures and is now on display at the Smithsonian), I learned a lot about the old days of radio on aircraft and that even Lindbergh could have a hell of time fighting his way through fog...not a weather phenomenon to be taken lightly by any pilot.
The last paragraphs of the book describe the magic of flight about as well and poetically as any I have ever heard or read before. Anne Morrow Lindbergh lived a long life dying in 2001 at the age of 94. Her husband died several years before in 1974. This book has inspired me to read The Spirit of St. Louis again...which I first read in May of 1988...24 years ago!

Slingers in House Springs, MO

 Slingers in downtown House Springs, MO is a classic Midwest diner that serves a solid breakfast. We have the tradition now of eating here the first weekend morning after school is out for the year. The only downside of Slingers is the smoke, but the rest of the place and the food make it worth the old school smokey atmosphere. I had the bacon, eggs and hash browns, which I highly recommend.

 Teddy had a serving of bacon and a stack of delicious pancakes. He was also happy that diner has plenty of ceiling fans!

Teddy loves sitting at the counter and Slingers has a long counter with plenty of stools. We are hoping to hit Slingers one more time before summer break is over! One more thing: as the name implies, yes you can order a slinger here or in fact several slingers if you are really hungry!

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'!

Soldat

Soldat by Siegfried Knappe
As my readers know I read and review a lot of books on WWII and this book is a rare treat in that it is told from German point of view. Siegfried Knappe really saw a lot....from the Arbeitsdienst (Labor Service) after graduating with his Abitur (diploma) from a Gymnasium (A German high school tracked to prepare students for university) to joining the army as an enlisted man in 1936, to Kriegsschule Potsdam (officer training academy in Potsdam) where Erwin Rommel was his group leader, to being involved in several campaigns during WWII such as the Sudetenland, invasion and occupation of France, invasion of Russia, defending Italy and finally he was right there at the end during the Battle of Berlin. Knappe was lucky to have been wounded several times...I say lucky because it allowed him to recuperate far away from the terrible situations in Russia, but none of the wounds were debilitating, so his wounds probably saved his life. Knappe was a first rate leader and soldier with a strong intellect. He graduated near the top of his class at Kriegsschule and later went through general staff training (the 2nd to last class ever to do so in Nazi Germany).
I always begin a new book with a bit of reluctance...I get used to a book, I savor a good book...the characters or the author become a fellow traveler in my life for awhile if not like a friend. So, when I finish a book, I start a new one with a bit of trepidation, not sure about my new friend and if I want to go on the journey they want me to go on or if I want them to be part of my life. I also read slowly, a few pages generally each night before I go to bed to clear my head of the day's stress and to give myself something to think about as I try to fall asleep rather than my own worries. So, this relationship...my book companion so to speak....is an important relationship to me. As I first started this book, I wasn't sure about Knappe...but literally on the first page he mentioned the German town of Eilenburg. Really? Eilenburg? It is a little out of the way place in the former East Germany...but I have spent time there...I know people there...we have an exchange with the town's high school (for 11 years now). Unbelievable...I felt right at home then with my new friend right away and I am still sorry that I finished this book. When he met the love of this life during the war and married her, it was in his hometown of Leipzig at the Thomas Church...I have been in that church!! I have sat in the pews and prayed for my son's Teddy's health as I do in every church I visit. Of course, he mentions other places where I have been as well, but more logical places such as Berlin or Nürnberg.
It was my view that Knappe was a first rate officer and leader and surely would have been a general had the war taken another turn. The book starts at the end of the war near the Führer Bunker. Knappe is often coordinating final details of the battle with Hitler's staff as the Russians are closing in. He sees Hitler and is shocked by his lethargic and pitiful appearance. Not at all the same Hitler he'd met years before and not the same Hitler that Knappe now had the "urge to kill" in order to "stop all of the suffering". He could have fled on his own and tried to make his way to the Americans, but he followed orders and did his duty to the end and paid the price by spending 4 years in a Soviet prison camp. His logic was sound though...he thought it would show a distinct lack of leadership to abandon the men under him as long as they were still fighting.
I used to be skeptical of Germans who claimed they didn't know about Auschwitz and other atrocities in the Nazi's committed...now I am not so sure. Knappe reminds us repeatedly that Nazi Germany did not have a free press and that he only had a vague notion of what might have been going on...it is not like they were advertising or telling the world what they were doing to the Jews and others....not the outright killing of them anyway...they hid it so well in fact that many Jews themselves were skeptical that there were death camps and Elie Wiesel's Night comes to mind when the man who escaped the death camp tries to tell the people in his village what is going on, but is dismissed as crazy more or less. Also, I held this view before our war on terrorism. I find that I can't answer for my own country's deeds in places like Guantanamo or our secret CIA prisons...I can hope we are not committing atrocities...but I don't really know and there is no way I can know that all of the people in them are guilty and that they aren't being tortured...I only know what has been allowed to be released to the press or leaked out. So, my previous harsh judgments of how the German population should have known and did something about it has been tempered a bit and I am not nearly as arrogant about it as I once was. Knappe admits that they knew that some jews were rounded up and sent to camps just for being jewish and that probably some were killed there, but the 6 million dead figure was hard for him to accept at first, but he nevertheless said he "sadly" and slowly accepted that the Nazis indeed had committed crimes against humanity . He says that he could now only feel shame for what had started as a "noble venture to right the injustices of the Versailles Treaty and regain what we thought of as rightfully ours had led to the inhuman horrors of extermination camps."
By the time the war ended he was a family man with two sons and very much wanted to survive to see them again. Luckily he was reunited with his family after being released by the Soviets after they determined he was not a war criminal.
I could obviously write a whole book about the book...but I will stop now and just recommend that you read the book yourself...you won't be dissapointed.