My daughter Gail that I first discovered last december, came to spend a three day weekend on the fourth of June. I got to celebrate my very first Father’s Day on the 6th. She drove up with her best friend, Terri. They arrived on Friday around 11 in the morning. We took off to Elsberry where they had a REAL chocolate malt at the 4th Street Soda Fountain. They had never had a real malt before. It is very difficult today to find a REAL malt, the majority that claim to be are only milk shakes!

Gail is on the left, Terri on the right. Click on image to enlarge.

It is a fascinating place! Restored like the original back in the thirties, it is really convincing! We had a good time! Click on image to enlarge.

From there we went to old town St. Charles. We met Wes Bradley there, had lunch at Llewelen’s, a new restaurant on Main street. The rest of the afternoon the girls spent shopping in all the little shops on South Main. Wes and I stayed outside with the dogs. Beautiful weather!

That evening, I made dinner for them, beginning with champagne. Click on image to enlarge.

The next morning, we went on a whirlwind tour of St. Louis, beginning with Union Station.
Click on image to enlarge.

Gail and the fortune teller! Click on image to enlarge.

At the main entrance talking through the arch. An indentation in the ceiling from one side of the arch to the other, allows two people to communicate with each other even when whispering from a considerable distance. Click on image to enlarge.

Gail and Pop in the Grand hall. Click on image to enlarge.

The Grand Hall. Click on image to enlarge.

We hung out at Union Station for awhile, then the riverfront, around downtown, Number one AT&T center, where Susan spent her career, went through St. Louis cathedral, drove through the mansions at both Westmoreland place and Portland place, through Forrest Park, the Central West End, then off to Webster Groves for an awesome bread pudding at Cyrano’s! We went to Straub’s, an elite grocery store in Webster Groves. We visited Clayton and drove around all over west county. By the time we arrived home, everybody was exhausted. We watched some video footage and then to bed.

The next morning, Gail gave me my Father’s day present. I was totally blindsided! I had written a poem for her and Susan back in May. She had taken the stanza about her and written one beginning with the same line. Both stanzas were etched on a beveled rectangle of glass, along with a photo of me and her.

Here are the stanzas, first mine,

A miracle happened on Pearl Harbor Day
And altered my world on that cold winter’s day
That month of December, as if fate’s demonstration
Another appeared, and with invitation
Shielded from vision for two score and more
Another angel for me to adore
Searching my soul, I knew it was true
My love of my Gail was too long overdue.

and then her answer to it!

A miracle happened on Pearl Harbor Day
An unheralded pirouette in my mid-life’s ballet
Comfortably complacent, then a portal unsealed
And ironically, vulnerability broke through my shield
Apotheosis of fatherhood, once childhood lore
The wish now incarnate, chimera no more.
Kissed by good fortune through the vagaries of fate
The love of my Poppy was well worth the wait!

I suppose my face says it all here. WOW! Click on image to enlarge.

We had a short breakfast, then off to Hermann, a German wine village about 50 miles west of St. Louis. There we toured the winery and had lunch in the German restaurant. After that, we said our goodbyes until next time. It may have been my first Father’s Day, but I can’t even imagine it could ever possibly be topped!

She sent these to me when she got home!

How I love being a Father!!!!!

I first met Joe Mokwa immediately after he had graduated from the police academy. I had just returned to the department after a stint in the corporate world. It was January, 1972. We rode together a couple of times and then became permanent partners. Joe had a work ethic I had never seen in another police officer. He was also the most dedicated cop I ever knew. In 1980, headquarters was concerned because we had several “Contracts” on our lives from underworld figures and had been confirmed by intelligence. Joe went into the intelligence unit and I went to the Circuit Attorney’s Special Investigation Unit, (S.I.U.). We have remained friends since. Later, I started VLS at home and it grew to the point that I took early retirement to run it full time in 1985. Joe went on to be, in my opinion, the best chief of police in St. Louis history! He retired about a year ago, and Thursday, June 3rd, 2010, he came to spend the afternoon at my house. We had been detectives since 1973 and this photo was taken in 1976. Many of the kids in the area called us Starsky and Hutch!

A very different pair of dudes in 2010, 34 years later. Don’t you agree?

Those were the best years of our lives, we were like brothers and remain so today!

Bob