PJS- Roosevelt School hoping for RSVP's to big party

I like a party as much as any one. This one sounds like one I would give. A Party being thrown and no one showing up.

To quote the Journal Star article, "Roosevelt Magnet School has a dilemma.

It's planning a party to celebrate its 75th anniversary next week and has mailed out invitations and pamphlets, but so far no one has responded."

I feel for the organizers, the event they have planned sounds like a great night. Bradley Jazz ensemble the Heritage ensemble, dinner, etc. Why is there no takers?

Several years ago the Roosevelt Magnet School was a gem in District 150's crown. The apparent apathy of alumni is great if they can not get any buy in to the program from Alumni.

What is the cause of this apathy.

To close to the Holiday's and everyone is busy????

People have lost the connection to their roots???

Location of the event, many of the 40 plus years Alumni may not want to venture into that neighborhood at night????

Or is it a lack of careing about one's important part of their past???

Hope the event goes off without a hitch and is highly attended. It should Roosevelt Magnet School is important to the history of Peoria. It is unfortunate that they have to grovel for people to attend the event. It can be assured that many individuals have put long hours in on this project and to see it not be a success would be tragic for the school as well.

Shout out to all you Roosevelt Alumni, support your Alma Mater.

DMV

I have a peculiar trait, I only open my mail twice a month. Well I found three letters from Jessie White's office. Two were for renewing my Driver's License and I.D. (I Travel alot and need two government issued I.D.'s.) In case I lose one on the way to the airport I would not have to walk home. lol.

So I got up early and went to the the Secretary of State's office in Pekin. It was a breeze. In and out in 20 minutes. I thought it was great. They get a big tailwag for their service.

You may ask, yes, I did sign up to be an organ donor. Having given blood for many years. (11 gallon level) I thought they would need some other parts as well. I do not know how much they can use but they are welcome to working parts.

It seems to be the mantra at the DMV in concerns to organ donation. With the advancements in medicine they probably can use as many parts as possible.

In that note I also got a letter from the State Medical College of Georgia. They have been doing Alzheimer's research there looking for DNA evidence of Alzheimer's links in families. I am in a group study as my sister has that disease. She is a big advocate for the Alzheimer's Association. This is the second trial I have been in and hope the outcome from these trials are helpful against this disease.

Red and White Collection Boxes

The Red and White Boxes started popping up in the Spring of this year. I am on Vacation this week and sorting out the clothes that fit and those that do not. lol. Well I have the car full and am trying to find a place to take them.



In my research on available drop offs I googled the red and white boxes and found out they are a for profit company based in Chicago. USAgain is the name of the recyclers. The colors remind you of the old boxes the "bell ringers" had out. I bet a lot of folks think these are going to charity in the local community. When they are not going to either.

I will donate to the items to the local charities later today, and Wednesday, and probably Friday. If I can keep at it that long. I hope to have one day ofo fun during this vacation.

Watch out on Friday when the garbage truck rolls into town. If the vultures have not gotten there first they should have a good haul.

IT IS BASKETBALL SEASON

It is my favorite time of the year. It is Basketball Season. Saturday I traveled to Saint Louis to see the Furman Paladins play the Saint Louis Billikens. Now there is a big question. What is a Paladin and a Billiken.

Richwoods Grad Justin Dehm plays for Furman. He had a good game despite the loss. A large group of Central Illinoisians were on hand.

Then on Sunday was the Bradley Game, which was not much of a contest. The weather outside did seem like we were in South Padre Island. Braves play again tomorrow night. I am sure it will be a W for the Braves.

This weekend will be the high school games at Chillicothe and the start of the High School season.

Last week saw the grade school action of Christ Lutheran taking on St. Vincent DePaul at Notre Dame. The 8th graders put on quite a show.

Basketball is in full swing. Who has time for Thanksgiving preparation.

By the way, I do have to think about a casserole to make for Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe some kind of Pasta? or some Butternut squash casserole.

I guess Thanksgiving is a good time to be Thanksful for many things. What are you thankful for????

Mr. G's

Last week I had the opportunity to visit West Peoria for a meeting. As we came up Western and turned into Main we were thinking Mr. G's for Lunch.

It was awesome. Highly recommended for all the great tail wgging Chicago Dogs. Definitely worth the stop. The place has quite a mix of clientel, You never know who you will be sitting next to at the tables. It has a unique ambience (if that is the proper word). But the most memorable thing about Mr. G's is the Fries.

Mr. G's is simplicity at its best. a great change of pace. If you love Hot Dogs this is a must stop. It is right up there with the Varsity in Atlanta and Millie's in Smithfield, NC.

If you visit Mr. G's you will not be disappointed. I know these kind of reviews are for Chef Kevin and the Central IL Gourmand. Hope I can apologize for my amateur review. 5 of 5 tail waggggsssss for Mr. G's.

Downtown Peoria- Riverfront

It is 0430- Time to get redy to go to the Riverplex. As I think about going down to the Riverplex, I would like to relate a chain of events that happened recently.

Since I am not a prime time visitor to the Riverfront. I had the pleasure of being in the area the other day. It is time to start getting Bird Feed. (Which should be called Bird Seed- Since when you use it the birds seem to grow on your property- but that is anothe rblog entry-later).

So after getting our feed we headed down to Old Chicago for a quick lunch. Old Chicago was closed for Lunch...What is with this!!! We did get a good view of the Sears Block as well. The art on the walls is really starting to look tacky.

As a frequent visitor to VA Beach, They have Mt. Trashmore. Which is a landfill that is now a park. It is very unusual and highly used. Could this space be used for making a Mountain of Silt from the River and turned into a Park for the City? Or a museum to Strip Mining? there needs to be something done with this area.

The Riverfront seems to have lost its vigor. There are some great projects along the Riverfront. There are a few that are are an eyesore. It would be great if the City could get it together again and make some more headway in this area.

Foster Parent

Foster parenting is a tough job. My first experience as a foster parent ended tonight. Our Foster kid was adopted today. It was sad to see her go. She went to a nice new family in Missouri. I know she will be loved by her new Mother and the two cats. Little Roxie will be missed.

Little Roxie came to us because she had a broken back and her back leg had limited mobility. Need I say more Little Roxie is a Four legged foster. We had her for 8 month's, we endured a lot with Rox. She was in heat, she got spayed and she filled the house with excitement when you entered the house. She looked forward to going to the park and chasing the squirrels.

She is headed to her new home. She will be spending her weekends at her Grandparents farm. It has a lake and a lot of bunnies that Roxie can chase. It was really neat to see the new Mom instantly bond with Roxie. She will have a great Home.

We will miss you Roxie. Our next Foster will hear all about Roxie.

Sleep good tonight in your new Home..Little Roxie