Living in the Scoot Utopia

I've lived at 19 different homes so far throughout my life, and thought it would be fun to try to locate them all and write a little bit about each one. This will be an ongoing series of posts until I've covered all of them.

In this first installement I will cover the 6 homes lived in during the first 4 years of my life. I am covering so many in this initial post since I have so few memories of each of these places.

We begin a couple of days after I was squeezed out of the womb...

Home #1: 1969-1970 [map]
near Blue Springs, MO
This house was in our family since its initial construction in the 1950s. It began as a 1-room cinderblock house with no running water. Subsequent additions turned it into a pseudo-duplex by the time I was born. By now it did have running water (from a well) though due to the large number of people living here (3 families) an outhouse was still in use. There were five 8x8 bedrooms, most with 2 to 3 people in them.

There will be much more about this house in a later installment.

Home #2: 1970-1971 [map]
Waukegan, IL
A few months after I was born my dad drew a low number for the draft so enlisted in the Navy. Our first home during the Navy Days was Waukegan, IL, where my dad was in boot camp. I should have no memory of this place at all due to my young age, but I do have one vague memory of dropping my dad off at a base and my mom telling me that "daddy is going to 'boo' camp" (that's how I heard it). I remember toddling across a grassy field on our way back to the car and looking at the colorful refractions of light off a layer of oil floating in a small drain in the ground.

I don't remember where we lived so the map link here is just to the town itself.

Home #3: 1971 [map]
Middleton, RI
My mom and I lived briefly in this trailer park not too far from Newport. My play room was at the front end of the trailer but I don't remember if I slept there or in my mom's room. I do remember that my mom lined the hallway with carpet samples, each a different color, and that I was repeatedly warned not to play in old refrigerators after my mom saw an NBC Movie-of-the-Week in which a kid suffocated in one. (I remember it was a little girl and she was holding a kitten.) I think there was actually an old fridge outside somewhere in the neighborhood. I remember seeing lots of women in mumus with their hair up in curlers. I also remember having a babysitter, and also riding in the car down Forest Avenue.

Home #4: 1972 [map]
Toledo, OH
We lived in this house with my grandparents and an uncle for 4 months around the time of the birth of my first brother. My memories include frequent trips to intercept the ice cream man, the oil refinery clearly visible outside, and being fascinated by the old-style gas meter inside the utility closet.

Home #5: 1972 [map]
Bainbridge Naval Training Station, near Port Deposit, MD
For a few months we lived in family housing on the base. I had no memories of the base until we revisted it in the late 1980s. Even though it was long-closed and overgrown with weeds by then it still looked familiar. My mom says that it was at the theater at this base where we first discovered I do not like nuts... she gave me a bite of a Hershey bar with almonds and I threw a fit and had to be taken to the bathroom where I proceeded to spit all of the nuts into her hand.

Pretty much all of the buildings have since ben razed, so my map link points to the general vicinity of where I think the housing might have been.

Home #6: 1973 [map]
Mechanicville, NY
We lived on the upper level of a 2-story brick apartment building. This was where I was living when I first began to become aware of the outside world, seeing news reports about the war in "Viet Knob" (that's how I heard it). One of my favorite toys was my Sesame Street record player. My mom once told me that if I didn't eat my broccoli I'd shrivel up and blow away, and for weeks after that I was terrified to go out on our patio. My dad stained and varnished a small bookshelf that I still have to this day. I dropped my plastic toy keys in the toilet and my dad had to get them out for me. I refered to urinating as "going bubbles". There was a child gate at the top of the stairs that led down to the entry door. I remember my dad taking me on a walk to see the sewage treatment plant, something that fascinated me at that age.



The placement on this map is approximate based on my memories, I am not sure if this is the right complex or even if that complex still exists.

Begining with the next installement my memories of each place are numerous, so the ongoing installments will each be dedicated to stories about one particular home. More to come!

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past Sunday B and I decided to head to Kansas City, KS to do a little barhopping. Since it was Sunday we didn't expect to find much open, we we ever in for a surprise!

We headed to the west end of the city and began working our way back towards downtown.

#1: Office Bar & Grill
Bethel, Kansas City, KS [map]


Our first stop was actually a bonus bar. We weren't expecting to find one here and were just flying by when B spotted it. Our bartender, who was watching women's softball on TV, was a wealth of information and filled us in on the concept of private clubs in KCK. She also told us about several others that would be open on a Sunday. This included two right next door on either side that we had completely failed to notice.


#2: Jerry's Neighborhood Sports Bar
Bethel, Kansas City, KS [map]


Because of the lack of neon we had driven right past this place without noticing it. The main bar was full, with everyone watching one of the Die Hard movies on TV, so we had to sit at the side bar.


#3: American Legion Post 199
Bethel, Kansas City, KS [map]
We entered through the patio out back to find a fairly full house. There was a fish fry going on that we were invited to join, but we weren't hungry yet so politely declined. I forgot to get a picture of this place.


#4: To The Hoop
State Ave, Kansas City, KS [map]


A pretty small sports bar in a commercial area. I had a Bud Select and quickly remembered why I don't get Bud Select. A patron to our right filled us in on a couple of nearby places to try, includuding The Sports Page plus a place further down the road that he had never worked up the courage to try. So naturally that's where we went next. :)


#5: 61st Street Pit Stop
State Ave, Kansas City, KS [map]


Your basic dive bar. I can't remember for sure but this might be the place where our 10oz draws were 75 cents. We had to chug, though, because several guys were about to try to squeeze a massive beer cooler through that small front door and we didn't want to get stuck waiting.


#6: The Sports Page
State Ave, Kansas City, KS [map]


We had a hard time finding this place which was why we had to do some backtracking. We paused for lunch at an Arby's and while we were there deduced that our next stop had to be located down the hill across the street.

The locals all touted this as the premier bar in the area and the best place to be. It was large and decent, but an older man to our left was being a little too pompous about this place and describing everything else as a shithole.


#7: Experience
Welborn, Kansas City, KS [map]


This was a bit of a surprise. This was the only bar whose web site we had checked out in advance. There was a major incongruity between what that web site presents and the converted former Rax restaurant we found ourselves in as the only white customers. No one seemed bothered by our presence, perhaps they were too distracted watching Village of the Damned on the TV at the bar, but a few newcomers did do double-takes when they saw us sitting in there.


#8: Bills 32 West
Muncie, Kansas City, KS [map]


This was our first stop at what we thought was a cluster of three bars. We were invited to partake of free nachos but were too full from our earlier Arby's stop.


#9: Roadhouse
Muncie, Kansas City, KS [map]


When we stepped inside here we found ourselves at a nearly-full bar shrouded in total silence. No music, no TV, no conversation. So B told the bar his "schnauzer" joke to break the ice.


#10: Frankie D's
Muncie, Kansas City, KS [map]


Part bar, part Mexican restuarant. I ate some beef jerky while B and I discussed Ken's taste in comedy.


#11: Jamie's Place
Turner, Kansas City, KS [map]


B and I continued our conversation from the previous place and then I noticed what I think may be a natural law... when B and I are drinking, after 10 bars the topic of Ken comes up. :)

The bartender here was a really cool guy and came over to chat with us a bit. He pointed out that we missed a bar back in Muncie so we had to head back and search for that next...


#12: Muddy Waters
Muncie, Kansas City, KS [map]


No wonder we didn't see it, this biker bar was in a strip mall, across from Wild Woody's, but hidden from highway view by another building.


#13: Coyote Blue Cantina
Argentine, Kansas City, KS [map]


The photo is actually of the building we went in by mistake first. Coyote Blue is the next building to the left, the gray building. We were invited to join in on a nacho bar and also to have some free tripe but we were too scared to try it. As the only non-hispanics in the place, while I was in the restroom B was accused of being an undercover cop from the vice squad. B did neither confirmed nor denied this allegation. ;)


We tried to hit up one final bar at 7th & Central in downtown KCK, but after the bartender had already poured our beers he asked if we were members. "Yes," said B. "Ok, I need to see your membership cards," said the bartender. "Ah, I said, we assumed this was one of those 'say yes and wink' situations," I said. But he told us the owner was cracking down and not allowing him to do that, so we had to leave beerless.

Apart from that minor setback it ended up being a surprisingly good round of barhopping, with more than twice as many stops as we reasonably expected to find open. And we missed a lot of places, so another KCK trip will be in order soon.

Posted by ScooterJ at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last night Ken dragged me to the Ameristar against my will. Parre went too.

I have a major expense coming up so didn't want to just throw my money away. "I'm only gonna play with $20," I said, "and that's really not enough to last on the Blackjack table, so I'm just gonna play slots."

So before he and Parre hit the tables, Ken set me up on the Triple Diamond machine that he had such good luck on during his last visit.

Mere moments later my twenty was gone.

While this was going on, Parre was sitting at a nearby bank of Double-Tens machines and winning. He cashed in his winnings and took them to the blackjack table. I followed them over and watched their first couple of hands. "I'm gonna go wander around a bit," I said.

I returned to the Double-Tens cluster and sat down at the machine to the left of the one that Parre had done well yet. I stuck in another twenty. Now this machine was somewhat defective, the "max spin" button was not working so I had to hit "bet one" 5 times before each spin. It was tedious, but before long my twenty had grown to $62. I was now officially up $22 for the night. I took my cash-out ticket and put it in my shirt pocket.

I went over to see how the fellas were doing, then did another lap around the casino. I ended up once again orbiting the Double-Tens cluster, this time landing at the machine two to the right of where Parre had played.

Rather than stick my ticket in, because I feared I'd get hooked and lose it all, I stuck my last $20 bill into the machine instead. Pretty quickly I had doubled it to $40 but stupidly did not cash out. I kept going, hitting "max bet", "max bet", over and over and watching the total keep dwindling down. I'd win small payouts, just enough to keep me in, but that was it. I wanted to cut my losses and walk away, but I figured that with that $62 ticket in my pocket I was technically playing with the house's money so might as well stick it out. $5.00..... $3.75... $2.50... and there it was, $1.25... just enough credits for one last "max bet" spin.

I hit something that gave me a payout and the machine started beeping.

And beeping.

And beeping.

It took me nearly a minute to realize what had happened...

10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000 ....... or $250. My best slot machine payout ever!

With that I officially considered myself done and after showing off to my buddies and getting a high-five from a pit boss I cashed my tickets in.

After subtracting my $60 investment I ended up leaving up $252 for the night, and Parre followed close behind at a little over $200. Ken? He lost a hundred. I feel a little badly for him, but not too much so considering the NUMEROUS times I've seen him win hundreds to thousands while I lost my ass and sat around broke and bored. :)

So, yeah... thanks, Ken, for pressuring me into doing something I didn't want to do!

Posted by ScooterJ at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today's the birthday of both Codding and Seth.

Codding is already old like me, having entered his 30s a few years back. Seth, however, is only just today reaching his 30th year.

Sethro? The 20s are way oveerrated, Welcome to the 30s!

Happpy birthday, fellas!

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A painful injury to my left foot was the main reason I had to cut my 40 mile walk short last week just 5.5 miles shy of my goal.

This evening that foot started itching so I took off my shoe and sock, and nearly 2 square inches of thick dead skin came off my foot in almost a full sheet.

When the skin pulled away, about a quarter teaspoon of foul-smelling orange granules spilled out from between the layers onto the floor.

The most painful part of the injury is about half an inch outside the area that peeled off, that's still got a way to go to heal.

In any event, it looks like I'll probably be in need of a pedicure soon. :)

Posted by ScooterJ at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Now that I've had a day to recuperate, I finally feel up to getting online and writing about the walk I took this past Sunday (July 1).

First, the stats...

Time started: 6:12AM
Time ended: 9:47PM
Actual Walking Time: 12 hours, 27 minutes
Distance: 34.5 miles
Steps taken: 66,314
Calories burned: 4,395

Some notes from the walk:

• The dog at Cleveland & Mersington that barked like hell at me on a previous walk has since learned to jump... very high. A few more inches and it would have cleared its fence.
• Lots of mud in the areas that don't have sidewalks but I was able to avoid most of it.
• The most joggers/walkers I saw were on Liberty Drive in Liberty & Glenaire, and on Tomahawk Road in prairie Village.
• One of the most obnoxious products that exist are oversized strollers that take up the entire sidewalk and are pushed by mothers who refuse to yield.
• After more than a year since I last walked through it, the crosswalk signals at 95th & Nieman still light both the "walk" and "don't walk" symbols simultaneously.
• Evidently a runaway slave has been found in Overland Park.

This was supposed to be my attempt at a 40-mile walk, but high humidity, the fact that I was carrying a backpack (I've never done that before), and the fact that I had just gotten over a strep infection all combined to wear me out far earlier than I normally get worn out. My speed reached a painstakingly slow 2mph by the late afternoon, and by the end my left foot (which typically bears the brunt of the trauma due to a defect in my left hip) was in agony.

When I got home and removed my shoes I found that my left foot had started bleeding at some point, the blood/lymph mixture soaking through two pairs of socks. My right foot now has a small blister under the big toe and a small bruise on the side, my left foot has two large blisters and a palm-sized red swelling on the top left side that is not painful to the touch.

Officially, I am probably done now with trying to outdo myself with single-day walks. I'll still do long ones, it's something I feel a need to do, but more in the 20-30 mile range. One thing I want to start training myself for is to be able to do 15-20 mile walks multiple days in a row, so that for my 40th birthday I can treat myself by taking a couple of weeks off and walking across Missouri.

Finally, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to those of you who followed along on LiveWalking.com, for giving me all those words of encouragement the first time (near Prairie Village Shops) I was in trouble (that REALLY helped a lot!) and also for encouraging me to stop when the pain became too much the second time I got in trouble (near Oak Park Mall). That really meant a lot.

And also another BIG THANK YOU for those of you who made donations to the charity I was supporting. (I'm going to keep my donation page up for several weeks and dedicate all of my upcoming walks to the cause, so it's not too late to help out.)

You can see the overview route, and read the commentary at LiveWalking.com, and you can also see the pictures I took along the way. I'll post the detailed map at LiveWalking.com in the next day or two.

Posted by ScooterJ at 01:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Spotted yesterday at the northwest corner of 75th & Nall while I was on my walk.

Posted by ScooterJ at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm currently finishing up my lunch break at mile 16 in my attempt at a 40 mile walk. I started this morning at William Jewell College and am heading towards Olathe. Watch my progress at the link below, and I'm doing this for charity so please make a donation if you can!

http://www.livewalking.com/

Posted by ScooterJ at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)