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THE LEDE
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PHOTO BY THEO WELLING
“The good that comes out of that bucket I’ve seen firsthand. They really feed the people.” SALVATION ARMY VOLUNTEER CECIL MORTON, PHOTOGRAPHED AT DIERBERGS MARKETS - HERITAGE PLACE IN CREVE COEUR ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
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Holiday Reading
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n a lot of ways, the cover story this week is bleak. COVID-19 cases are running out of control, and doctors are anticipating a holiday spike will make things worse. But we didn’t want this to be all doom and death tolls. People across St. Louis are finding ways to celebrate, fight stress and give back in ways that are safe. So come for a serious look at the problems ahead, but stay for chef Ben Welch’s advice on fried turkey legs. Happy Thanksgiving. — Doyle Murphy, editor in chief
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Publisher Chris Keating Editor in Chief Doyle Murphy
E D I T O R I A L Digital Editor Jaime Lees Interim Managing Editor Daniel Hill Staff Writer Danny Wicentowski Contributors Cheryl Baehr, Eric Berger, Jeannette Cooperman, Thomas Crone, Mike Fitzgerald, Andy Paulissen, Justin Poole, Theo Welling, Ymani Wince Columnist Ray Hartmann Interns Steven Duong, Riley Mack, Matt Woods A R T & P R O D U C T I O N Art Director Evan Sult Editorial Layout Haimanti Germain, Evan Sult Production Manager Haimanti Germain M U L T I M E D I A A D V E R T I S I N G Advertising Director Colin Bell Account Managers Emily Fear, Jennifer Samuel Multimedia Account Executive Jackie Mundy Digital Sales Manager Chad Beck Director of Public Relations Brittany Forrest
COVER A Thanksgiving Like No Other
C I R C U L A T I O N Circulation Manager Kevin G. Powers E U C L I D M E D I A G R O U P Chief Executive Officer Andrew Zelman Chief Operating Officers Chris Keating, Michael Wagner VP of Digital Services Stacy Volhein www.euclidmediagroup.com
The holiday hits St. Louis at a dangerous time in the pandemic, but there’s still hope
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HARTMANN A New Age Finally, Missouri’s governor takes the pandemic seriously BY RAY HARTMANN
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aced with thousands of his citizens dying from the pandemic, and tens of thousands more infected, the governor of Missouri recently issued the following message: “I hereby appeal to the people of the state to take every possible precaution against the spread of this disease. I urge, as far as possible, that all public gatherings be dispensed with, and upon the first appearance of the disease in any community the public schools be closed, and our citizens refrain from traveling. “I request that the mayors of the cities and towns of the state and
the local health authorities take such further steps in the matter as may be necessary to control the situation and prevent the spread of the disease, and I appeal for the hearty co-operation on the part of all our people with the authorities to the end that this menace may be brought under control.” OK, so October 9, 1918, wasn’t all that recent. But the words of Missouri Gov. Frederick D. Gardner (a St. Louisan) happen to represent the most recent ones issued with a sense of passion, urgency and specificity by a person occupying the governor’s office during a raging global pandemic. As opposed to those of, say, Gov. Mike Parson. Yes, Parson is literally a less enlightened man in 2020 than Gardner was in 1918. This point was driven home just last week when Parson outdid himself by continuing to ignore emotional pleas of health officials in St. Louis and elsewhere in Missouri to join 37 other states by ordering a statewide mask man-
date. Cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations have exploded in recent weeks in the state — as in so many others — but Parson refuses to put public health and welfare ahead of his political philosophy, such that it is. “The emphasis that are put on by some media outlets is like I am opposed to wearing a mask. I have never been opposed to that,” Parson said. “What I am opposed of is mandates from this position to the people of this state. People on the local level should have a voice.” While it’s perhaps encouraging that Parson has discovered the importance of local autonomy for cities like St. Louis — unless, of course, we’re talking about a Black prosecutor’s approach to combating crime — the timing of his ongoing obstinance was jarring. In the past week, three of Parson’s fellow conservative Republican governors — in Iowa, North Dakota and Utah, of all places — have, in light of skyrocketing COV-
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ID-19 statistics, completely contradicted their previous refusals to issue mask mandates. Or maybe it’s because some former reality TV star is leaving office. Or both. Frankly, I’m sick of writing about this guy. Parson was elected by a landslide margin November 3, and he’ll presume that victory has given him a mandate to continue minimizing any state’s role in fighting COVID-19. His lone passion: addressing the “urgent” need to indemnify businesses from negligence on their part during the pandemic. Still, that’s not what prompted me to break my promise to myself to pretend Parson had become invisible. No, it was the pitiful choice of words when Parsons had the unmitigated audacity to say hospital capacity was “becoming a problem.” Becoming a problem?! After eight months of front-line workers in metropolitan and rural hospitals — doctors, nurses, tech-
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nicians, support staff, you name it — literally working around the clock, risking their lives and their mental health, fighting this heroic uphill battle against a vicious and unforgiving virus, Parson had the tin-eared insensitivity to say the bursting capacity of understaffed medical institutions was “becoming a problem.” I’m sorry. That’s a bridge too far. That’s not a gaffe. That’s an indication that this man simply isn’t up to serving as chief executive of a state of more than six million people. I get that he won the job fair and square. But that doesn’t make this OK. Even when Parson had reluctantly issued a “stay at home order” April 3 — actually a mild suggestion with enough loopholes to drive a pickup through — the virus wasn’t on Parson’s radar to the extent it was on Gardner’s a century earlier. And there was no radar in 1918. Gardner also didn’t have the benefit of radio and TV, much less the vast reaches of the digital age, to have a fuller grasp of a governor’s role in a pandemic than Parson does. He spoke of curtailing gatherings, closing schools and reducing travel, and he used phrases such as “hearty cooperation” and “menace” that would never fall from Parson’s lips. Gardner cited the advice of health-care officials the . . surgeon general and Missouri’s Board of Health — in making his pronouncements. His health advisers apparently were more in touch with reality than the ones ostensibly serving Parson a century later. For context as to how extraordinary that is, consider that those times were primitive enough that a product called Radithor went on the market in 1918 purporting to contain radioactive water as a cureall. Its owner died fourteen years later when his jaw fell off, and he was buried in a lead-lined coffin (and his remains were still radioactive when exhumed 30 years later). It was their equivalent of treating COVID with Cloro in ections. Also, there was this: In that same year, the largest-ever gathering of doctors convened in Chicago to discuss responding to the ravages of the pandemic. One of the topics was the wearing of masks, as had been ever-so-brie y mandated in an rancisco. Their conclusion Mask-wearing to prevent getting or spreading the u was absurd and useless.”
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Parson had the audacity to say that the bursting capacity of understaffed hospitals was “becoming a problem.” I’m sorry. That’s not a gaffe. That’s an indication that this man simply isn’t up to serving as chief executive of a state of more than six million people. We’ve evolved — so to speak — from a culture in which doctors thought people were ridiculous for wearing masks to one in which people (like Parson) think doctors are ridiculous for begging them to do so. We were smarter with far less information in the early 20th century. o ardner and arson might have shared a similar view of the irrelevance of those “dang” masks. On the bright side, we have found the medical source informing Parson and Dr. eam e p cotty tlas with regard to COVID-19 strategies. But the bottom line is this: Missouri has a come a long way in the past century from the days of Governor Frederick Gardner trying to battle a raging pandemic with limited tools. The problem for now, at least, is that the movement is headed in the wrong direction. n Ray Hartmann founded the Riverfront Times in 1977. Contact him at rhar tmann1952@gmail.com or catch him on Donnybrook at 7 p.m. on Thursdays on the Nine Network and St. Louis In the Know with Ray Hartmann from 9 to 11 p.m. Monday thru Friday on KTRS (550 AM).
NEWS COVID Transmission Rates Lower in Mask Counties Written by
DANNY WICENTOWSKI
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ov. Mike Parson has made it clear that Missouri is not getting a statewide mask mandate. But a new study from Saint Louis University found that even the patchwork system of local mask mandates led to a significant reduction in the spread of coronavirus in St. Louis and St. Louis County. Compared to the bordering counties of St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin that do not have mask mandates (Franklin has since issued a mandate that went into effect Friday), the daily average coronavirus growth rate in St. Louis and St. Louis County was 40 percent lower after their governments imposed mask mandates, the study found. “Local mask mandates worked in St. Louis city and county to reduce the daily infection rate here, says nbal hacham, a professor in SLU’s College for Public Health and Social Justice and the study’s lead author. Shacham acknowledges that the case growth rate is usually just one part of the constellation of data that health researchers use to track current outbreaks and their effect on local health systems. It’s also impossible to know exactly how many people followed the mask mandates. But she points out that the study didn’t ust find that mask mandates work, but that their effectiveness lasted even as infections rocketed in the counties next door. And by comparing the virus’ growth rates in those counties, researchers found a sharp correlation with the presence of a mask mandate. As a control, the study started by evaluating the
Mask mandates made a big difference, a new study has found. | DOYLE MURPHY three weeks before St. Louis and St. Louis County instituted their mask mandates on July 3. The two groups of counties, those with mask mandates and without, had very different experiences over the next three months, researchers observed. In the first three wee s after the mandates, the growth rate in St. Louis and St. Louis County was 44 percent lower than their three neighbors. The effect wasn’t a blip. It persisted for the next nine weeks of the study. Zooming further out, Shacham shared an updated analysis on COVID-19 growth, covering July 3 to November 13, that showed overall total percent increases in cases among the five counties. The resulting map of that comparison appears stark: The three counties that did not impose mask mandates saw percent increases in their COVID-19 cases measured in four digits, with St. Charles at 1,235 percent, Jefferson at 1,573 and Franklin at 1,438. The city of t. ouis only uadrupled its numbers, while St. Louis County’s growth hit 472 percent. The study strengthens the case of medical experts who say masks are a fast and cheap way to reduce infections. Last week, the results were featured in a CDC “COVID-19 cience pdate newsletter, and the study itself is undergoing peer review before publication. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Alex Garza, is also the incident commander for the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. In an interview with RFT, Garza said
the study showed that mask mandates aren’t a failed policy ust because the neighboring counties don’t chip in. If anything, it’s the right policy, he says, “but it’s been impacted too much by all those other communities that don’t have a mandatory mas ing policy. After all, it’s not just St. Louis and t. ouis County patients filling metro hospital beds, but “collar county patients as well. On November 13, Garza called on Parson to heed calls from medical
Gov. Parson Rejects Doctors’ Pleas for State Masking Mandate Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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ov. Mike Parson warned last week that COVID-19 is creating dangerous concerns throughout Missouri but refused to take the main step that health experts say would make the greatest difference. In a news conference to announce the extension of an emergency declaration, Parson said he will not issue a statewide mask mandate. “For people that say it’s government’s responsibility, it’s not,” Parson said. Parson advised Missourians to make smart decisions heading into the holidays, including wearing masks and altering Thanksgiving plans to avoid spreading
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experts and hospitals to institute a mask mandate statewide, speaking emotionally about the impossible situation facing health-care wor ers who have no bac up to care for the surge of patients. It’s a surge that, as Garza and others maintain, could be mitigated if Parson would do what even other conservative governors have done when faced with buckling health-care systems. That solution, a statewide mask mandate, was the subject of several uestions directed at arson during a press conference last week. In response, however, the governor emphasized the need for personal responsibility and instead recommended a combination of mask wearing, handwashing and social distancing to curb this spread. ven with issouri’s hospitals and health workers calling for a mandate, and in the face of a pandemic that’s driven doctors to the breaking point, Parson maintained that the key is personal responsibility. “I’ve talked to infectious disease doctors every wee , arson said. “If you look at it from a medical perspective, they have a different view than what I do as the governor of the state issouri. n Reporting contributed by Doyle Murphy. the virus. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the governor has repeated that it is up to individuals and municipalities to make their own decisions when it comes to the pandemic. Nothing in the recent surge has changed his mind, he said. That’s a flat rejection of the advice from medical professionals. In one of the latest pleas, the Missouri Hospital Association wrote a letter to the governor, warning that it is not enough to simply ask people to wear masks. “The wolf is at the door,” the association’s letter said. “Missouri’s hospitals urge you to issue a statewide masking mandate. A mask mandate may be unappealing to some, but it has become necessary. We urge your immediate action on this issue.” That echoed a call from the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, whose incident commander Dr. Alex Garza warned that hospital intensive care units would be overrun by early December if nothing changed. Garza was a co-author on a recently released study that found masking mandates made a big difference in St. Louis and St. Louis Continued on pg PB
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County, creating a stark difference between them and the transmission rates in surrounding counties, including St. Charles and Jefferson. Parson spoke repeatedly about the looming shortage in nurses and doctors to man hospital beds as serious COVID-19 cases surge across the state. Rather than implementing a masking mandate to reduce the number of patients expected in coming weeks, he said the state is trying to figure out ways to increase staffing, such as involving the Missouri National Guard, recruiting health-care workers from other states and putting into action nurses who are still in training. “It’s about the manpower, the womanpower to have the people on the ground to fight the virus,” Parson said. Health experts have said that’s a losing battle, and it would be smarter to take steps to keep as many people as possible
from getting sick, rather than trying to triage the situation on the back end. “I hate to sound grim and doom and gloom,” Dr. Garza told the Riverfront Times, “but I do think it’s important for people to understand health care is a finite resource. We just can’t manufacture nurses and doctors and technicians overnight.” Missouri is now one of thirteen states without a masking mandate. Holdouts North Dakota and Iowa issued mandates last week. White House pandemic assessments place nearly the entire state of Missouri in a “red zone” of virus spread. Parson said he’s heard the calls from various medical associations, but they don’t have the responsibilities of government, describing it as “a lot of media.” “If you look at it from a medical perspective, they have a different view than what I do as governor of the state of Missouri,” he said. Parson said the state is preparing for coronavirus vaccines, the first of which could be out in limited quantities in December. That would go first to health-care workers and those most vulnerable to
A health-care worker enters a COVID-19 testing tent. | DOYLE MURPHY the virus. Asked about the possibility that some people will refuse to take the vaccine, Parson said the state won’t mandate it, but will hope to convince skeptics with the results of others taking it. Much of the fight against the virus
Ex-Bootheel Mayor Charged in Corruption Case Written by
DOYLE MURPHY
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he former mayor of a town in Missouri’s Bootheel has been charged with multiple felonies nineteen months after she left office on a night of mysterious fires. Tyus Byrd, 45, became the first Black mayor of tiny Parma in 2015. It was a groundbreaking shift that made national headlines — largely because the majority of the town’s white employees, including the police chief and officers, quit after she won the job. For some, Byrd became a pioneering figure as she battled threats and racism that poured in after she landed in the national spotlight. But her tenure ended in controversy and accusations. A whistleblower’s complaint in 2018 led to a review by the state auditor, which found what were described as credible concerns, but Byrd was able to hold off a formal state investigation while she was in office. When she lost her bid for reelection in 2019 to 83-year-old Rufus Williamson Jr., the incoming administration contacted the state about inviting them in for an audit.
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The Parma clerk’s office was torched in 2019 during a suspected arson. | DOYLE MURPHY The Riverfront Times covered the controversy in Parma in a July 2019 cover story. State Auditor Nicole Galloway said in 2019 that her office was awaiting the formal request for an audit from newly elected city leaders when, on the night Williamson took over during a tumultuous town meeting, fires burned Byrd’s family home to the ground and torched offices in City Hall where the town’s computer and a number of paper financial records were stored. Williamson, who became Parma’s second Black mayor, told the RFT in 2019 that Byrd hadn’t even given him the keys to City Hall during the transition, claiming during that night’s meeting that no one
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could find them. Hours later, he got out of bed to find the one-story brick building and Byrd’s house on fire. State auditors and a former town clerk, who left early in Byrd’s tenure after the two clashed, salvaged a number of records from the ashes and worked through bank records, credit card statements, vendor bills and whatever documentation they could recover. The reconstructed financial picture turned up $115,000 in missing money. Galloway described it as “blatant corruption” when the audit report was released in July of this year. Auditors alleged the money in question included $24,960 in overpaid salary to Byrd, $17,686 overpaid to Helen Frye (the clerk for much of Byrd’s
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comes down to “personal responsibility,” Parson said, repeating one of his primary arguments against mandates. “The battle is still here,” he said. “This is not going away, so it’s going to take all of us to do our part.” n
tenure) and $975 to Parma’s water supervisor, Byrd’s relative David Thatch. Byrd also received $22,321 worth of improper payments from city funds and made suspect purchases totaling $11,249, drawing from city accounts, auditors said. Charges filed last week by New Madrid County prosecutor Andrew Lawson name the ex-mayor, Frye and Thatch. Byrd was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property and two counts of forgery. Frye was charged with receiving stolen property, stealing and two counts of forgery. Thatch is facing a count of receiving stolen property. None of the three are charged in the fires. Ex-New Madrid Sheriff Terry Stevens, who led much of the arson investigation before he retired, previously told the RFT that the City Hall fire was almost certainly intentionally set. It was the second fire of the night and seemed to have begun while firefighters were busy down the street with a blaze at Byrd’s house. The mayor’s house had burned to the ground, but firefighters were able to extinguish the flames in City Hall before they destroyed everything. At the time, Byrd was staying most of the time with her husband about 90 miles away in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Investigators found multiple places where the fire began in City Hall, a telltale sign of arson, Stevens said. But arsons are notoriously hard to solve. The timing of the twin fires was highly suspicious, but any evidence of how or where the fire at the mayor’s house started likely burned up, Stevens said. When he last spoke to the RFT in July, the former sheriff said investigators had a couple of suspects but they were hitting a wall on the fires. He wasn’t sure if they’d ever have enough evidence to charge anyone. n
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Dr. Alex Garza doesn’t like the trajectory of the pandemic as St. Louis heads into the holidays. | STEVEN DUONG
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A Thanksgiving Like No Other The holiday hits St. Louis at a dangerous time in the pandemic, but there’s still hope
BY DOYLE MURPHY, MATT WOODS AND RILEY MACK
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week before Thanksgiving, Dr. Alex Garza sounds grim but resigned on the phone. “I guess I view Thanksgiving as just one more thing in the pandemic,” Garza says. “I think it will most likely contribute to more cases of COVID if people are out traveling around and visiting and things like that — we’re sort of counting on that. So are we dreading it? I think we’re just kind of expecting it.” This spring, in the early days of coronavirus’ entry in Missouri, the largest health-care systems in greater St. Louis began working together to coordinate their strategies. Garza was the obvious choice for a point person. The -year-old chief medical officer of SSM Health had cut a winding, impressive path through the medical world, from driving ambulances as a young man in Kansas City to medical school and into the military. A colonel in the Army Reserves and a Bronze Star winner, Garza helped rebuild the medical system in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was later ap-
pointed as the chief medical officer of the Department of Homeland Security. In that role, he helped game out how the country would react to multiple threats, such as bioterrorism. Perhaps most notable in light of the crisis unfolding in St. Louis, he led the United States’ response in 2009 to the swine u pandemic. All that was preparation for his wor now in fighting COVID-19, and yet he hadn’t foreseen the full challenge ahead of him. “I don’t think we really appreciated the depth of the politicization, the way this would be politicized,” he says. Across the United States, healthcare workers have struggled against s epticism and defiance as they have warned of the virus’ deadly reach. The resistance to even basic health measures, such as wearing a mask, ranges along a continuum from conspiracy theorists insisting COVID-19 is a grand hoax to those falsely claiming that the pandemic has been no more deadly than the u to those who acknowledge the virus is real
and dangerous, but insist that a population that includes people who berate checkout clerks at Target over masking policies will take “personal responsibility” and voluntarily follow the steps that experts say are needed to slow transmission. Health experts have watched in ba ed horror as the nited States’ response to the pandemic has become intertwined with one of the most politically divided moments in the nation’s history. In a country where a significant swath of the population believes against all evidence that the presidential election was stolen through mass voter fraud, scientists and doctors are just one more pillar of the establishment not to be trusted. The cynicism and skepticism has only hardened as the country heads into Thanksgiving. The timing is dangerous for fighting COVID-19. t a ovember 1 public briefing, ar a and others from the task force all but begged Missouri Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide masking order before the holidays. At the same brief-
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ing, they pleaded with the public at large to forgo their big family gatherings in hopes of heading off a post-Thanksgiving surge in cases. Garza pointed to record-breaking numbers of hospitalizations that are on pace to overwhelm hospital intensive care units. “Our health-care workers have fought valiantly day after day, but we have no reserves,” Garza said at the briefing, holding bac tears. “We have no backup that we can suddenly muster to come in and save the day. If we stay on the path that we’re on even just two more weeks, we will not have the staff we need to care for patients.” Later on the phone, Garza says their projections didn’t account for what will almost surely be an in u of Than sgiving cases. If anything, the doom scenarios he laid out were probably conservative, and he sees little help on the horizon. In a news conference last wee , arson atly re ected calls from the Missouri Hospital Association and others, including Garza, for a statewide masking mandate.
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still comfort in food. At the Midwestern, he makes a fried turkey leg, and well, maybe that would work for a smaller Thanksgiving. It’s the kind of showpiece dish that satisfies the main-event quality usually reserved for a roast turkey, without tasking a family of four to eat a 25-pound bird by themselves. It’s definitely something you can do at home,” he says. He smokes his at 250 degrees for three hours and then confits them for seven hours in duck fat (but you could use bacon fat or lard) and then lets them chill overnight in the refrigerator. Finally, he heats oil in a fryer to 350 degrees and fries them for five minutes. If you do cook a whole turkey, you can skip the smoking step and fry up the leftover legs. But it might also be the year to reach for something familiar, according to Welch. “I think it would be a good time to work on those hidden family recipes,” he says. “If you can’t be with your family, then maybe work on those recipes that connect you — Mom’s famous dressing. Nobody makes dressing as good as your mom, so you hold onto those things.”
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The doctors, Parson said in his explanation for dismissing their advice, were looking at the pandemic from a “medical perspective.” He encouraged Missourians to wear masks and alter their Thanksgiving plans to be safe but ultimately said the choice was best left to individuals. “For people that say it’s government’s responsibility, it’s not,” Parson said. Interviewed prior to Parson’s news conference, Garza had anticipated the governor’s response. He will spend Thanksgiving at home with his wife and three boys, skipping the usual trip across the state to gather with his in-laws in Kansas City. It will technically be a day off, but he’ll be looking at his laptop, checking the numbers and wondering what is happening in all those other households across St. Louis and beyond. He knows some will follow experts’ advice to wear masks, stay home and practice social distancing. But others will not. They will head to the airport or open their homes to huge gatherings. And in two weeks, he and the beleaguered ranks of nurses, technicians and doctors will be asked to deal with the consequences. “Sometimes I think about this in terms of a war,” Garza says. “And when you see what’s coming down the road and you look at your workforce, I feel like I’m sending my troops into battle knowing they’re not going to win, they’re going to get overrun by the enemy. They just are, and I have no way to prevent this.”
Breaking Tradition
It has been a long year. Even those who are taking COVID-19 seriously have in recent weeks found themselves searching for a holiday-party-sized opening in coronavirus protocols. For eight months, pandemic-induced anxiety has piled up, rising with every fraught trip to the grocery store, every decision about whether to send kids to school and every question about the future of a job. More than 3,700 people in Missouri and more than 258,000 in the United States have died as a result of COVID-19, and those numbers could nearly double by spring, according to projections. If ever there was a year that people could use a break to relax and be with people they care about, we’re in it. But Thanksgiving will be different for hundreds
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Charitable Distancing
Congregation Temple Israel’s dinner is hitting the road. | COURTESY CONGREGATION TEMPLE ISRAEL of thousands of people in St. Louis. All across the metro, people are altering generations-old traditions. They’re planning meals for two instead of twenty, re-imagining turkey trots and trying to find some way to preserve even the slightest sense of the holiday while staying safe. Some are just trying to find a way to hold on. “People love tradition,” says chef Ben Welch of the Midwestern Meat & Drink. “Family loves tradition. Your older relatives love tradition. They want to see you. They want to pinch on your face and squeeze on you, you know? And this is just a weird year for that.” That so many of those traditions are rooted in food is not lost on Welch, one of the city’s culinary stars. The pandemic’s effect on even the day-to-day act of dining together has ravaged his industry, making it less of an experience and more utilitarian as we snag takeout from masked workers and speed away. Even the restau-
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rant dining rooms that are open are mostly empty by design and health department order. “As a chef, I love dining out,” Welch says. “I miss dining out and just getting away from my own food. I’ve been eating so much of my own food I’m over it.” Now, combine pandemic fatigue with the prospect of skipping not just the occasional night out but the idea of doing without the family celebrations with their once-ayear dishes — the pull of the holidays becomes powerful. “For me, Thanksgiving isn’t the big day,” Welch says. “What happens at Christmas? I’m not a religious guy — I’m a spiritual guy — but I love the season of Christmas. I love the holidays. Everyone seems happier for those couple of days, regardless of how cold it is or how dreary the weather is. Everybody just wants to celebrate just for a few hours.” And if we can’t do that together this year, Welch suggests there is
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The St. Louis metro’s biggest holiday dinners have always gone beyond family homes to the massive neighborhood gatherings, food pantries and church halls, where volunteers work shoulderto-shoulder cooking and serving meals to dozens and often hundreds of people. The pandemic has upended those traditions as well. The annual Cherokee Street Thanksgiving Potluck, one of the district’s most beloved events, has transitioned into a food drive this year, with donations going toward turkeys and sides for families. Loaves and Fishes, one of only a few St. Louis food pantries that have not shut down because of the coronavirus, plans to hand out meals to 250 families through curbside pickups this week at its location at 2750 McKelvey Road in Maryland Heights. But the supply of volunteers it counts on has dried up during the pandemic, forcing the nonprofit to hire more staff, according to Executive Director Jacki MacIntosh. “When a pandemic or a crisis comes to town, we should be expanding and opening up and making sure we are on the front lines serving the people who are in the most need and not shutting our doors,” MacIntosh says.
Even Congregation Temple Israel has had to reinvent its storied Thanksgiving dinner, usually a packed affair rooted in a remarkable tale of decency. The Creve Coeur synagogue started the dinner in 1986 after receiving a donation from Ernest Wolf, a non-Jewish German national who was helped by a rabbi during World War II to avoid going back to Germany to serve the Nazi regime. Then-Rabbi Ferdinand M. Isserman gave Wolf $300 to seek asylum in Mexico. Wolf repaid the favor with a $50,000 check to the synagogue more than four decades later. Some of that money was used to start an annual Thanksgiving dinner for those in need. In normal years, a few hundred volunteers at the synagogue would work together to prepare and serve meals to hundreds at Congregation Temple Israel. Because of COVID-19, operations have been pared down this year to the kitchen staff and seven volunteer drivers. Instead of hosting the feast, they’ll deliver turkey dinners with cranberry sauce and all the side dishes to social service organizations that will distribute them to families. Congregation Temple Israel Communications Director Erin May says the organization planned over the past month to ensure the dinner still impacted the community in the way it has since 1986. “This is our tradition, and we ust new we wanted to find a way to make this work to make sure we can get people these meals,” May says.
Disaster Relief
The holidays can be a salve for our overburdened lives. They can also be stressful, isolating and depressing. That’s especially true now with the pandemic cutting off the normal support networks, hitting everyone in countless ways. Places for People, a St. Louis-based mental health provider, started the Show-Me Hope Crisis Counseling Program over the summer, funding it through a grant typically reserved for natural disaster relief. In a lot of ways, the disaster relief aspect is apt. COVID-19 has hit like a tornado or a ood, only the fallout extends even further. “COVID looks very different than other disasters, too, because it’s not just somebody’s home that got destroyed,” says Places for People’s Desirae Rowan, who is the team leader for Show Me Hope. eople’s finances are really impacted. People’s jobs are
impacted. Their social interactions are impacted. So, our team is working to address a variety of those concerns that folks are going through.” Show Me Hope offers three main services: crisis counseling over the phone, mental health presentations and virtual support groups. All of their services are free. Their most popular service is their crisis counseling. Anybody can call 314-615-9105, ext. 397 to be connected with a crisis consultant in less than 24-hours for free and confidential services. Counselors, split across three teams headquartered at Places for People as well as two other organizations, are available to work with callers through multiple sessions if they want and can refer them for additional services if necessary. For some, they just need one phone call to an understanding stranger to get them through. “When people are so stressed out, and I know I’ve experienced this myself, it’s impossible for me to focus on anything,” Rowan says, adding, “With all of these extra challenges, folks are really struggling to ust figure out where to start.” Show Me Hope has also been providing presentations about mental health topics, including stress management, burnout and mindfulness. So far, this service has been used mostly at schools for overwhelmed teachers, but they’ve also started to reach out to universities, churches and anywhere else that they feel people will benefit. They similarly offer virtual support groups. Groups have been aimed at a specific community, such as teachers, but there have been more general ones, filled with people who currently feel the need for connection. Counselors facilitate these sessions over Zoom. Through the grant funding, Show-Me Hope has made it a priority to reach populations that have been hit particularly hard by the stresses of the pandemic, including children and their caregivers, the elderly who have become even more isolated, overtaxed health-care workers and the unhoused, who have found themselves without a lot of the already meager support services as shelters have had to reduce capacity and other operations have closed. But the thing about the pandemic is that no one is immune to its relentlessness, and that’s why the services are open to everyone. Rowan says, “We all need that little bit of support and connection right now.” n
You can run your own race for this year’s Turkey Trot STL. | COURTESY FLEET FEET
Turkey Trot Goes Virtual BY MATT WOODS
A
re you bummed you won’t be able to gather with thousands of others Thanksgiving morning for a 5k race? Well, you can make up your own race path this year. Turkey Trot STL is hosting a virtual race for anyone who wants to get some exercise in before eating too many calories to count. Participants can compete in the Turkey Trot from anywhere and anytime November 25 to 29. Registration ends the November 29. Turkey Trot STL will still give out awards for this year’s top finishers. All participants have to do to be eligible to win is use a tracking device while running, screenshot their time and submit it to the race’s website. Participants can even re-submit and update their time if they beat it. This year’s prize takes on a unique look in the most 2020 way possible. Winners will receive the usual colorful turkey decoration, but this time with a face mask drooped over its mouth. The virtual race is expected to have about 1,600 participants, according to Director of Fleet Feet Events Jules McCormick. The expected turnout is a stark contrast to 2019’s 12,000 people between four area locations. Pandemic or not, McCormick says it is important to have the Turkey Trot in
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some capacity. The race has become not only a St. Louis tradition but an avenue for fundraising for local businesses and charities. “It really is helping people in your community through these tough times,” McCormick says. “It’s helping people have meals for Thanksgiving.” Turkey Trot STL supports Food Outreach and Oasis Food Pantry through a canned food drive. Anyone who wants to contribute can drop off items at any of Fleet Feet’s St. Louis running shops through the end of the month. The St. Charles location will still host an in-person race this year. The event, which was capped at 500 people, is already full. McCormick says there will be COVID-19 protocols in place such as mandatory masks for everyone, including runners before and after the race; spaced out observation areas and additional sanitation and handwashing areas. The Turkey Trot has spread across the country since it began in 2014. Last year there were participants from 48 states. She says she expects this year to have runners from as many as 30 states. Registration for the Turkey Trot virtual race is $26. Anyone who donates canned food to a Fleet Feet St. Louis location can receive a discount. n
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No Competition Ben Grupe’s Tempus opening follows a dazzling career in the restaurant business Written by
CHERYL BAEHR
B
en Grupe cannot help but marvel at how far he’s come in his culinary career since he first wal ed into the itchen at the ac uet Club adue. self-described pun id, rupe had been in culinary school before starting his ob at the adue country club, but he admits his motivations to enter the field had little to do with the craft itself. That changed when he met the ac uet Club’s chef, Chris Desens. I was interested, but at the time, I was interested for the wrong reasons, rupe says about his desire to become a chef. In some of these environments, drugs and alcohol were rampant, and at the time, that e cited me. eople often use the analogy of the itchen being li e a pirate ship, and I thought, lright, it’s a party.’ ll that changed when I went to wor for chef Chris. He too me under his wing. oo ing bac on all he’s accomplished a prestigious apprenticeship at the Greenbrier in West Virginia, a spot on not one but two culinary Olympics teams, a second-place finish to represent the . . at the prestigious ocuse d’Or competition and a restaurant of his own it’s difficult to imagine Grupe as anything but singularly focused and driven. However, as he e plains, it was his lac of purpose that brought him to the itchen in the first place. teenager in need of some e tra money when his lawn-service business would shut for the season, rupe found himself in the restaurant business first as a ban uet server and eventually as a dishwasher. He didn’t reali e it at the time, but the latter gig one he too
Chef Ben Grupe likes the path he’s on. | RJ HARTBECK for the sole reason of hanging out with his friends who wor ed in the restaurant would prove to be instrumental in setting him on his path to culinary greatness. The first day, I showed up wearing shorts, and the chef started yelling at me, rupe recalls. I was li e, hatever,’ when he told me that if I showed up the ne t day wearing shorts, he would fire me. ut I went bac , and one day, the salad guy no-call-no-showed, and I got thrown in there. rom there, I wor ed my way up to saut , and the chef told me I was pretty good at this. I didn’t believe it, but he said that I had a natural ability and I should go to school for it. That’s more or less how it happened. Once in culinary school and wor ing under chef Desens, rupe discovered that he had a real nac and passion for coo ing, which pushed him to ta e things more seriously. Hoo ed on the field, he was accepted into the prestigious apprenticeship program at the Greenbrier resort in est Virginia, where he dove headfirst into the role of a serious culinarian. rom there, it seemed li e nothing could stop him. fter graduating from the program, he returned to t. ouis where he wor ed at Old arson Country Club and be-
gan training for the culinary Olympics, which he had the honor of competing in twice as part of the . . team. fter success in that, he left the country club to stri e out on his own, then landed at laia as e ecutive chef. There, he wor ed while training in the hopes of securing a spot on the team that represents the . . at the ocuse d’Or, the most prestigious culinary competition in the world. Though being on the team would have been the pinnacle of a competitionheavy career and was something he’d always dreamed of, it nearly wrec ed him. I was in this mindset of go, go, go’ and push, push, push’ wor ing twenty hours a day, rupe says. fter service at laia, I would go train into the wee hours of the night, and do it all over again the ne t day. I got sic and was so e hausted that one day, I laid down some bo es on the oor of the itchen to lay down for what I thought was ten minutes, and crashed for three and a half hours. Then, I wo e up and started training again. I reali ed then that this was not right and that I had a problem. Grupe came to terms with the fact that he was not ust a wor aholic, but that he was addicted to competitions. Though he finished second
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place for the ocuse d’Or team a finish that devastated him he also believes it was the wa e-up call that he needed. Determined to pic himself up and recalibrate what was important, he left laia and decided to follow his dream of opening his own restaurant. That restaurant, Tempus, opened last month in the rove. Though rupe understands that people might have e pected a high-end, tasting-menu concept from him, he created Tempus to be much more approachable something especially important in the midst of the pandemic. He admits that the carry-out-only concept may not have been what he envisioned when he originally conceived of the place, but he’s embracing the format and doing it in the best way possible, hoping that the finer details can create a memorable e perience for his guests, even if they aren’t sitting in his dining room. ll of us in the hospitality industry are starting with a clean slate, rupe says. ervice is going to be completely different now. It’s thoughtful, inclusive and conscious. or us, it’s ta ing a loo at how we are treating our team while ta ing care of the guests with details li e pac aging and
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things like that. The little things are how you separate yourself from the pack. I hope it works, because we believe in it.” Grupe took a break from the kitchen to share his thoughts on the state of the city’s restaurant scene, the changes to the industry that he sees on the horizon and how he hopes that this crisis has given everyone a new appreciation for the work that goes into running a restaurant. What is one thing people don’t know about you that you wish they did? I’m a family man above anything else. I love to work, and I will always hit the ground running, but I do this for my wife and kids. As such, creating work spaces where there is a work-life balance is crucial for me. Oftentimes in kitchens and restaurants, the work culture is perceived to be “whoever works the longest hours wins,” and to me, as operators, we need to be healthy and balanced to be good leaders and team members, which leads to an improvement in work-life balance for employees. What daily ritual is non-negotiable for you? Spending as much time as possible with my family. If you could have any superpower, what would it be? Ability to create more time. As we all know, there is never enough time in the day. Who is your St. Louis food crush? Loryn Nalic of Balkan Treat Box. This is not because she’s a woman, but because we need to see more women in leadership roles in our industry. Also, I think she cooks some of the best food in town. If you weren’t working in the restaurant business, what would you be doing? I have no clue; I’ve never really thought about that. As a hospitality professional, what do people need to know about what you are going through? Right now will be the most dynamic and crucial time we’ll likely ever see in our industry. We’ve made slow progress and growth — new techniques, modern approaches — and things like this have always happened, but right now we’re literally having to start over. As businesspeople, we’re learning how to tighten things up; as community cornerstones, we’re having to learn how to be part of a massive recovery, and some of us are even becoming political lobbyists.
At the end of the day, though, we’re resilient, and this is what has made us successful. With very little support from our local and national governments, we’re banding together, finding ways to survive, and this is inspiring. However, as we get through this, we should never lose sight of those who were lost, especially knowing that it didn’t have to be this way. In our operation (and many others), the key now is taking hospitality, packaging it in a box and sending it into someone’s home. We’re doing this by making sure we’re thoughtful about food packaging, travel times, etc. Whether it’s our elegant black cod or a more casual chicken sandwich, we want people to feel excited and happy when they open it. We all need excitement and happiness right now. What do you miss most about the way you did your job before COVID-19? Guest interaction. Seeing people ta e the first bite of a dish is something all chefs live for. Without saying a word, seeing how a guest reacts to your creation is what it’s all about. A full dining room and the energy that comes with it is something all hospitality professionals feed on. At times it feels a little surreal, but we try hard to stay positive as much as we can. What do you miss least? The secretive and independent nature of our fellow restaurant operators. What is really awesome to see is a level of collaboration in our industry that has
never happened before. We all used to hold stuff so close to the vest — ideas, concepts, etc. Right now, I’ve connected with amazing people from all over the country and world — some of the best restaurateurs, operators, chefs and relative brands — about best practices. It’s been incredible. I work with a local hospitality professional who has connected us with so many resources, including medical data and processes. We’re working closely with OpenTable, who has been an incredible partner by connecting us with resources, and other times we’re just on Zoom sharing updates about what’s working and what’s not. I really hope this level of collaborative support is something we keep well into the future. What have you been stress-eating/drinking lately? All of Drew’s drinks! Oh, and of course we’re all stress-eating. Why else do you think I put a chicken sandwich and a burger on the menu! What do you think the biggest change to the hospitality industry will be once people are allowed to return to normal activity levels? Everything from best practices, to financial stability, to how we treat our staff, to what guests know about experiences. I think I’m most hopeful that the general public never loses sight of what it means to be an operator. I think people always thought restaurant operators were rolling in the bucks and in it just for the money. My hope is folks really remem-
ber that often we’re happy just to turn a profit, which any other industry would consider a failure. I don’t want to say the guests aren’t always right, but I’m hopeful now we’re able to really offer a sincere insight into our side of things. We really are in this to create memorable experiences for those that visit us. Prior to COVID, when you tried to explain to a guest about ‘turn times,’ because they were 30 minutes late for their reservation, it rarely connected. My hope is now, guests really understand that while they are the most important person in the place, the entire night is an execution of a giant Tetris game (or chess board) of moving all the right pieces, at all right times, to come together. What is one thing that gives you hope during this crisis? The people: whether it’s all the other professionals who are sharing their wisdom, our employees who are truly in the trenches every day with such a huge level of insecurity to what the future holds, or our guests and communities who are banding together to get us through. It’s so disappointing to see fol s out there fighting mas mandates or restaurants who are throwing tantrums and bringing forth legal issues, which are all really just self-serving. However, the vast majority of us are really in this for all the right reasons, which are the people. We’re an industry of people designed for people, and so it’s inspiring to see everyone come together for the general good of the people. n
[ PA N D E M I C ]
ly model, though customers will still be able to eat that carried-out food at the restaurant’s outdoor tables if they wish. “At the moment, we don’t have inside seating due to restrictions, but we ARE OPEN every day from 11:00 am ’til 10:00 pm for carryout with great food prepared fresh by our dedicated staff PLUS draught beers, bottled beers, canned beers, and our strong cocktails and shots,” Joe Edwards, owner of both Peacock Diner and Blueberry Hill, wrote of the latter in a statement. Food and beverages can be ordered through Blueberry Hill’s website for either a scheduled or ASAP pickup. The county’s “safer at home” restrictions, which are in effect as of November 17, come as the region is seeing record-high numbers in hospitalizations as COVID-19 cases threaten to overrun the health-care system. The guidelines ban drinking or eating in bars or restaurants in the county and limit private gatherings to just ten people, while dropping the number of people allowed in businesses that can remain open to just 25 percent capacity. They also indi-
cate that residents should stay at home except to go to work, purchase food or other supplies, or receive health care. The new guidelines have already received pushback from some local businesses, with a group of local restaurant owners, including those behind Bartolino’s (5914 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Green Park; 314487-4545), filing a lawsuit against the county, claiming the orders overreach. “Our employees are FAMILY, and Sam Page took a direct uppercut towards their livelihood,” Bartolino’s posted on Facebook. “We have partnered with other local county restaurants to file a lawsuit against Sam Page, and plan to REMAIN OPEN for SAFE Indoor Dining.” Page, for his part, has attempted to make clear that he’s not excited about imposing the restrictions, but that the science has made clear that it’s the right call. “This is not politics, so please stop politicizing this,” Page said during a press briefing last week. “This is a pandemic. This is making people sick. This is not the cold or the flu. This is a deadly virus.” n
Thrown for a Loop Delmar’s Peacock Diner to close temporarily, Blueberry Hill goes carry-out only Written by
DANIEL HILL
I
n light of new “safer at home” restrictions set in place by St. Louis County Executive Sam Page in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, two Delmar Loop eateries will change how they operate for the near future. According to a press release, the Peacock Diner (6261 Delmar Blvd, University City; 314-721-5555) is temporarily closed in response to the restrictions. Blueberry Hill (6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-727-4444), meanwhile, will switch to a carry-out-on-
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[PHOTOGRAPHY]
A Thousand Words Coping with trauma through photographs inspires walk-up exhibition Written by
RILEY MACK
A
park bench, the sun cloaked in gray clouds and plastic outdoor chairs stacked up in a pile are some of the subjects of the twelve photographs on display in the windows of Red Chair on Cherokee (2319 Cherokee Street). Reading the text below each print reveals the reason these shots of simple objects are exhibited on the gallery storefront — documenting the everyday life of people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. One photo features an open refrigerator. This particular refrigerator is exhibited in the gallery because, simply put, there’s no alcohol in it. The photographer is so accustomed to seeing the alcohol that even a year after his recovery, he is still surprised to see his fridge without it. The photographs were taken by patients at Places for People, a facility on Lindell Boulevard that specializes in providing mental health care for lower-income communities, particularly those who are homeless, uninsured or underinsured. The project, “Standing in the balance: A photovoice exhibit on coping with traumatic stress and substance use,” is free and available for viewing now through November 28 at Red Chair. Places for People provides community members who typically could not afford it with mental health care, which benefits them in more ways than expected. Higher rates of homelessness, criminal activity and food insecurity are among the more serious consequences of a person suffering from an untreated mental health issue.
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The facility on Lindell attempts to stop the cycle. It provides the most vulnerable community members with the resources to address a myriad of problems — one particular way being through the new photo exhibit. The exhibit was spearheaded by Kyle Brandt-Lubart, therapist and coordinator of the community arts program, and Nathan Dell, director of research and evaluation at Places for People. Both of their skillsets — Brandt-Lubart’s artistic abilities and Dell’s logistical, research-driven mindset — came into play for the project. They worked with Dr. Brandy Maynard, associate professor in the Saint Louis University School of Social Work, to bring it all together. For them, the need to highlight daily struggles with PTSD was there. “Almost everyone will experience a potentially traumatic event. And even though a very small portion of people develop PTSD, it’s something that is pretty common and connected,” Dell says. “It could feel difficult to now how to respond to that stress in other people, so here’s an opportunity to learn how people cope successfully with this type of stress.” Through Dell’s studies about the trauma of substance abuse, he was inspired to look into creative ways to evaluate coping mechanisms. He came upon one idea that stood out from typical research practices — using photovoice. Instead of relying on verbal responses to explain the recovery process, Dell and other Places for People staff decided they might receive more insight from their patients if they worked through visuals. Dell says that through the process of taking photos to express emotions and coping mechanisms, it’s possible to create more critical consciousness about one’s own healing process. The photovoice e hibit was first described to patients during a presentation last fall. Organizers explained it would be used as a form of research, but over the last year since its inception, the project has also become a version of therapy for participants. At the initial presentation, the six participants were given cameras to document their daily reality on the road to recovery, courtesy of SLU’s Doerr Center for Social Justice. Some patients took the assignment more literally, highlighting
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“Standing in the Balance” is ready for sidewalk viewing on Cherokee Street. | COURTESY OF PLACES FOR PEOPLE scenes and objects that were readily accessible to them in their healing process, while others thought about it in the abstract, featuring more representational items that they felt symbolized feelings of safety and comfort in their lives. Some participants wanted to be involved in the entirety of the project, up until the moment the photos were hung last week, underscoring the participatory aspect of the effort. Brandt-Lubart believes that the project is a creative and physical way to focus the dialogue surrounding mental health, all in hopes of dismantling the stigma around it. “It’s so easy to cast judgment, [and] it makes it much harder to do that when you are physically, tangibly sharing space with people who are just being beautifully vulnerable,” she says. Brandt-Lubart hopes the exhibit provides a “humanizing depiction of day-to-day life” for its visitors. While the show was originally supposed to take place this spring, COVID-19 shutdowns had other plans in mind. Still, Places for People lived up to its name and did not close its doors to the community that needed its services most. “The name is Places for People, and we have to have a place for people within our institution,” Dell says. “As a health-care facility, we don’t have an option of closing down. e’ve ust had to reconfigure the way in which we can connect with people.” Navigating the project through a pandemic has not been the easiest task, the two agreed. With over a year put into the exhibit, the twelve
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photographs currently on display feel like a long time in the making. To make the exhibit more socially distant, the team decided against a typical gallery exhibit. The photos are instead available for viewing on the storefront’s windows, providing a safe way to explore the project and gain more viewers among passersby. Ultimately, Brandt-Lubart and Dell believe the photovoice exhibit is highly deserving of an audience. “I think if people are curious about how people overcome significant distress, if they’re willing to learn from people who have been through it, then they should take a look at the photographs, see the quotes and see how people make sense of their experience in the face of adversity,” says Dell. On top of that, “it offers a safe way to experience something together,” Brandt-Lubart adds. “I just get incredibly excited when folks who have immense talent and insight, like our participants, get to be featured in a gallery setting that honors that insight, experience, and talent — that’s something I feel passionate about,” she explains. Dell describes the patients as resilient. However, he explains, they’re resilient because they must be — their conditions simply require it. Places for People and the photovoice exhibit allow them the opportunity to be vulnerable instead of strong in the face of challenges, maybe for the first time in their lives. To be able to lead a project that provides this opportunity, Dell says, “feels life-giving.” n
[FILM]
So St. Louis Nelly cast as Chuck Berry for new Buddy Holly biopic Written by
DANIEL HILL
T
hough 2020 has seen the utter decimation of the live entertainment industry, with COVID-19 restrictions sidelining musicians around the world who would normally spend their days touring, this year has been a remarkably busy one for St. Louis’ own Nelly. He’s made it all the way to Monday night’s finals in this season’s Dancing with the Stars competition where he finished third out of the four celebrity finalists even doing his best Ozzie Smith impression with a perfectly e ecuted bac ip during one outing), celebrated the twentieth anniversary of his debut album Country Grammar and performed at the American Music Awards this past Sunday. Now it’s been announced that the rapper has been cast to portray fellow St. Louis music legend Chuck Berry in the upcoming Bud-
[ S TA G E ]
Bring Down the Curtain Fox Theatre postpones all remaining shows, Hamilton scheduled for 2022 Written by
DANIEL HILL
T
he Fox Theatre (527 North Grand Boulevard; 314-534-1111) is throwing in the towel on its 20202021 season. According to a press release, the Fox is postponing all of the remaining shows on its calendar due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that, as things currently stand, the storied theater will not play host to any live events until well
Nelly knows how to work the crowd. | VIA THE COME UP SHOW/FLICKR dy Holly biopic Clear Lake, to be directed by ruce eresford Driving Miss Daisy, Double Jeopardy). Variety broke the news last Thursday that Nelly will perform alongside Ruairi O’Connor, who was announced last month for
the role of Holly, as well as Colin Hanks, who will portray Holly’s manager Norman Petty, and Diane Guerrero, who will portray his wife, Maria Elena Holly. The film is named after the site in Iowa where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Va-
into 2021 at the earliest. “Our Broadway producers have expressed their desire to get shows back into rehearsals and touring again as soon as possible,” the Fox’s director of programming, John O’Brien, explains in a statement. “Titles and dates are shifting across the country as new routes are booked and that unfortunately includes all of the shows originally on our spring schedule.” The postponements include productions of Disney’s Frozen, which was scheduled for February 10 through 20; Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations, which was set to run March 2 through 14; The Prom, originally slated for April 6 through 18; Pretty Woman: The Musical, which was scheduled for April 27 through May 9; the Blue Man Group, set for March 19 through 21; and Hairspray, which was supposed to run May 21 through 23. No new dates for any of the shows have yet been announced.
In tandem with the announcement of the postponed shows — and perhaps to help bring entertainment-starved fans of the stage back from the brink a bit — the Fox has also announced that the smash hit Hamilton will be part of its next season. The season itself is expected to start in late summer or early fall 2021, and Hamilton, which was slated to run in St. Louis this summer but was postponed, will return in the spring of 2022. No more specific details about programming or dates are available at this time. “We will announce a new schedule for what will now be the 2021-2022 U.S. Bank Broadway Season as soon as it is prudent to do so,” O’Brien says. “The good news is that our subscribers are already renewed for that season which will now include the return of Hamilton in the spring of 2022.” Be sure to keep tabs on fabulousfox. com for more updates. n
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lens and “The Big Bopper” J. P. Richardson died in a plane crash in 1959, an event now commonly known as “the day the music died” thanks to Don McLean’s song “American Pie.” According to Variety, the film tells the story of how Holly and other famous musicians of the late 1950s gave birth to rock & roll while changing the trajectory of civil rights in America.” Clear Lake will not be Nelly’s first foray into acting. The rapper memorably performed as Megget in the 2005 reboot of The Longest Yard and also starred as Terrence Davis in a four-episode arc on CSI: New York in 2008 and 2009. But even without those prior credits, you gotta think this one would be easy for Nelly. Chuck Berry’s work is foundational to the very DNA of music in St. Louis, a world Nelly has deftly navigated to the upper echelons of the industry. He even performed with Berry for a free concert back in 2010. It’s only natural that he’ll be able to tap into their shared St. Louis success stories and channel his inner Berry. At the very least, if those Dancing with the Stars appearances are to be believed, he’ll have no trouble at all with the duckwalk. n
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NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 1, 2020
riverfronttimes.com
SAVAGE LOVE BLOCKED BY DAN SAVAGE Hey, Dan: My boyfriend and I were friends for a couple of years (we’re both 30-year-old gay men), then I stopped traveling around the world and pursued him. We’ve been boyfriends for a year and a half now. We were both happy and we had sex on a regular basis during the first year. I’m more into anal (as a top) but we mainly did oral because he isn’t into anal. We tried a few times early on but every time I mention it now he doesn’t seem keen, so I’ve left it alone. Six months ago he started having trouble “getting it up” even for oral. After it happened a couple of times he basically said, “I’m sorry, it’s because I think people aren’t attracted to me.” After that happened I started to lose my interest in sex between us and now we rarely have it. Even if he did offer to try anal I don’t even think that would motivate me to have sex with him. Apart from that we get on great but I feel as though I’m starting to see him more as a friend. I’ve been thinking about breaking up for the last three months but I would feel terrible for a few reasons: His previous boyfriend broke up with him without giving him a reason, which he struggled to come to terms with, and he’s very self-conscious about his weight. So I can’t tell him the reason I want to break up — I don’t find him attractive anymore — because that might erode his mental health. (He is seeing a therapist.) If sex was great between us I would be happy to remain boyfriends since everything else is working out and I’m fairly certain he’s happy with our relationship as it is, which makes it even harder to end it. Advice? Promising Relationship Is Sexless Or Nearly So A sexless relationship may be fine for your boyfriend it may be what he wants but it’s not fine for you, I O , and it’s not what you want. nd a guy who’s too insecure about his own attractiveness to get it up for a guy who’s attracted to him is unli ely to be secure enough for an open relationship, which means staying with him and getting se else-
where isn’t a wor able option. o unless you’re prepared to spend the ne t years of your life in a se less relationship to avoid hurting your boyfriend’s feelings, I O , you’re going to have to end it. ut instead of saying, It’s over because I’m not attracted to you anymore, say, It’s over because we clearly aren’t attracted to each other. He might claim he’s still attracted to you, I O , and that might even be true, but if he’s too insecure to have se with you if his insecurities are such huge stumbling bloc s then he’s not in good enough wor ing order to be in a se ually e clusive relationship. ou should, of course, be as considerate as possible about his insecurities when you end things, I O , but you don’t have an obligation to stay with him forever because of them. He has an obligation to wor on them with his therapist before entering into a new relationship. Hey, Dan: A friend just shared on Facebook that she has been accosted by some dude — a stranger to her — over the phone. Sexually explicit stuff. She hung up and blocked him but he kept leaving her messages and sending her texts somehow. She just learned how to permanently block his number, which she has done. I have this dude’s phone number and it traces to Phoenix, Arizona. My question: Is there some service somewhere where I could share his phone number and an army of allies would call him? Or telemarket to him? Or otherwise accost him until it becomes so inconvenient that he has to get a new number? I don’t want him to be sexually harassed. I am not the kind of person who would invite sexual harassment on anyone. I just want him harassed to the point where he can no longer use the number he currently has to sexually harass anyone else. I get scam calls all the time about winning another free vacation at a Marriott Hotel. (I don’t know why I’m still paying rent with all the vacations I’m supposed to have won.) Is there a way I can sign him up for endless calls for free vacations? Can you or your readers think of some other suitably annoying/debilitating fate for his number? I’d love to write to my friend in support and solidarity and inform her of the annoyances about to rain
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Hey, Dan: My marriage of ten years recently fell apart. My ex, who is a piece of shit, told me she would have to leave or I would have to leave. I moved out but continued to pay her bills and rent for a year on top of my own expenses. We both agreed not to see other people until we either reconciled or divorced. On more than one occasion she convinced me that we might be close to reconciling. She basically led me on. Unfortunately, she was shacking up with a “Dom” who was old enough to be her father and this was going on long before we separated. When I confronted her she told me she did it because you said sometimes cheating can save a relationship. She tried to get me to agree to having poly relationship with them but the trust was gone. I know she was just saying things to cover her ass and I moved on. Now I am looking for your advice on what steps to take, please. Your Fan The Quiet Mouse
always the worst option isn’t e actly a ringing endorsement. nd I’ve said it’s foolish to define cheating as unforgivable considering how common cheating is. ut to say something is forgivable is not to say it isn’t wrong. uite the opposite, in fact, as non-wrongs do not re uire forgiveness. nd, yes, I’ve said that cheating can sometimes save a relationship. or e ample, a person in an otherwise loving, low-con ict relationship that has become se less might, after e hausting all other options difficult conversations, couples counseling, etc. , cheat in order to stay married and stay sane. It’s not ideal, of course, but it may ma e it possible for the cheater to remain in a relationship that neither the cheater nor the cheatee wants to end. That’s not what your wife did. he lied, she cheated, and only oated the idea of an ethically non-monogamous relationship after she got caught being nonethically non-monogamous. hile this has been nown to wor there are couples out there that were able to create functional and healthy open relationships in the wa e of messy and painful affairs it’s not the ind of cheating that typically saves relationships. This ind of cheating, the ind your wife engaged in, more often than not destroys relationships. orry I’m issuing clarifications, not answering your uestion. ou as ed about ne t steps. I don’t have to tell you to give yourself permission to be angry, as you sound pretty in touch with your anger, so I’ll ust tell you to feel the shit out of your feelings. s your friends to let you freely vent for the ne t few months. fter three months they’re allowed to gently change the subect when you start in on your e after si months they’re allowed to insist you tal about something else after a year they’re allowed to bloc your calls if you can’t get through a conversation without rehashing your divorce for the millionth time. ou should also eat a lot of ice cream while getting enough e ercise to neutrali e its effects, T , and remind yourself every day that an e who treated you li e shit is no e cuse for treating your ne t li e shit.
I’ve said cheating is sometimes the least worst option for all involved. ut to say something isn’t
mail@savagelove.net @FakeDanSavage on Twitter www.savagelovecast.com
down on this dude’s number! Sexual Harassment Unleashes Totally Unrelenting Phone Promotions I’m sorry your friend was harassed by some asshole with a phone, H T , but the counterstri e you’re considering could bac fire on your friend. I mean, let’s say you got this asshole to change his number let’s say your campaign of targeted non-se ual harassment was a success then what happens ell, then the asshole gets a new number. He’ll still be an asshole with a phone, most li ely the same phone, ust with a different phone number. nd since his new number won’t be the one your friend bloc ed, H T , and since he’ll still have your friend’s phone number, he’ll be able to resume harassing your friend and any other woman who’d bloc ed his old number. s unsatisfying as it might seem, your friend’s best course of action here is the one she already too bloc ing the fuc out of this asshole and your best course of action would be to e press sympathy and solidarity without doing anything that might ma e things worse.
riverfronttimes.com
NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 1, 2020
RIVERFRONT TIMES
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RIVERFRONT TIMES
NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 1, 2020
riverfronttimes.com
riverfronttimes.com
NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 1, 2020
RIVERFRONT TIMES
23
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