Train Stations

The train station in St. Louis is pretty new. And fantastic when compared with the last two they had. Oh, yes, St. Louis has a Union Station. But they turned that into a mall and a hotel. About 20 years or more ago. When the mall was new, it was really cool. Now that mall only has crap. And the hotel doesn't see half the business it used to. So while St. Louis had a great new mall, they still needed a downtown train stop. So they purchased and assembled one of those "temporary" buildings. The ones that on a smaller scale are often used as garden sheds. It was drafty and cold in the winter, and overly warm in the summer. It was referred to by locals as the "Amshack". So someone decided to build a new station stop. Same kind of building, only this was about 20 yards east and faced with bricks. It was still called an "Amshack". Finally someone (I assume someone else this time) realized that this stop is the first impression that many people have of the city. And rolling up to a tiny metal shed doesn't send the right message. Also, the station(s) were/are right near the new ballpark and the hockey arena, gotta keep up appearances! So now the station is bright, clean and has actual food vendors instead of vending machines. And the bathrooms aren't scary at the new place (I honestly don't know what the restrooms in the older places looked like, I could never bring myself to enter them). The new station is nice! The new station makes it easier to tell the difference between the normal people and the crazies.
To explain, the old place was a dump, and anyone can look crazy in a dump and everybody sort of blends in there for some reason. But in the new place, the crazies stand out. There was this guy there Monday. When he wasn't constantly moving from seat to seat, he could have looked normal. Except then he got up to wander around and a security guard turned around and the guy (let's call him Mr. Green) made a mad dash for the nearest available seat. It turns out that he'd been there awhile and been something of a problem. We watched this charade play out a few times until finally the guard told him (and his brother who did nothing to control Mr. Green) that he had to stay seated. In ONE seat. That's when we noticed that Mr. Green was a wee bit... twitchy. I was a bit worried that he would be on our train, but luckily he was taking the bus (Greyhound also uses the station). Other than that, the train experiences this trip were entirely uneventful.
The turducken has arrived!!! A ten pound hunk of birds within birds, along with some creole stuffing. The company that assembles them also sent along a canister of creole seasoning for any other dishes you might be making go go along with the bird(s). So this weekend it's off to get the rest of the necessary items. Green beans (in a can, ick) for the green bean casserole (also ick) and the other stuff for it. The stuff for the mashed potatoes and the mashed sweet potatoes and a few foil pans to cook and transport the food from my place to the staff lunch room. Here's hoping my cold is gone by then and I don't infect the entirety of my building maintenance staff!
Other than that, I have nothing new to report. Unless you want an update on the state of my cold. Which I strongly suggest that you don't.

--Little Bird will soon be cooking a big one