the sheldon | Rick Wakeman is the legendary prog-rock keyboard player who tickled the ivories and manned the massive synthesizers for several landmark Yes albums during the early 1970s, after playing with Strawbs and before leaving Yes to record a couple of heady epics on his own. His son, Oliver Wakeman, also a keyboardist of note, has recorded several critically acclaimed solo albums and has participated in projects ranging from playing with Yes and collaborating with their guitarist Steve Howe to working with Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi on a series of poetry CDs. Rick and Oliver Wakeman have shared a stage at various junctures in their careers, but they have never been on tour together—until now. Wakeman and Son will bring their keyboard wizardry to the Sheldon Concert Hall in the Grand Center Arts District on their joint tour March 26. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show are available through Metrotix. The elder Wakeman is thrilled at the opportunity to tour with his eldest son. On several levels. “I know it will be very special—especially if, on the odd occasion, he buys me dinner!”

union station
Sept. 19 was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and they’re celebrating it at least through the end of the month with special specialness and stuff in the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. Well, shiver me timbers! Sept. 19, 1985, was the day I set as my quit date when we had a smoking cessation clinic at the Belleville News-Democrat, where
I was a reporter. We had little disposable aluminum ashtrays all over the newsroom, and almost everybody used them, although few smokers actually emptied them with any regularity. I chose Sept. 19 as my day to quit because it was significant to me. It was a year and a half to the day after I quit drinking alcohol, for good. They say you can do anything one day at a time, and I adopted that as my own motto. With cigarettes, which is a truly heartbreaking addiction, it was more like an hour at a time, if not less. Eventually, sooner or later, the craving will pass. I never believed it, but it always did! So, I was a young man—29, 30 years old—when I first swore off alcohol, then tobacco. I’m not a young man anymore, and every Sept. 19, I don’t ditch the landlubber lingo for the patois of the high seas—maybe I should. Ahoy, arrrgh!; avast, matey! Pirates & Pumpkins at the St. Louis Aquarium opened Sept. 19, and the pirate invasion continues through Nov. 2 with trick-or-treat Fridays and Saturdays. Meanwhile, guests can enjoy an attraction decorated with pirate-themed scenes, marvel at scuba divers costumed as pirates and watch a ghost ship with smoking, booming cannons. Flying Louie, a swinging pirate ship, is a newly added ‘carnival’ ride in the St. Louis Wheel Park adjacent to the station. Details and combination tickets are available at stlouisaquarium.com.

st. louis
Today, it looks as though a north-south ‘Green Line’ for MetroLink, Metro’s light-rail component, is going to be a pipe dream after all, and additional bus service through that corridor will be added instead. That’s been Mayor Cara Spencer’s position since she ran against, and lost to, Tishaura Jones for mayor of St. Louis four years ago in 2021. When Spencer ran a second time against Jones and secured a four-year term in April, local transit authorities with thumbs-up, thumbs-down over additional light-rail service agreed with Spencer’s assertion that it was unlikely St. Louis would receive federal monies for a project that, to quote Show-Me Institute (a libertarian think tank) in its harshly critical 2023 report of the project, would “go from nowhere to nowhere.” Spencer specifically requested research data from Metro and Bi-State Development Agency officials showing that the city could get federal assistance with the $1.1 billion project to add to a tax increase voters approved in 2017. Among reasons the Green Line has been scrapped:

  • High cost, limited reach—the plan included just 10 stations over 5.6 miles, making it financially uncompetitive.
  • Shift in strategy—Bi-State is now pivoting toward a bus rapid transit (BRT) model, which is more cost-effective and flexible.

Suburban communities, specifically St. Charles, argue that the Green Line would do absolutely nothing to improve public transit in their areas of the metro. While the Green Line won’t be built, the conversation around equitable transit in St. Louis is far from over. It’s akin to the ongoing argument around extending ‘the innerbelt’—Interstate 170—farther south. Every few years, it’ll become a hot button like no one’s ever thought about it before. Ahh—urban development.

notable neighbors
ladue
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water … but we’re not going there. Completing the well-known nursery rhyme would be silly. This article is seriously about something much more important. We’re giving you a peek into the whys and wherefores of Jack and Jill of America Inc., the StL chapter and its president, Angela Rhone. “We’re very proud of the work we do,” says Rhone. “It’s very impactful.” To that end, the local chapter was named a Five-Star Chapter of Excellence, an honor Rhone et al. had been aiming toward for years—eight, in fact. And the chapter doesn’t get to keep the honor year after year; it’s an annual acknowledgment. “We have to ‘audition’ every year!” Rhone exclaims. “And we’re in the throes of proving ourselves yet again.” They stand in good stead, however—the chapter placed first in community impact most recently in the Midwestern Region; the teen group also took first place for the skills demonstrated during a skit they put together at their conference in the spring at Western Michigan U. They were evaluated on everything from set design to performance. “They presented using the skills they’ve been practicing all year,” Rhone says, competing against the 700 kids at the conference, including themselves. Jack and Jill is a family enterprise for Rhone. Her sons Eldredge and Arlington have thrived in Jack and Jill activities since they were youngsters. The StL chapter, established in 1947, donated $60,000 to various charitable organizations this year: Loyola Academy, Little Bit Foundation, Almost Home and Jack and Jill Foundation. Membership is for motivated mothers who want their kids, from pre-K on up, to grow into adulthood focused on serving their communities as well as achieving their own goals. And there’s a place for fathers, of course, and not only as chaperones. Angela’s husband, TV producer Eric Rhone, was named Outstanding Dad in 2022. The female half of this power couple went to Mercy High School in Florissant, further developing the skillset necessary for her work today at SIU in Edwardsville for her bachelor’s, later receiving a master’s in business administration from Lindenwood University. Along with the operations of Angela’s outfit, Visions Management Group, much of the chapter’s business is conducted out of the Rhone home, with larger meetings inspace generously made available at Salem United Methodist Church in Ladue. “We like to say, ‘That’s So St. Louis!’ because our chapter is known for its innovation, collaboration and unwavering commitment to excellence,” notes Angela. With that top of mind, the teens and their moms will have a ‘mini-conference’ Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 at the St. Charles Convention Center. It may even turn out to be a little spooky! For more details about this unique nonprofit, visit jackandjillstl.org.