Posts Tagged ‘T.J. Birkenmeier’

With the sun still high in the heavens, the columnist learned from Trademark Wines’ Todd Lewis and John Caudill, that there are now more than 650 wineries in the state of Washington.  The hot sellers, according to the wine-tasters are Mystique from Sheridan Vineyards and Robust.  The wine-tasting took place at Provisions, “better than wines from Napa Valley,” said Lewis. .  .Alice and Howard Handelman were feted on their 45th nupts with a dinner party at Dominic’s in Clayton. . .Might he be the same John Nations, the Mayor of Chesterfield, who owned two south side properties, that mysteriously went up in smoke?, asks a reader. . .Happy 60th to John Viviano & Sons on Shaw Avenue, which will be celebrated Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.  Special guest on hand will be celeb chef Andreino DeSantis, who once owned the spot now occupied by Dominic’s on The Hill. . .T.J. Birkenmeier is at it again with “Double Whammy,” that he described as a two-book in one opus, kicking off “The Berkshire Chronicles” – a series of quantum murder mysteries.  They are set on past-present-future St. Louis and it’s off to the printer this week.  The entrepreneurial author tips that “Double Whammy” will include such chapters as “Mel’s Hole,” “Casaloma Creep,” “Shoot 66,” “Skinker Stinkers,” “Webster Groans” and “Bevo Kill.”

Silent Auction at Gateway MS Society St. Louis Summer Swizzle

T.J. Birkenmeier avers he has approached Joe Edwards, suggesting a roll-out of Blueberry Hill Beer. . .Nancy Poole, broadcast exec-turned iconic real estater with Janet McAfee, is much too ill. . ..Endowed prof of physics at UMSL Jake Leventhal, with his ever-lovin’ Betty, said enrollment there has risen. “Lose jobs – go back to school,” he reasoned. . .Scotch those rumors, that high-profiled barrister Jim Holloran and his wife, Madison County Circuit Judge Anne Callis, have split. “She has a house in Troy, Ill., and I have a house in Kirkwood and that’s, perhaps, how the rumors began”. . .Youngster Parker Monnig of St. Peters, Mo., is just back with his parents, Melissa and Kyle Monnig, from Huntsville, AL., where he trained to become a Jedi at STARWARS Space Camp. He was singled out at the awards ceremony for “exemplifying Jedi behavior with his actions, ability to learn, and kindness to others”. …Sightems: Mike Shannon at Dino Karagiannis‘ The Tenderloin Room, chowing down on liver with onions; Cards’ Ryan Franklin, with family, at Giovanni’s on the Hill, knocking off veal with porcini mushrooms. . . Look for Debbie Ballman and Kim Lutz to bow their Main Street Cafe on Sept. 1 on West Main Street in Washington, Mo.,.. .Morgan Lily, heiress to former St. Louisan and stand-up comic, Andy Gross, due here from Hollywood on Sept 10, with two comic headliners, at the grand opening of Hottest Ticket Comedy Club in the Third Degree Glass Factory at 5200 Delmar Blvd. The laugh-a-minute comics are Emil Fry and Rocky LaPort. Lily also is featured in Rob Reiner‘s upcoming film, “Flipped,” booked for unspooliing this month. . .More than 300 guests were on hand at the Kemp Auto Museum for the St. Louis Summer Sizzle benefit for the Gateway Multiple Sclerosis Society’s fundraiser. Do-gooder Bill Gillespie was feted for having raised $1 million over the years for MS.

Guests at Kemp Auto Museum for the St. Louis Summer Sizzle benefit

The Benefit Blues Band performed during the festivities . . .Love and kisses for blessed events:  The Post-Dispatch’s crime reporter Christine Byers and courts reporter Heather Radcliff are infanticipating.. . .Newsome twosomes – Sarah Gabriele will say “I do” at her marriage Sept. 11 in French Lick Springs to insurance tycoon Alex Gift.  Sarah’s parents are famed restaurateurs Joan and Agostino Gabriele, who once owned his own dinery here and now operates Vicenzo’s in Louisville. . .WashU pre-med students Claire Shapleigh of Clayton and John Strand of Des Peres are steady-as-they-go. . ..

The typical marriage story. They started out to be good friends, but later they changed their minds. That would be Baltimore’s  Patty and Bob Quicksilver, who have decided to call it quits. Both, former  St. Louisans, he once owned a chain of six candy stores – underwritten by Patty’s dad, the late Sid Rich,. to the tune of $600,000 – which bellied up. . .Addressing the recent leak of Pentagon information, Sen. Kit Bond said on network teevee:: “We’re not counting on good journalistic judgement”. . .Director of social media (IT) Kurt Greenbaum has ankled the Post-Dispatch for a berth at patch.com. .  .T.J. Birkenmeier is circulating the latest from UntaxMeNow, that reads: “Nothing impairs wealth accumulation (a.k.a. freedom) more than taxes.  That’s why taxes are referred to as “redistribution of wealth”. . .Caught up with former St. Louis Symph chief  (1966-1972) David Hyslop, who has since married Sally Fefercorn in Minneapolis, where he operates a consulting shop. Hyslop remains in touch with former symph maestro Lenny Slatkin, who commutes between Detroit and Lyon, France (some combination).  And, Hyslop confides he surfed on the ‘net to find baggy pants burlesque comic Billy “Zoot” Reed, who held forth, between strippers, at the old Grand Theatre.  “I was not in the concert hall all of the time,” he admitted.

Our town’s T.J. Birkenmeier has scribed a 455 pageturner, “Shoe Town,”: which is described as “the quiet man and the usual suspects meet the goodfellas at Miller’s Crossing.”  The book, out in July, reveals murder, mischief and mayhem in our town in the days of the “Irish Enterprises” and sweeps across time from 1931 to the future in 2031.  “You can almost hear the police sirens wailing down Arsenal Street from Grand and Magnolia to the
bloody murders in Tower Grove Park,” writes Birkenmeier.

Ran into marketing practitioner T.J. Birkenmeier and his wife Loring Van Slyck at Annie Gunn’s, along with

Samyra Mosley, John Capps and Elizabeth Chandler

their son Randy – all toasting the Birkenmeiers’ 25th wedding anniversary with paragon of pulchritude Gail McLeod and her hub, Brad, a prof at WashU. He teaches eduction in the business school, where MBA students learn “navigation through life work and to figure out what to do with their lives,” said Brad. “I want to do something more noble than working in the corporate world.”  The special event was made even more special with the casting of “Birk” and Loring’s hands by reknowned sculptor Don Wiegand. . .Over at Missouri Baking Company on The Hill, Mimi Gambaro Lordo chirped, “We crack the eggs here,” referring to the wholesome, fresh ingredients that go into the company’s products.  Mimi’s husband, jeweler to the stars, Joe Lordo was on hand to tout his wholesale and retail shop located nearby. Diamonds are his specialty along with dealing in gold.  Their son, Joseph, popped in and was gladhanded on his skills on the field with the Bandits.  Joseph and Claire McKee are steady as they go. . .And, at Beffa’s, do-gooder  Jo Curran, development director of Voices for Children, chatted about her digs in the Family Courts Building on Vandeventer, where she now occupies a former cell, which is adorned with pink and yellow hues. Voices for Children takes on kids in foster care and helps them survive in the system.  Curran cited a few examples of recent

Linda Kahn, Linda Hyken, and Linda Blumoff

wards of the state: a young girl, who was thrown out of the house by her father and her mom is homeless; babies who are drug-exposed. . .John Capps of Plaza Motors entertained Samyra Mosley and Elizabeth Chandler of Asbury Automotive Group – parent company of Plaza – at Il Bel Lago. The women trekked here from the company’s HQ in Atlanta and heard Capps say, “Business is great, because the economy has improved and people feel more comfortable about buying cars”. . .Nearby, three Lindas lunched to celebrate 35 years of friendship. They are Linda Simpkins Kahn, Linda Siteman Hyken and Linda Blumoff.