THE INSIDER

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2019'S STANLEY CUP-INSPIRED CORN MAZE Congrats to Thomas Jefferson School in Sunset Hills! It ranked No. 37 on Newsweek’s list of the best boarding schools in the United States.

calling all creatives!

Eckert’s Farm is launching a design contest for its famous corn maze. The theme is Healthcare Heroes to honor those who have served the community during the pandemic. The winning design will be cut into the 12-acre cornfield at Eckert’s Millstadt Farm, which will open to the public in September. The deadline for submission is May 21. For more information, visit eckerts.com.

Need a spa day?

For the first time, the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis is offering private access for 2 to 10 guests at its spa on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through May.

PATTY

by patty hannum

The St. Louis Mercantile Library is celebrating a major milestone. This year marks its 175th anniversary! You can check out the new exhibit, ‘A Nation, A City, & Its First Library: Americana as a Way of Life at the St. Louis Mercantile Library for 175 Years,’ to learn more about the library’s impressive history and view 350 artworks and artifacts from its collection.

THE ST. LOUIS ARTISTS’ GUILD

is hosting the International Decorative Painters Salon’s annual gathering from April 29 through May 2. The free event includes live painting demonstrations and lectures on decorative painting styles, such as gilding, grisaille and trompe l’oeil.

IT’S TIME TO TALK POLITICS! Last October,

the publisher of Town&Style called a moratorium on any writers discussing such matters. To be fair, there aren’t many of us who routinely insert ourselves into the daily going-ons in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, we (me, actually) managed to offend a few. So, very wisely, the position was taken to just stop writing about it until the election was over. The election was over as far as I was concerned, but not everyone felt that way. So, I kept my mouth shut. Not anymore. I cannot wait to give you my opinion on how I think things are going.

We finally have dogs back in the White House! And apparently a cat is coming soon! Now to be honest, I’ve never befriended a cat, so I’m not sure how cats work, but it seems like one would really like to live in the White House. So many things to climb on, so many people to rub up against, so many people to startle. A cat’s dream, right?

I am, however, a dog lover. Just to remind you, we have two dogs in our family, Stella and Stanley (who I have decided looks like Prince Harry so I’ve been calling him Harry lately). Both are rescue dogs, but Stella has the attitude of a purebred that came over on the Mayflower. She is a husky mix with one green eye and one blue eye, a real beauty, so everyone tells her. She is not particularly fond of me but loves my husband Carey. On numerous occasions, Stella has tried to kill me. She will try to trip me right at the top of the stairs or bump me when my hands are full of glassware, and I even have seen her look at knives trying to figure out how to use them. If something happens to me, it is not my husband, it is Stella. Stanley (Prince Harry) is a lab mix who is scared of everything. This includes people, dogs, tables, his own bark. Quite the pair!

Anyway, when I saw Champ and Major, the Biden’s dogs, arrive at the White House and start running on the South Lawn, I nearly cried. It was doggie heaven. These two dogs finally got called up to the big leagues. Then I saw pictures of the two dogs in the Oval Office! What !? Yes, just hanging around with their pal Joe.

Then, suddenly, the dogs were sent back to Delaware. The first story was that the Bidens were gone, so they were staying with a family friend. I knew that was fishy. Through my prior White House dog research (I know, I’m weird), I knew the groundskeeper takes care of the president’s pets. I mean, you can’t expect the president or first lady to be out ‘scooping the poop.’ Something was up. Sure enough, Major apparently nipped one of President Biden’s Secret Service agents. Clearly, Major was not told that his protection services were no longer needed.

So Major had to go to training school, but he’s now back at the White House and readjusting. I feel bad for the agent. Would you want to be the person who got Major kicked out of the White House? Not me.

And this is me talking politics. It’s a whole new world—for now. Peace, my peeps. &