TALK OF THE TOWNS

u. city

We had world championship chess matches last week in the CWE. Maybe this afternoon that professional baseball team with inconsistent pitching will be worth watching against the Detroit Tigers downtown at Busch or when they leave town for a four-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sooner or later, we’ll be able to watch pro soccer in the new stadium under construction in Downtown West—maybe even in a crowd, without having to mask up because everybody will be vaccinated by then. But none of that is really important right now, because a weekend or so from now, one will not have to venture across the pond to engage in a real darts tournament. The largest and oldest pub darts tournament in North America is coming up, Sept. 3 through 5 at Blueberry Hill in The Loop! There will be two events for men, two for women, best three out of five; more than $10,000 in prize money will be awarded. Singles 301 winners will get their photo on the Wall of Fame in the pub’s dart room. And if that isn’t as good as a hologram of proprietor Joe Edwards startling you when you walk in, I don’t know what is.

talk

OF THE TOWNS

by bill beggs jr.

sunset hills

I’m no fan of Jeff Bezos. When he came in second in the Billionaire Race to Space— having been bested by British billionaire Richard Branson— I snickered. Whenever Bezos loses anything, which is rare, I tend to pump my fist in the air. Yes, I’m that cynical about this fellow. All that said, Bezos and his minions didn’t get the big space in Sunset Hills that looked like it was for sure going to become an Amazon Fresh store. That 75,000-some square feet at Watson and Lindbergh, most of which was once a Toys ‘R’ Us store … drum roll, please … will become the first Bass Pro Shops in the metro that isn’t in St. Charles and isn’t the Bass-owned Cabela’s in Hazelwood. It’s slated to open in 2022, will employ more than 100, and probably keep the folks at the Longhorn Steakhouse across the lot hopping from then on. In more news about really, really big commercial developments in the StL that aren’t skyscraping condominium complexes, nursing homes or mega-retailers like Walmart or Costco, it looks like a second Topgolf is going to be built—in the city—near SLU on 15 acres at the northwest corner of South Compton and Chouteau avenues. Reportedly, word got around because the FAA has to be involved. Two dozen or so poles support the netting surrounding a Topgolf location: They’re at least 170 feet tall. I haven’t tried out the complex in Chesterfield, which is like a multilevel driving range with targets. Maybe like an enormous arcade crossed with a bowling alley; just add height, AC, good food and other trappings of luxury. It looks hella fun. Golf itself is a blast, at least on a driving range. Every five years or so, I may play nine holes to remind myself why I never picked up the sport. I can rarely keep my eyes on the ball long enough to include hitting it during my swing. My reflex is to look where it went before it’s gone anywhere. If you can hold a grudge against a pastoral pastime, I resent the game of golf. It makes me furious. But hurling my dad’s old used clubs in a fit of pique from a height, instead of just into a water hazard to sink and disappear forever, could actually hurt someone.

the metro

A few months ago, researchers asked us to collect ticks. (Eww?) Now, they want us to collect bumblebees. (No way! Yes, way.) We published an item a few issues back about pollinators, with honeybees chief among them. But, apparently, honeybees only are responsible for about a third of the pollination work that is done by flying critters. They’re like the fighters in an aerial battle, and bumblebees are like the bombers. If undeterred, they lumber along from blossom to blossom to get the job done—the laws of aerodynamics be damned. Would-be scientists and wannabe intellectuals argue that their bodies are too heavy, their wings too small … and what about when they’re loaded up with all that pollen? Well, the industrious bumblebee is blissfully unaware of such silly arguments as it humbly bumbles about its business. And it can’t do anything about the problems researchers, ecologists, scientists and regular folks like you and me are so concerned about: declining populations from pesticide and herbicide use and habitat destruction. So, researchers are enlisting volunteers to capture the bees without harm in order to identify species and estimate numbers. They’ll be working with the insects through the middle of next month in prairies and parks throughout the state. Catch and release is the short version for collecting each insect in a butterfly net, coaxing it into a plastic tube, then placing the tube into a cooler of ice, where the bee is stunned long enough for investigators to catalog it. Upon warming up, the bee reacts much as though coming out of anesthesia, stumbles around for a few moments, then just flies away.

☛TT trivia

WHAT GAME WAS BANNED IN SCOTLAND IN THE MID-15TH CENTURY, AND WHY?

LAST ISSUE’S Q&A

How long ago did our beloved utility change its name to Ameren Missouri, and to whom did we begrudgingly write our checks out to before? Unless they’re off the grid, folks in our readership area who must pay for electricity begrudgingly wrote checks to Union Electric Co. until Dec. 31, 1997. That’s the date Ameren—provider of electricity unless there are thunderstorms, ice storms or other severe weather events—was formed by the merger of Union Electric and neighboring Central Illinois Public Service Co. of Springfield, Illinois.

ladue

A St. Louis native, Eric C. Rhone has known Cedric The Entertainer since they went to Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau, and they’ve been working together trying to make people laugh pretty much ever since. Cedric is the man onstage at the mic, of course. “I’ve always been with the guys in the meetings, doing the deals,” says Rhone, who lives in Ladue but spends much of his time in LA, working as producer with our beloved comedian from the Lou. Cedric stars in the hit CBS comedy series, The Neighborhood, now in its fourth season. “He makes a lot of people happy,” adds Rhone, in a bit of an understatement. Nowadays, Rhone and Cedric also enjoy working as co-executive producers of Johnson on the Bounce TV network, a comedy that premiered Aug. 1. Based in Atlanta, the show follows the fortunes of four brothers from different Johnson families who’ve been best buds since they were seated alphabetically by last name in elementary school. They’re all played by up-and-coming Black actors who are joined by stalwart D.L. Hughley for the series, which airs Sunday nights at 7 p.m. “African-American men are just like everyone else,” Rhone said. They are the same life choices and dreams, hopes, fears … but not the same opportunities. How does WE COULD LEARN Rhone view his contribution A LOT ... TO HELP GROW to helping us all ‘just get along’? “This is a light take OUR REGION. on understanding men, Black men in particular. For women, it’s a look inside all men. It’s refreshing and relatable. There are a lot of ‘a-ha’ moments. We’re continuing to humanize Black men.” And he believes humor is the best way to make that connection with a viewer. Comedy makes co-existing easier. “It’s better than sports,” he says. And Johnson is funny, thought-provoking, low-key and mostly family-friendly (depending on the family). Before this project, Rhone had visited the AtL a few times, but had never been able to get well-acquainted. “Last time was the first time I could scout locations.” OK, then; why Atlanta? In many ways, it’s more progressive than the StL, further down the road in terms of race relations. Even in a red state. “There are a lot of similarities,” Rhone says. “We could probably learn a lot from Atlanta to help grow our region.” Rhone and Cedric’s company is A Bird & A Bear Entertainment. Rhone is the bird because he picked up the nickname ‘Swan.’ It’s easier to savvy Cedric’s moniker: ‘Ceddy Bear.’ (Aw, shucks, man.) The two friends took their very scary creative leap of faith in 1994. “We were wondering whether to stay with our corporate jobs,” says Rhone. Considering just those two items on their resumes, it would seem they’ve made the right choice for themselves. Oh, before we forget, we’re aware many of you expect us to ask ‘The St. Louis question.’ Rhone graduated from Normandy High School in 1983, and points out that he’s still a Viking. Visit bouncetv.com/show/johnson/54026. &