Cape Girardeau 11/13

Z bars—the ERT equivalent of lembas bread.  I’ve lost track of how many of these delightful bars I’ve consumed since I joined the program, but I expect the number to be well into the hundreds by the time I leave.  Make no mistake; they do not starve us in AmeriCorps.  Whenever we go out on project we get $4.00 per person per day of service, which doesn’t sound like a lot but when you pool the money together it adds up to some nice meals.  Taco Tuesdays are always a high point of the week but team red has also grown accustomed to the deceivingly delicious potato bar.  We’ve also made stir fry, chili, pasta, and burgers while we’ve been out here in Cape Girardeau.  I think Z bars are just a favorite of mine because, like our dinners, they taste amazing, are semi healthy, and, in addition to these pluses, they are extremely portable.

We cut down the remaining Sycamores at Friends Farm to start off our day.  With those trees felled and the fire line started we have completed both projects Marcus assigned to us in the area.  Just in time too.  After lunch (sandwich and a Z bar for me), Marcus showed us the ropes on what to look for in terms of invasive species along the highway and how to combat them.  He turned us loose for a little over an hour to wreck some havoc on some Japanese honeysuckle before calling it a day.

From what I gathered we will be working the highways all day tomorrow, but why worry about tomorrow when tonight is a cause for celebration!?  Sean Kerr, the fellow I keep borrowing pictures from, had his birthday today.  To celebrate the occasion we went to Lambert’s whose motto is “if you leave here hungry, it ain’t our fault.”  At this restaurant you order a meal and are constantly treated to sides like macaroni, cooked potatoes and okra.  Be careful if you raise your hand to get the waiter’s attention though as you will find a very warm roll flying in your general direction.  Even if you are right by the wandering bread distributors, they are forbid to hand it to you—they will toss it.  I found it highly entertaining and caught 4 out of 4 rolls.

Due to the late hour we just put on Jurassic Park.  The Batman movies are a tad long for sleepy folk so we thought it would be better to save the conclusion of the trilogy for tomorrow.  Tomorrow… hmm.  Time to retire, but before I do, what do you think of the nickname Wheels?  Richard gave it to me today and I’ve yet to figure out how I inherited it.  Night!