The Spirit of St. Louis is All Around Us

On this day in 1927, Charles Lindbergh left the runway of Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York on “The Spirit of St. Louis.”  Traveling 3,500 miles, he reached Paris a full 33 ½ hours later to become the first pilot to fly the Atlantic alone. 

As a lifetime St. Louisan, I always burst with pride when I think of the plane’s name.  It also makes me think of the 1974-75 and ‘75-‘76 American Basketball Association seasons played by our Spirits of St. Louis.  The jersey uniform worn by colorful figures like Marvin Barnes, Maurice Lucas, “Fly” Williams, Moses Malone, and Freddie Lewis, featured a depiction of Lindbergh’s plane as part of the large orange logo.

The Spirits also introduced a young upstart named Bob Costas as their radio announcer.  Here is one of Costas’ main broadcasting highlights from the Spirits’ first season.  It came in game five of the playoff opening series that pitted a St. Louis team with a 32-52 regular season record against a New York Nets team led by Julius (Dr. J) Erving that finished 58-26.

“Lewis from three…Yes!  Yes!  He made it.  The (New York) Nets with no time outs left…(Bill) Melchionni  heaves it…It’s no good.  The Spirits win the series!  The Spirits win the series!” 

 

But far beyond basketball talk in the midst of the National Basketball Association’s conference finals, “The Spirit of St. Louis” also makes me think of how fortunate I’ve been to call St. Louis my home.  Like any major metropolitan area, we do have our problems, but yes, most of us are indeed filled with civic pride as we enjoy our lives in one of the nation’s most affordable large cities!

Now at the start of the summer travel season, our own Forest Park is one of the nation’s finest city parks.  It’s 60 percent larger than New York’s Central Park, and contains one of the very finest zoos, the nation’s largest outdoor theater (Municipal Opera), and also the Science Center, Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, the Boathouse, and miles of walking/biking trails.   Nearby Missouri Botanical Gardens is also one of the very best of its kind in North America. 

The St. Louis area also boasts other incredible attractions that include The National Museum of Transport, Grant’s Farm, Jefferson Barracks National Military Park, Laumeier Sculpture Park, The City Museum, the Old Courthouse, Cahokia Mounds, the Magic House, Six Flags Over Mid-America, several wineries, and dozens of parades, fairs, and festivals in and around our nation’s two greatest rivers.  How can I forget the St. Louis Cardinals?  Many of us have been weaned on them!

It’s time to head out for lunch.  It shouldn’t be tough finding a nice place to eat since I’m just a few miles from Lindbergh Boulevard!  This will be a happy flight…I mean drive!