Traveling Rat Royce

	*Southwest Missouri* After I arrived back in the U.S., I jaunted off to Springfield, Missouri. The city was established in 1838. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Wilson's Creek took place only ten miles from here. Missouri did not seceed from the Union, but it was a border state and had a star in the Confederate flag. Missouri was the only slave state north of the Mason-Dixon Line, and the fighting in this state was particularly brutal. But the area also has much more than war history! For instance, it was a stop on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Here I am with my host Mel, who moved to Springfield from St. Louis four years ago after she retired. She tells me that Springfield has a "small town atmosphere" but also has "big town advantages." She uses a scooter full-time due to having had polio as a child. I'm a little hard to see in the picture, but I am peeking out of her basket.
	A close-up of me and Mel. I have my seat belt on so I don't fall out of the basket. Riding in the basket is so much fun!
	These are two of Mel's rat friends, Bosco and Basil. Mel's brother Mike had a hard time getting them to stay in the shot.
	Last month, Mel fell and broke her leg. Mike helped her re-do the splints, and I got to help. But then my left leg started to hurt as well, so I got a bandage, too! I told you I was a rat of fashion!
	Mel never did find a restaurant in St. Louis that made great cashew chicken. But in Springfield, she discovered that Jade East makes the best cashew chicken anywhere. She also found out that cashew chicken was invented in Springfield! So of course I had to try it.
	I also tried the sesame chicken, barbecued chicken, fried rice, vegetables, and all sort of other goodies, too. I just kept going back for more. Mel shared her Dr. Pepper with me. Now I'm a Pepper, too! (Mel assures me I'm too young to remember those ads on American TV.)
	My fortune cookie told me, "You are a bundle of energy, always on the go." Wow, how did it know??
	Mike works for Securitas as a Security Guard. The company began in Europe, but later came to the United States and took over such famous companies as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency and Wells Fargo. I asked if I could go to work with him and help out. He said OK, and look! I got my own badge!! I'm a real security officer-rat.
	We made the rounds of this trucking transit station, making sure all the equipment is secure. I especially kept my eyes peeled for suspicious cats...um, characters. I called in to the dispatcher to send me emergency cheese and yogurt drops. Mike didn't think that was very funny. Oops!
	I decided to try driving, but Mike didn't let me do it for very long. Just kidding! I don't have a license and I can't even reach the pedals, darnit!
	Any yogurt drops in there? Guess not. Too bad. Well, anyway, we checked all the doors and they were locked, just as they should be. Everything's OK, and Springfield can sleep well tonight, knowing that Mike and I have been on patrol.
	We went to the Bass Pro Shop. It's the largest retailer of outdoor sports equipment anywhere. People come here from all over to look at and buy boats, camping/marine/golf gear, outdoor clothing and footwear, hunting/fishing/archery supplies, gifts, and all sorts of other things. The Bass Pro Shop has a 64,000 gallon aquarium, a 4-story indoor waterfall, an indoor pond complete with ducks and fish, snacks, restaurants, and oh, so much! Too much to absorb in a single trip. It's like Harrods, but for outdoor stuff! The front desk lady answers questions and welcomes the customers when they come into the store. Over the door was a sign that said, "Welcome Hunters and Fishermen and Other Liars." Ha ha!
	I tried my hand at wrestling this giant grizzly bear. Well, he was mounted and on display, so I won easily.
	I also had some fun at an indoor shooting gallery. But I only hit the target 12 out of 25 times, so I'm not a very good shot. No one would want me to come hunting with them. Well, I don't really want to go hunting, either!
	Springfield got a minor-league baseball team this year - the Cardinals. They are the AA club of the St. Louis Cardinals. Mel doesn't really care for sports, but this was Red Hat Society Day, so she went and took me along. There are thousands of chapters of the Red Hat Society all over the world. Mel is the founding "Queen Mother" of her chapter, The Bad Mad Hatters. This day at the stadium was not only Red Hat Society Day, it was "give out free koozie day!" This one fit me just perfectly as a t-shirt. I was curious about baseball, anyway, so I was glad of the opportunity to see a game. No one really knows the origins of baseball, but some speculate it is a descendant of a 14th century English game called stool ball. Hmm. Very interesting!
	Louis Bird is the mascot of the Cardinals. He was really funny! And he has such a great job - greeting people, playing with all the fans (both kids and adults), going up and down the aisles and through the rows doing things for laughs...and he even gets to dance on the field. I was glad he wasn't hungry; his mouth is so big! Mel thought Louis was much more entertaining than the game.
	The game was delayed by rain. But eventually, the game started and the Cardinals won over the Frisco Roughriders, 8-6.
	Just outside Springfield, in Ozark, Missouri, is Lambert's Restaurant. Lambert's is known as the "Home of the Throwed Rolls." Yes, they throw the rolls at you! You can order down home cookin' (as my host calls it) like ham and beans, fried steak, and catfish. Servers come around to the tables offering free extras like fried potatoes and onions, and fried okra. You get a lot to eat at Lambert's.
	Even though males usually aren't allowed at the Red Hat gatherings, Mel decided since I was a rat, the rule didn't really apply to me, so she invited me to go with her. She even gave me a red hat to wear to show my support for the group! The group went to Bandana's Bar-B-Q for lunch.
	We laughed, and ate, and talked, and laughed some more. These Red Hat ladies were great fun to be around. While we were there, we met two servicemen just back from the Middle East, Dana and Jeremy. We said we would be honored if they would be in our picture with us. The Red Hat ladies are, from the left, my new friends Marge, Brenda, Betty, Barbara and Shirley.
	Springfield has a lot of old houses that are very pretty. This is the Mosher House, built in 1893. I'm standing in front of the steps. The shingles on this roof are hand-carved of wood and rounded, as opposed to the more conventional square-tipped shingles. The entrance has a beautiful cut-glass, leaded window and the doorknobs are of solid brass.
	This is Christ Episcopal Church, a Gothic Revival building, which had its first service on New Year's Eve in 1870. It was constructed from Michigan pine delivered from Rolla, Missouri, by wagon. The nave is almost in its original condition. The belfry is topped with four pinnacles and crosses. I'm waving at the camera from the base of the lamp post.
	This is the Keet-McElhany House, and I'm standing on their sign. Hee hee! This house was built in 1881 in the Victorian Gothic style. It features towers, a spire, ironwork, and decorative plaster capitals. The brick, nails, pillars, and ornate cornices were made locally.
	This is the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque Temple, which was dedicated on November 3, 1923. It's not really a mosque, but a building for the local Shriners. It was designed by architects Heckenlively and Mark at a cost of over $600,000. This four story building contains a large auditorium, stage, seating for 4,750 people, and offices. It is built of red brick and polychrome terra cotta trim. This building has served as a cultural and entertainment center and as a scene of political, religious, musical, and sports activities. People who contributed to the history of this building in clude Harry Truman, General John J. Pershing, John Philip Sousa, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Admiral Richard Byrd, Will Rogers, Glen Miller, Jeanette McDonald, Lyndon Johnson, and many more.
	Time to play! We went to the Jordan Valley Park, which is downtown. It's a long, narrow park with plants, shrubs, and trees which are native to Missouri. And in the center is a waterfall and fountain. The fountain squirts water out of different holes to make different designs and patterns. People love to play in the water, and so do traveling rats. Well, I didn't want to get too wet, so I used this umbrella.
	I'm glad I'm on the outside of this building: it's an old jail. It was built in 1892 and is called the Old Calaboose. It's the oldest remaining public building built by the city. It replaced an earlier two-room frame jail with an earth floor. The Old Calaboose was used as a detention facility for male and female prisoners who were under investigation or serving short sentences. The exterior was extensively remodeled in 1916. Currently, the Old Calaboose is being restored and will serve as a police museum. I learned that "calaboose" is a word for jail mostly in the southern and western areas of the U.S. It was borrowed from the Louisiana French calabouse, which itself was borrowed from the Spanish word for dungeon, calabozo. Oh, the interesting things I learn on my travels! I learned other words for jail, like hoosegow, which was borrowed from the Spanish juzgado, a tribunal. Another term is clink, which is from a London district well-known for its prison! Wow! I've learned so many new words! Now I just hope I never end up in the calaboose, or the hoosegow, or the clink..... That's all from Springfield! I'm on my way back to St. Louis, where I hear I'll be going camping (if the weather cooperates) and I'll get to fly on a plane again. But I don't know where! Ah, the anticipation....