Thom Fletcher is St. Louis' modern-day Mark Twain.
He's great with kids:
"Went out to the car and a kid at the corner was crowing like a rooster. When she saw me she dropped the bike right there and ran off. Driving by her I waved and she glowered back at me. She usually sticks out her tongue. Progress."
He's indispensable in emergencies, like the recent tornado:
"Now THAT was an unwholesome wind. You know you catch a channel cat and it growls at you? It was exactly that level of wholesomeness."
He's as wise as he is witty:
"Lesson learned from reading Verne, Wells, Conrad, etc: Isolation erodes one's perceived obligation to a social contract. Even with a working set of morals and ethics, the result can be villainous."