This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Aug. 30, 2013 - Yes, school has already started, but Labor Day weekend has always struck me as the last gasp of summer, the end of lazy weekends, aimless daydreaming and that manana attitude. If you're feeling a little blue about the change of season, here are five ways to indulge that feeling.
1) Big Muddy Blues festival: What could be more of a tribute to St. Louis summer than sweltering in the sun, listening to music that echoes our heartbeat and occasionally tripping on the cobblestones of Laclede's Landing?
2) Not into sweating? Hide out in a dark, cold theater and watch Woody Allen's " Blue Jasmine," a searing, contemporary twist on "A Streetcar Named Desire," by native St. Louisan Tennessee Williams. Cate Blanchett (as Jamine) and Sally Hawkins (as sister Ginger) knock it out of the park.
3) Blueberry pancakes at Winslow's Home are the perfect comfort food in a cozy, comfy setting of an updated general store.
4) Feeling a little edgier? The Libertine's take on blueberry pie is intensely rich and flavorful. It adds a cornbread crust, a scoop of cinnamon ice cream and a sprinkling of caramel popcorn. OK, the popcorn didn't work for me, but the blueberries did.
5) As the days become longer, the saga of Walter White, the wizard of crystal blue meth, grows shorter. Even in a DVR universe, Sunday night will find me glued to "Breaking Bad" and its final episodes. I'll never be able to listen to "Crystal Blue Persuasion" again without a shiver.