08/26/2026
The road squeezed us between the Katy Trail and the Missouri River, eventually joining old Route 66, celebrating her 100th birthday. Like a good mother, the road delivered us to an old favorite, Rigazzi’s on The Hill. Our first introduction to Rigazzi’s happened 44 years ago and a hundred miles away. It was the last day of the legislative session under the capitol dome in Jefferson City--always a celebration for many reasons--and State Representative Anthony Ribaudo, whose district included The Hill, was serving Rigazzi’s mostaccioli, house salad and toasted ravioli in his legislative office. I was a fledgling press secretary for Mel Carnahan. Shy. Not assertive. (me, not Mel). So I never seized the opportunity between bites to thank Tony Ribaudo for such a wonderful revelation. On The Hill the clock struck lunch time, and Haley served up a perfect birthday fête: Rigazzi’s house salad, chicken Marsala and a cannoli to top it off. It gives me the will to continue.
