The Beefcake of Meh-Ville, Missouri

St. Louis suburb Mehlville, Missouri, population 28,000, draws the eye because it's spelled wrong.  The author of Moby Dick is Herman Melville.

Maybe it comes from "Meh!", the Jewish expression for "bored, not interested, don't care, whatever."

Because there's not much to do there.  It's at the intersection of Interstate 55 and 255 (the St. Louis roundabout), with a lot of fast-food places, a Wal-Mart, and urban blight as far as the eye can see.

TripAdvisor recommends Chick-Fil-A and McDonalds.

Downtown St. Louis is 13 miles away, so there is a lot of art, culture, and gay activity available.  But if you're stuck in Mehlville, you're stuck.

Except for the Meramac Valley Grotto, which is dedicated to the exploration and conservation of the many caves in the Illinois-Missouri area (this is near Tom Sawyer's Hannibal).

Sounds sort of interesting.




There are two high schools with swim teams, one smiling, the other deadly serious.










Wrestling, with the panther on the singlets going for the crotch.  Rather an odd choice.



















Quite a lot of bodybuilding.

















In fact, every search on Mehlville brings up Calum Von Moger, aka Callum Von Zilla, the 2014 Mr. Universe.  Except he was born in Australia and now lives in Los Angeles.  The only connection I can find is a profile that appeared in Mehlville Media, the school newspaper and news website, in November 2017.






Mehlville High also sends a troupe to the Missouri Thesbians Conference every year.

Ok, now I'm grasping at straws.

Just drive into St. Louis and go to the Bastille.