Talking To Tootsie Tonasket On The Last Day Of 2012 In Chilly Drippy Texas

The last day of 2012, New Year's Eve Day, is being a drizzly, chilly dripper at my location in North Texas.

In the picture you are looking through my windshield, heading east on John T. White Road, on my way to Walmart to get my New Year's Eve Party supplies.

I'd not talked to Tootsie Tonasket in quite some time. Tootsie called me on Christmas and left a voice mail. I called Tootsie back and got voice mail. But, today I called again and Tootsie Tonasket answered.

The past several months I've gotten multiple messages from Tootsie's Facebook Friends worried about her disappearance from Facebook. Tootsie has been involved in a Civil War with her ex-husband, with Facebook being one of the battleground casualties.

Changing the subject from Tootsie Tonasket to something else.

Yesterday I blogged about a Mystery Photo. By day's end, yesterday, some of the mystery was no longer mysterious.

My mom called late in the afternoon. I mentioned that I'd found a photo from 1997, with the whole family in the picture, but I can't figure out where it was taken. Without missing a beat my mom says "Is that the picture without Jeremy in it?"

"Yes" said I.

That picture was taken at Jackie's house, my mom then told me. But, my mom did not remember what the occasion was. Or who took the picture. Or why Jeremy was not in it.

Then I got email from Spencer Jack's dad, also confirming that the photo was taken at sister Jackie's house, but also not remembering the reason we were all there, or who took the picture. Spencer Jack's dad and I exchanged a couple emails and then he called. Talking did not get us any closer to remembering any more details about the Mystery Photo.

Then I heard from Blue & Max, Tacoma's Adventure Poodles, relaying a message from my little sister, also confirming this picture was taken at sister Jackie's, but also not remembering why we were all there. But adding the speculation that the reason Jeremy was not in the picture was because he was being a bit of a pill.

I don't know if "bit of a pill" is universal slang or a Northwest idiom. It means being a bit of a brat.

I don't know how long my New Year's Eve Partying is going to last. I don't remember the last time I made it til midnight. I know for sure I am not going to Dallas, to Victory Park, where, supposedly, the biggest New Year's Eve Party in the middle part of the country is going to take place tonight.

Perplexed By A Photo From The Last Century While Getting Lost In My Closet

I  was rummaging through my closet today, trying to find thermal underwear, to no avail, when I came across the photo you see on the left.

The back of the photo indicates it was taken in September of 1997, a little over a year before my exile in Texas began.

From the left, back row, we have my brother, me, Spencer Jack's dad, my mom, my dad, big sister, middle sister and my favorite brother-in law.

From the left, front row, nephew CJ, Spencer Jack's uncle Joey, my little sister and my ex-wife, Spencer Jack's namesake.

Where was this picture taken? Beside it obviously being in Washington, obvious due to the big evergreen trees, whose house is this? I'm very perplexed.

And where is CJ's brother, my nephew JR?

When this picture was taken I believe my relatives were all getting along with each other, relatively well. Over the course of the 15 years since this picture was taken a lot of relative dysfunction has set in. Near as I can tell, the prime dysfunction instigator is my aforementioned big sister, who only recently added me to the list of those to whom she does not speak. Or "Friend" on Facebook.

My brother was between wives when this picture was taken. A short while after I moved to Texas my brother married a nice new wife. Since then my brother and his nice new wife moved to Scottsdale, Arizona. Also in Arizona are my middle sister, my favorite brother-in-law and nephews CJ and JR. My mom and dad also moved to Arizona, first to Yuma, then to the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes, near the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, where my middle sister and favorite brother-in-law live.

My only close relatives who remain in Washington are my little sister, my dysfunctional big sister and my nephews and niece, half of whom I have not yet met, that being nephews David and Theo and niece, Ruby.

In addition to wondering whose house we are at in this picture, who took the picture? Why were we all together in one place in September of 1997. That usually happened only on holidays or funerals. And never in September, that I can recall.

As for trying to find my missing thermal underwear. I give up.

I did not have a walk in closet til I moved to Texas. Closets in Texas are just one more example of how everything is bigger here. My first walk in Texas closet was long and narrow. My current walk in Texas closet is long and wide. There are two large chests of drawers in there, 3 filing cabinets, two rows of rods to hang hangers on,  plus a lot of shelves. I could turn this walk in closet into another bedroom if I needed one. No wonder I lose stuff in there.

No Soft Toss At Gateway Park While Regretting Not Getting Parking Lot Tamales At Town Talk

On this final Saturday of 2012 I stopped in at Gateway Park on my way to Town Talk. I thought I might be able to endure the almost freezing temperature long enough to have myself some salubrious outdoor air exposure.

However, two long-sleeved layers on top did not provide a sufficient buffer from the cold. I walked around two of the Gateway Park ballfields and then returned to the shelter of my vehicle.

Can anyone explain to me what the "NO SOFT TOSS" signs mean that are attached to the Gateway Park ballpark fences at regular intervals?

I forgot to mention, on my way to Gateway Park, driving west on Randol Mill Road, east of the entry to Quanah Park Park, I saw what appeared to be Mr. Hometown by Handlebar, pedaling east.

I think I need to go hunting in my closet for my thermal long underwear so that I might be able to go biking in these icy winter conditions.

Today at Town Talk I was left feeling very Ebeneezer Scrooge-ish.

Pretty much every Saturday I get approached in the Town Talk parking lot and asked if I would like to buy some tamales. 5 for $5. I think that is the price quoted. I always politely say "no thank you."

Buying tamales at a parking lot seems like a bad idea to me.

So, today this little guy, speaking very heavily accented English, asked me if I'd like to buy some tamales. I think he said something like "5 for $5, 12 for $10, beef or chicken," but I'm not sure.

The little guy was smiling cute as he talked to me.

I said my usual "No thank you" and then asked "Do you make the tamales?"

"No, senor, my mama makes the tamales."

I asked, "Are they real good?"

"Si, senor, very good tamales."

As this dialogue was taking place the little guy was helping me load my Town Talk stuff from the cart to my vehicle. All the while smiling.

Then he said "Goodbye senor, I'll take your cart for you," or words to that effect.

I then watched as the little guy, shorter than the cart, wheeled it back into Town Talk.

Then I started feeling like a jerk, feeling bad, as in why didn't I give the kid a couple bucks? Or buy 5 bucks worth of tamales. The tamales can't be bad, what with them being sold at this location every Saturday, year round.

So, next Saturday, I will be buying myself some Town Talk parking lot tamales, if that little guy is back hawking them.

Escaping The Texas Drizzle By Treasure Hunting In My Closest

In the post noon time frame, on the 4th day before the end of 2012, it would appear, judging from my patio view of the outer world, that 2012 is choosing to go out with a drizzly whimper at my location on the planet.

Drizzle, with wind and only air heated to only 5 degrees above freezing.

Today this cold drizzle afforded me the rare opportunity, or more accurately, need, to wear one of the sweaters I imported from the Pacific Northwest, when I moved to Texas.

Neither my sweaters or my flannel long-sleeved shirts get a lot of use in Texas. I actually forget I have these items til a big chill causes me to dig deep into my disorganized closet. This morning's dig discovered a long forgotten pair of brown cargo pants. Venturing into my closet is sort of a treasure hunt. I also found some computer speakers with a big woofer I'd forgotten I had.

I seem to have had myself a bit of a relapse in the respiratory woes department. The woes may have been exacerbated by this on the ocean like drizzle that is currently plaguing this usually drizzle-free zone.

At some point in time I am sure warm air will return to Texas. Maybe not this year, but next year, for sure. I hope.

A Snowy Walk In The Village Creek Natural Historical Area Thinking About Crabs & Oysters

It was still freezing when I walked to the Village Creek Blue Bayou Overlook in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area today, to look at the Blue Bayou and the snow that remained on the ground.

The temperature is now 10 degrees above freezing, at my location, with most of the snow that had been remaining on the ground, now melted..

The Viral Annoyance that has been annoying me the past several days this morning had greatly lessened, pretty much going, overnight, from High Annoyance to Low Annoyance.

I heard from the mama of my youngest nephews and niece this morning, informing that they have all been having ailment woes. Reading about those woes made my woes seem to pale by comparison. For instance, I have feared it happening, but I have never projectile vomited on an airplane, that I can recollect.

I figure in a few days I should be back to full strength. Just in time for New Year's Eve.

I watched last night's episode of Top Chef Seattle whilst having Chinese food for lunch. Top Chef filming in the part of the world with which I am most familiar is being interesting. This episode started off with the Quickfire Challenge directing the chefs to drive to an address on Chuckanut Drive in Bow, Washington.

Those watching, not familiar with Washington, would think this must be a short drive from Seattle. The editing made it look like a short drive, but, the reality is, it is about 70 miles or more north of Seattle, heading north on I-5, til you get to my old hometown of Burlington, in the Skagit Valley, then exiting on to Chuckanut Drive, continuing north to Bow, where the chefs gathered oysters in Samish Bay. Then all the way back to Seattle to make a food item out of the oysters. Seems like this would have been an exhausting day.

And why did the chefs not stop at Sakuma Bros. Farms & Market Stand which they would have passed shortly after exiting I-5?

The chefs did seem to be appropriately enchanted by the scenery they were seeing. I have not been in that particular location since early August of 2008, when David, Theo and Ruby's mom drove me to Bow, and Edison, on the way to meet Spencer Jack at Bayview State Park.

Top Chef Seattle is making me homesick. For crabs, oysters, salmon and fresh berries of a wide variety. Along with mountains, fresh air and a lot of saltwater.

Checking Out One Of My Woodhaven Neighborhood Chesapeake Restoration Projects

Months ago one of my neighborhood Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Pad Sites started up the long process of inserting pipe underground so non-odorized natural gas could be moved to another location.

As part of that pipe laying operation Chesapeake Energy removed the Woodhaven sign that sat at the northwest corner of Bridgewood and Boca Raton. This had been a landscaped brick installation.

When this was removed I wondered how it is that Chesapeake Energy gets permission to do such things. Is is some variant of abusing eminent domain? Quite a large area was bulldozed, heavy equipment brought in, noise abatement walls installed. A big mess.

And then, to my pleased surprise, when Chesapeake finished with its pipeline laying operation a crew arrived and quickly restored the Woodhaven sign to its former glory. Well, actually, I think it is better than before, with a lot more landscaping.

A lot more landscaping, plus one thing that was not at this location previously. That being the white sign on the yellow post.

The sign informs us that this is now a Chesapeake "Cathodic Protection Test Station."

And, "In Case Of An Emergency Call 1-800-566-9306/"

What sort of emergency? Something Cathodic that has escaped that we need protection from?

What is a Cathodic Protection Test Station I can not help but wonder. Let's see if Googling relieves me of my wonderment.

Well, Googling Cathodic Protection Test Station brought up a lot of businesses trying to sell a test product.

Near as I could tell Cathodic Protection has something to do with preventing or detecting corrosion. I assume it is the metal of the pipeline we are worried about corroding, due to the extremely corrosive nature of the un-odorized wet gas flowing through the pipe.

I guess I should be relieved to have a Cathodic Protection Test Station so close to where I live.

Have A Wonderful Christmas Even Though You Have No Snow In Texas

This may be my final Holiday Season Themed blogging of the Holiday Season. We can only hope.

When my mom called on Sunday she asked if I'd gotten a card from them. I said I had. Mom asked if I'd opened it. I said I had not. I said I was saving it to open for Christmas, thus giving me something to look forward to.

And then a few minutes ago I realized I'd still not opened the Christmas card from my mom and dad. Or one from my favorite aunt and uncle who live in Ohio.

The card from my aunt and uncle in Ohio turned out to have been rendered very ironic by today's events in Texas.

To the sentence, "Have a wonderful Christmas" my aunt added "even tho you have no snow."

I read I "have no snow" as I looked out the window at what looks like a blizzard of sideways blowing snow.

A Much Whiter Christmas Than Expected Has Arrived In Texas

The weather predictor's predictions for Christmas for North Texas have only erred in underplaying the magnitude and length of the thunderstorm that began Christmas, with the light rain turning out to be a deluge and the slight chance of a little snow in the D/FW Metroplex turning out to be a lot of snowflakes falling, for over an hour now.

With the temperature currently 30 and continuing to drop.

As you can see, via the view from my pool overlook patio, snow is sticking to the trees. The ground is still resisting getting white.

I think a lot more rain fell than what was predicted, a lot of which was still wet on the ground when the freeze started. Will we be an icy mess by morning? I suspect so.

I don't have snow tires on the Smart Car I did not get for Christmas. So, I am not good to drive in the snow.

As you can see, the forecast is a bit chilly the next 5 days. I  see no hill hiking in my immediate future.

Or swimming.

If I can find my cross-country skis and deem them ski-worthy, I may be able to go skiing tomorrow morning.

Merry Stormy Christmas In Texas

The above photo of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, taken last night by Brian Luenser, seen by me this morning, due to Pete Charlton putting it on Facebook, appears to provide photo evidence that the Santa Claus myth is real.

However, I have found no presents hiding anywhere in my abode this morning and I made certain that my fireplace was totally obstruction free.

Judging by the somewhat clear sky, Santa flew over downtown Fort Worth before the arrival of the storm that has been banging big booms for hours.

The predicted Thunderstorm is Part 1 of the predicted Christmas Day Storm that the predictors have predicted for North Texas. Part 2 is scheduled to arrive this afternoon with continuing rain rapidly chilled by a rapidly chilling temperature, chilling, eventually, down into the teens, with the rain turning into white snowflakes at some point in time this Christmas Day.

I hope everyone will have themselves a very Merry Christmas.

Thunder Lightning Snow Ice Rain & Wind On Schedule For North Texas For Christmas

I am up early this morning of Christmas Eve, slightly optimistic that I might be having myself a small Christmas Miracle in the form of my pneumonia-like, bronchitis-like, hacking cough, cold misery may be quickly abating.

In other words I have awakened feeling better than I did yesterday morn.

My mom called me last night  to wish me a Merry Christmas. I'm sure that was a big boost to my immune system.

Changing the subject from my personal misery to my favorite subject, that being the weather.

Overnight the National Weather Service has ratcheted up what is being predicted for Christmas Day in North Texas, adding Thunder and Lightning to the mix, joining snow and temperatures into the teens.

Below is the latest for Christmas from the National Weather Service...

...WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER 25TH...

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON CHRISTMAS DAY. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE OF A COLD RAIN AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS NORTH TEXAS BEGINNING EARLY CHRISTMAS MORNING. A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL BLAST THROUGH NORTH TEXAS AROUND MIDDAY AND SEND TEMPERATURES TUMBLING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. TO THE NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR...THE ATMOSPHERIC PROFILE WILL BECOME COLD ENOUGH FOR RAIN TO TRANSITION TO SNOW DURING THE AFTERNOON. WHILE MOST OF THE SNOW WILL BE LIGHT...PERIODS OF MODERATE SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR THE COUNTIES BORDERING THE RED RIVER. TO THE NORTH OF A BOWIE...TO MCKINNEY...TO EMORY LINE...SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGHEST TOTALS EXPECTED AROUND THE PARIS AREA. TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF THIS LINE...INCLUDING THE DFW METROPLEX AND I-20 CORRIDOR...LITTLE TO NO SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED.

TRAVEL MAY BE IMPACTED NORTH OF I-20 CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHERE THE HEAVIER PRECIPITATION OCCURS. TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT WILL FALL INTO THE TEENS AND 20S WHICH WOULD ALSO CAUSE REFREEZING OF ANY REMAINING MOISTURE ON ROADS...RESULTING IN PATCHES OF BLACK ICE.

IN ADDITION TO THE CHANCE OF SNOW...VERY STRONG WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. THE FALLING TEMPERATURES AND STRONG WINDS WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE TEENS AND 20S BY THE EVENING HOURS...AND EVEN LOWER OVERNIGHT.

BOTTOM LINE...WINTER PRECIPITATION IS FORECAST FOR THE AREA ROUGHLY ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS OF CHRISTMAS DAY AND NIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF A BOWIE...TO MCKINNEY...TO EMORY LINE.

THERE WILL BE A VERY TIGHT GRADIENT BETWEEN LOCATIONS THAT RECEIVE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW AND THOSE THAT RECEIVE LITTLE TO NO SNOW. THE ULTIMATE TRACK OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL DETERMINE HOW FAR NORTH OR SOUTH THE SIGNIFICANT SNOW BAND WILL AFFECT THE REGION. PLEASE CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES.

The Old Man & His Christmas Misery

On the left is an artist's rendering of my current condition.

It ain't pretty.

What started on Wednesday as a mildly nagging cough, five days later, has increased magnitude to being a sore throat viral malady that seems to be quickly passing Tropical Depression status on its way to full blown Hurricane.

Not counting feeling ill from allergic reactions to the bad air that I breathe, I believe this is the first time I have been ill with a viral infection type ill this century.

I do not handle being not well, well.

Unless the ailment totally knocks me out, like my worst case ever of the flu did, back in the early 1990s, I tend to proceed as if I am not ailing.

This morning I proceeded, as if I am not ailing, by driving north to Hurst to go to ALDI. I was feeling a bit loopy, due to being on anti-cold medications, so I opted not to drive the freeway and took the less intense surface streets. Negotiating through the 820/121 construction zone is a trial even when I am not on any meds making me loopy.

After I got a lot of stuff at ALDI I got gas at Fastrak and called my mom to tell her I got gas and how much it cost. $2.89 a gallon. I think. It's been several hours, and, like I said, I'm being loopy.

My mom did not answer my gas call, I got the answering machine instead. I think I was calling prior to their regular Sunday church attendance, but I'm not sure. I get confused with that Arizona time with its stubborn anti-daylight savings time anomaly.

Today is Day 3 of Winter. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The day after that is Christmas. Currently scheduled to possibly be white at this location on the planet.

And unless a Christmas miracle abates my cold misery I won't be having me a Holly Jolly Christmas, it will more likely be a Loopy, Goopy Christmas.

Winter Weather Outlook For December 25 Is A North Texas White Christmas

I returned from a salubrious walk in Gateway Park and an even more salubrious walk around Town Talk to find my computer based weather monitoring device was flashing red.

Anything flashing red, to me, seems as if it must be something serious.

So, I clicked the option that provides the details of what the red flashing is all about to learn that snow is now in the forecast for Christmas.

The National Weather Service appears to be minimizing their prediction of how much snow may blanket North Texas. If I recollect correctly, and sometimes I do, the last time we had a really White Christmas on this part of the planet it came in spite of the prediction to the contrary.

I'd be thinking I need to get my cross country skis out and ready if I did not remember that the heat of summer, a couple summers ago, delaminated my skis. I had stupidly left them in a storage area that is not air-conditioned.

Below is the National Weather Service's White Christmas prediction for North Texas...

..WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER 25TH...

A STRONG STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION ON CHRISTMAS DAY. BASED ON THE LATEST FORECAST DATA...THERE WILL BE A GOOD CHANCE OF COLD RAIN ON CHRISTMAS DAY ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL TEXAS. ALONG AND TO THE NORTH OF I-20...ATMOSPHERIC PROFILES WILL BECOME COLD ENOUGH FOR THE RAIN TO MIX WITH OR CHANGE OVER TO SNOW BY THE AFTERNOON OR EVENING HOURS CHRISTMAS NIGHT. AT THIS TIME... SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED TO BE BRIEF WITH JUST LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR.

AS THE CHANGE OVER TO SNOW OCCURS...NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN INTENSITY TO 20 MPH GUSTING TO 30 MPH. ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BLOW AROUND IN THESE WINDS...WHICH MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY IF TRAVELING AFTER SUNSET ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

AS OF THIS MORNING...THIS UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WAS JUST ENTERING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. AT THIS TIME...THERE STILL REMAINS A GREAT DEAL OF UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE EXACT TRACK AND ANY ASSOCIATED WINTRY PRECIPITATION FALLING OVER NORTH TEXAS ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

BOTTOM LINE...WINTRY PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE I-20 CORRIDOR FOR THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS OF CHRISTMAS DAY. CHECK BACK FOR THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES IN THE COMING DAYS AS THESE DETAILS ARE VERY LIKELY TO CHANGE WITH FUTURE FORECASTS.

Doonesbury Has My Aunt Asking If I Will Return To God's Country If Texas Secedes From The Union Again

In my mailbox, this morning, I found another Christmas card from my favorite Auntie A, who lives in Eastern Washington, near Othello, overlooking the Columbia River.

A blogging a couple days ago, titled My Aunt Told Me She Will Believe Corporations Are People When Texas Executes One I blogged about that day's Christmas card from my favorite Auntie A and how my Auntie mails me stuff she reads relating to Texas, often focusing on the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, a governor who  regularly causes jaws to drop in other parts of the country.

Today's Christmas card from Auntie A included a strip from a Doonesbury comic. It has been years since I've regularly enjoyed Doonesbury. Is Gary Trudeau banned in Texas? I have no idea.

I think the characters in this particular Doonesbury comic strip are known as Duke and the son of Duke.

In the comic strip Dukes asks his son, "SO HOW DO WE MAKE THE CASE FOR TEXAS SECEDING?" To which Duke's son replies, "POP, CHECK OUT THE PETITION TEXT. IT'S FILLED WITH ERRORS IN SYNTAX, USAGE AND PUNCTUATION. YET OVER 120,000 TEXANS SIGNED IT.

To which Duke says, "WOW, THAT'S AMAZING." And then starts a sentence with, "SO LOSING TEXAS..." to have his son finish Duke's sentence with, "DRAMATICALLY IMPROVES THE GENE POOL! THAT'S OUR ANGLE!"

Well, the above, from Doonesbury just seems really rude to me. Losing Texas improves the American gene pool? Am I understanding correctly?

Regarding this Doonesbury comic strip my Aunt had this to say....

Thought you might enjoy this comic strip. If Texas does secede, will Perry be president?! 'Tis one of his ambitions. Will you need a passport to visit us? Will Texas oil need to be taxed by states?! Will you move back to God's country if Texas secedes?!

Well,  I have to say, watching Top Chef Seattle has had me wanting to move back to God's country, regardless of the secession status of Texas.

This week's Top Chef Elimination Challenge, featuring Pacific Northwest berries, had me homesick. Every episode of Top Chef Seattle seems to feel the need to have Dungeness Crab, which also contributes to the homesick feeling. And then there is that God's country scenery. Has Top Chef ever filmed in such a scenic location before?

The Post Office Is Very Sorry They Missed Me

I think I may have mentioned that I am ailing, on cold medications, thus a bit loopy.

Even though I was being a bit loopy I decided I could manage to make my way to the mailbox. I did so to find the mailperson had stuck a "Sorry We Missed You! We Re-Deliver For You" postcard in the mailbox.

There was someone at my abode all day today who would have been able to accept a mail delivery.

If that were not possible there is a locked parcel box where the mailperson is able to stick the parcel in the locked box and then lock the key to the locked box in my mailbox.

This is not the first time a parcel has not been delivered in this manner.

The mailperson scribbled some info on the postcard, but no name, not who the delivery was to, or who it was from.

The first time this happened, years ago, I checked off the "Redeliver" option on the postcard and left it in the mailbox, where it remained for several days, with no parcel being re-delivered. I then went to the post office, the Poly Station on Rosedale, that I was directed to on the postcard, and was able to retrieve the package.

Subsequent times, when I've gotten this unable to deliver postcard, I've skipped the re-deliver request and just gone to the Post Office and retrieved the package, which never makes sense to me, as in why is the package not in the mailperson's delivery vehicle, awaiting re-delivery, why is it at the Post Office?

The last time the mailperson failed to deliver, it was a frozen peach cobbler, mailed from Dallas, by the Unstoppable Woman. By the time I retrieved the peach cobbler from the Post Office it was in the advanced stages of thawing.

On the postcard it tells the victim that one can go to the usps.com/redelivery website and request a re-delivery. I did so, thinking this is not going to work. But I filled out a form and eventually saw the below message...

A few minutes later I got an email also telling me that the "Redelivery Has Been Scheduled".

Years ago I used to think people who complained about the Post Office were out of line, due to the fact that I had never had any problem with my mail delivery, either coming or going.

And then I moved to Texas.

I don't know if it is a Texas thing that I have now repeatedly experienced Post Office incompetence, or if it is a system-wide deterioration of the quality of service.

I do not know what is in the missing parcel or where it came from. I suspect it is Christmas related and came from either Washington or Arizona.

Whoever mailed, whatever it is they mailed, to Texas, they have already paid for mailing it. The package they mailed made it to within a few feet of my front door. And then the system went screwy and the delivery that had been paid for, was not made.

Criminal. And very perplexing.

Christmas Tree Harvesting On The Tandy Hills & Other Barbaric Customs

Last year around this time, on Facebook, I read about Christmas tree harvesting taking place in the area of the Tandy Hills.

I blogged about this partial clearcutting in a blogging titled Godfather Don Young Leads Three Generations Harvesting Christmas Trees From Fort Worth's Tandy Hills Nature Preserve.

Don Young then explained that he did not purloin the Tandy Hills Natural Area for a natural Christmas tree. I blogged this explanation in a blogging titled Don Young Clears Up The Controversy Over His Tandy Hills Christmas Tree Cutting.

Then today an incoming comment came in from someone named Anonymous, regarding what Anonymous calls Don Young's Christmas Tree Caper....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Biking Gateway Park Freshly Amused By Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Propaganda": 

While speaking of JD Granger and focusing upon his MAGIC TREES, you've been diverted from a MAGICAL OPPORTUNITY! It's time for Don Young's Christmas Tree Caper! Please make sure you check the surveillance footage at Tandy Hills Park. Once again, he'll cut down a tree from Tandy Hills Park, or worse yet from the land adjacent which is owned by Chesapeake and further up by Channel 5! Please REPORT on this event!

I have not been on the Tandy Hills for a few days. When I was last on the hills I made note of the fact that most of the foliage has left the trees, except for the evergreens, like Christmas Trees, making the Christmas Trees really easy to spot.

Due to my extremely strong beliefs, regarding what is right and what is wrong, regarding how one celebrates Christmas, I do not install a pagan symbol in my abode in the form of a murdered tree.

I think killing a perfectly innocent tree for such purposes it totally barbarian.

And those Christmas Tree Farms, where the trees are grown in tight quarters, fertilized to look ultra green and full of boughs, then sliced off, one by one, at ground level, ending up in the house of a human, where the tree becomes a fire hazard, eventually tossed into the garbage or set to flame in the backyard.

Like I said. Barbaric.

I Am Optimistic Tomorrow I Will Dodge Incoming Mayan Fireballs & Really HOT Temperatures

I got the above 7 Day Forecast from Mr. Tom on Facebook a couple minutes ago. Mr. Tom is based up in the Skagit Valley in my old home state of Washington. I found it interesting that the current temperature for Thursday, as in today, in the graphic above, is 45 degrees. which is the same temperature my computer based weather monitoring device is telling me it is currently at my location, a couple thousand miles from Mr. Tom's location.

However, my forecast for tomorrow,  as in Friday, December 21, is different than Mr. Tom's, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device.

Mr. Tom has it being 1250 degrees for the high, with 1147 for the low.With incoming exploding meteors.

I don't know how it is that my zone is being exempt from tomorrow's end of the world, Mayan catastrophe.

However, I just read, also on Facebook, that some Texas schools are closed tomorrow due to the incoming world ending disaster.

I suspect someone was maybe being a prankster saying some Texas schools are closed tomorrow due to parents have a big concern that the end of the world is about to happen. I believe most Texas schools are already closed, ahead of the Mayan catastrophe, due to it being the Christmas vacation time of the year.

Right now I am feeling a bit miserable, drugged up on cold medications. In my current state of misery it might come as a relief if the end of the Mayan calendar is also the end of the world tomorrow.

But, due to the medications and a good night's sleep I will likely wake up feeling much better and totally not in the mood to see any big fireballs heading my way.

It Is Not The Cold It Is The Wind That Is Chilling Me Today

During the time of the day when I am usually at some outdoor location getting me some salubrious endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation I was instead standing outside just long enough to take a picture of my cool pool.

I have never uttered the phrase, but when it is hot I have more than often heard someone inform me that it is not the heat, it's the humidity, that is making it feel so HOT.

Today it is not the cold, it's the wind, that is making it feel so COLD. But I have heard no one say this but me.

I am not a fan of using multiple insulative layers to keep warm, unless I am having some icy fun,  like skiing or sledding.

It addition to the temperature currently being cold and feeling colder due to the nonstop wind, I am having symptoms that seem to indicate I may being coming down with a cold. Currently I am doing some coughing and sneezing, along with just not feeling my usual way too robust self.

It has been a long time since I've been ill with any sort of non-allergy type malady. If I remember right I am a very cranky sick person when I am ailing.

I am having Chicken Samosas for lunch, with Cilantro Chutney and Jasmine Rice with Spinach. I am hoping a big dose of spicy Indian food will be good for what ails me.

I Hope Rosie The Rat Dog Can Now Rest In Peace

There is something about being a couple thousand miles distant from the place you still think of as home that makes getting the sad news that someone has passed on to the great beyond  that makes that news seem sadder than it might seem otherwise.

At least that is how I am feeling at this precise second in time.

A few minutes ago I got email from Spencer Jack's dad asking me the following question...

Did you get the news that one of my cousins passed away yesterday?

No, I did not get the news about Rosie the Rat Dog. Rosie's parental unit de-friended me a couple weeks ago, on Facebook, for reasons unknown to me, so I do not have direct access to some news I might otherwise have had direct access to.

Rosie the Rat Dog lived a very long life. She had to be at least 20 years old, likely older, when she died.

Rosie the Rat Dog was internationally famous. Way back in the last century I made a few, now antique, webpages about Rosie the Rat Dog. This led to a Japanese entity called dogmark.net declaring that Rosie the Rat Dog's website was 'cool dog site of the day.'

I don't think any of my nephews, including the oldest, he being Spencer Jack's dad, can remember a world where Rosie the Rat Dog was not in it.

I believe the last I saw Rosie the Rat Dog was way back at some point in time in August of 2008, at Bay View State Park, on the same day I met Spencer Jack for the first time.

In the picture with the Seattle Space Needle in the background that would be Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey holding Rosie the Rat Dog. Joey is Spencer Jack's dad's little brother and my second oldest nephew.

In this picture Joey appears to be 12 or 13. Joey is 32 or 33 now, give or take a year. Joey just had a birthday in November, but I lose track of numbers such as ages. But, this gives one a good idea of how old Rosie the Rat Dog was when she passed on to the Great Doghouse in the Sky.

I remember well that day with Joey and Rosie the Rat Dog in Seattle. We were all over town. I don't remember if the transit tunnel yet existed, or if one could have smuggled Rosie on to it.

I do recollect taking Rosie to the newly opened REI corporate headquarters on that particular day in Seattle.

A corporate headquarters that remains REI's corporate headquarters and has not been turned into a community college and was built without abusing eminent domain. Which are not statements one could make about Radio Shack's corporate headquarters fiasco in Fort Worth.

I must email my sister my condolences. I assume she is not blocking my email. I don't think you can de-friend someone on email. And you really can't de-friend relatives in any venue. You are just sort of stuck with them, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

I would be the Ugly, often Good, but never really Bad.

Hiking Along A Gateway Park Trinity River Cliff While Not Thinking Of Having A White Christmas

This next to last Wednesday of 2013 has been a slightly balmy, very windy, two days til the end of Fall kind of day today at my location in North Texas.

The temperature got into record breaking zone, yesterday, heating up to nearly 80. This morning, when the sun arrived, the temperature, according to my computer based weather monitoring device, was 67.

Since the average temperature the past 24 hours was well over 50 degrees I figured the pool would not be too cool this morning, and thus swimmable.

I figured wrong.

In the noon time frame, of this windy Wednesday, I opted to go hiking in Gateway Park, hiking the trail I found a couple weeks ago that seemed to treacherous to pedal on my bike, what with the trail being on the edge of a cliff that ended in the Trinity River. You can see part of this cliff trail in the above photo, along with the treacherous green Trinity River.

I  did not have to dodge too many falling branches whilst hiking Gateway Park today. Apparently today's wind is delivering yet one more Arctic Blast of extreme cold to this usually somewhat reliably warm part of the planet.

As you can see, via some of the data I get from my computer based weather monitoring device,  in addition to the WIND ADVISORY, which is accurate, I am also being told the sun is being sunny, which is not accurate. I do believe that 76 degree temperature is accurate. As is the forecast of a plummet in temperature to being barely above freezing before this day is done.

If the forecast is to believed, ignoring today's inaccuracies, the next several days are going to be chilly, including Christmas.

A couple years back we had a very White Christmas at my location in Texas.

In all my years of living in Washington I think I can only remember one White Christmas. In Texas I think I've experienced 2 or 3 White Christmases.

When I moved to Texas I did not think something like a White Christmas was possible, let alone an Ice Storm, which I experienced within a week of arriving in Texas. I never experienced an Ice Storm in Washington.

In Washington, though, I recollect only one White Christmas at my location in the lowlands of Puget Sound. One can always have oneself a White Western Washington Christmas by driving a few miles east til one gets high enough in the Cascade Mountains to be in the snow zone. I don't know how many miles, or in what direction one would have to drive in Texas to be high enough to be in a mountainous snow zone.

Spencer Jack Is Being A Good Shepherd For Christmas With Drumsticks

I learned last night, on Facebook, via Spencer Jack's favorite girl friend, Brittney, that Spencer Jack is starring in his first major acting role, playing a shepherd in some sort of Christmas Pageant that I imagine likely involves a Manger, some Wise Men and a little baby.

I do not know how many performances have been scheduled of Spencer Jack's Christmas Pageant. I do know that my invitation to this event must have gotten lost in the mail.

I sure don't remember another Holiday Season where I have been so full of Holiday Cheer, in the form of Holiday Themed bloggings, as I have been this year.

Yesterday (or was it the day before?) Spencer Jack's dad emailed me a picture of Spencer Jack holding the Christmas present that had arrived in the mail from Arizona, from Spencer Jack's great grandma and grandpa, also known as my ma and pa.

Apparently Spencer Jack is convinced that the box he found inside the package from my ma and pa literally contained what the box indicated it held.

Spencer Jack understands he can not open this box until Christmas, but, evidently, does not understand that if the box does actually contain what the box indicates it holds, that the contents will be melted by Christmas.

This sort of deceptive Christmas presenting is part of what caused me to be so disillusioned with Christmas at such a young age. That and Santa Clauses with no scruples....

Biking Gateway Park Freshly Amused By Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Propaganda

A Few Of The Gateway Park TRVB Propaganda Signs

Another beautiful day in North Texas, with Winter scheduled to arrive in about 3 days, with, I hope, continued semi-balmy temperatures and clear blue skies.

Currently, at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device, the outer world is only 25 degrees shy of 100.

The air was heated to around 70 when I did my bike pedaling at Gateway Park today.

If you have not yet been to Gateway Park and Fort Woof you really should pay a visit. Not to see all the dogs, but to see the bizarre collection of propaganda signs that have been installed by Fort Woof by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

I have mentioned these signs previously on my blog, but they really never fail to amaze and amuse me when I freshly experience the propaganda.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has been boondoggling for a long time now. I think the TRVB began late in the last century, at some point in time after the citizen's of Dallas had voted for a Dallas version of the Trinity River Vision.

Fort Worth is not located in a democracy, so, unlike Dallas, the citizens of Fort Worth were not allowed to vote on their Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

It is almost 2013. Should we not be seeing more progress? How many more years will it be before the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle installs the flood control measures that are at the heart of the project, protecting downtown Fort Worth from a massive flood, just like the existing flood control levees have done for over a half a century?

Near as I can tell the noticeable progress of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is a number of businesses taken by eminent domain abuse and destroyed, the world's premiere urban wakeboard lake, a possibly soon to open drive-in movie theater, a restaurant in the form of the Woodshed Smokehouse, Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats, quarterly propaganda mailings and an incredible amount of signage.

In the picture above, the sign closest to my camera touts the many imaginary recreational amenities that will  result from the Gateway Park Master Plan. I do not know if this Master Plan is slated to be something built in this century, or not.

In addition to all the imaginary amenities listed on the sign there is also some propaganda verbiage the likes of which I have read elsewhere, courtesy of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda....

The Gateway Park Master Plan is an exciting component of Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision. The 1,000 acre park will be filled with new community-requested recreational amenities, making it one of the nation's largest urban-programmed parks. With the planting of over 75,000 trees and the restoration of the original river channel, the park will transform into a natural setting the entire region can enjoy. The project is expected to spur economic growth around the park and will connect the East and Southeast neighborhoods of Fort Worth to the Trinity River corridor.

Over and over again we read Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda that claims the boondoggle is somehow building community-requested recreational amenities.

Does anyone know how these community requests are made?  And to whom they are made?

75,000 trees? We have heard of these trees before. They are known as J.D. Granger's Magic Trees, designed to save Arlington from a Trinity River flood which, post TRVB, will move flood water more rapidly, due to losing the levees and instead diverting flood water into a big, un-needed, flood diversion channel, which will accelerate the speed of the flood, thus the need for J.D. Granger's 75,000 Magic Trees.

Are these special genetically engineered Sponge Trees?

Seriously, with the Trinity River Vision well over a decade old, when can we expect to see something really concrete with the vision?

Is there some sort of construction timeline? I don't believe I've seen any sort of timeline in any of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle propaganda mailings.

I have read mention made of the soon to open drive-in movie theater. Everyone knows drive-in movie theaters are big flood inhibitors and are key to any legit flood control project.

My Aunt Told Me She Will Believe Corporations Are People When Texas Executes One

I found the above in my mailbox this morning. The cover of a Christmas card from my favorite aunt who lives in Eastern Washington. For you Texans who have never seen such a thing, that big mound of white, that takes up most of the picture is what is known as a mountain.

This particular mountain is named Mount Rainier.

Pronounced Rain-eer, not Rainy-er.

I believe Mount Rainier was named after an explorer who explored the Puget Sound zone with George Vancouver.

Methinks, with Western Washington's reputation for being rainy a lot of the time, the name of the mountain should take on the second  rainier meaning, not the long dead explorer meaning.

Then again, Mount Rainier is not the rainiest of Washington's volcanoes. That would be Mount Baker. Though the rain is accumulated as snow, with that accumulation being the deepest accumulation on the planet known as Earth.

The Indians who lived in the Puget Sound zone long before white explorers "discovered" it and started naming things, called Mount Rainier, Mount Tahoma. Which is where the big town that is close to Mount Rainier, Tacoma, got its name, and for some reason switched out an 'h' for a 'c'.

I think that tugboat in the picture is sailing the straits that go under the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, judging by where the mountain is located in relation to the shoreline.

Those big white things in the picture are snowflakes. I believe snowflakes are currently falling at various locations in the Western Washington lowlands. Smart phone weather alerts erroneously warned Western Washingtonites that a blizzard was heading their way. The correct info was that the blizzard possibility was predicted for the High Cascades, not the lowlands. I don't believe the Western Washington, Puget Sound lowlands has ever had a blizzard.

My aunt who sent me the Christmas card with the picture of Mount Rainier frequently sends me things she reads about Texas that either appall or amuse her. Or both. Rick Perry provided a lot of mail fodder during his embarrassing run for president.

Below is the Texas related clipping my aunt included in this year's Christmas card.

My aunt said she was about to send me a t-shirt with the above on it, and then thought better of that idea, for fear I'd wear it and get beat up by an irate Texan.

I tell you, Non-Texas America has so many erroneous ideas about what Texas is actually like.

Just one example.

Non-Texans think all Texans pack heat. However, I know of only one Texan who is always armed and dangerous. Elsie Hotpepper.

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Brewing Trouble With An Abrasive Ex-Wife

In 4 days, December 21, to be precise, the Winter Solstice arrives. On that day my shadow on the Tandy Hills will start to get  shorter.

Today's shadow on the Tandy Hills is so long it creates the illusion that I was wearing long pants to do my hill hiking, when I was not wearing long pants.

Changing the subject from not wearing long pants to something else.

I have been being a bit oblivious, it seems. I did not realize til this morning that Elsie Hotpepper has gone missing again. I have not heard from Ms. Hotpepper since Saturday.

When Elsie Hotpepper goes missing it usually means trouble is brewing.

Speaking of brewing trouble. This morning, on Facebook, I saw one of my Facebook Friends had written something about my ex-wife regarding my ex-wife saying something untoward about my Facebook Friend. My Facebook Friend's posting about my ex-wife prompted someone to comment with the following amusing few words....

When someone hurts you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They scratch and hurt you, yes. But in the end you are polished. And they are useless.

I actually know several people who have been rendered useless due to being abrasive sandpaper.

Biking Gateway Park Experiencing Boardwalk Perplexations

In the picture that is my bike at the top of the stairs, under what looks like a big branch of a hangman's tree.

Those stairs and that branch of a hangman's tree are in Gateway Park in the town of Fort Worth in the state of Texas.

It has been many years since I've been able to walk down these particular stairs in Gateway Park, prevented from doing so due to the stairs being blocked by a big board with a sign that said "Close to Public."

Several "Close to Public" signs, with "Close" missing a "d" still remain in Gateway Park. And the other access points to this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk remain boarded up with "Close  to Public" signs.

I don't know why the Fort Worth Parks people don't either fix the two Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks, or douse them with gasoline and have a big bonfire.

A big Gateway Park Boardwalk Bonfire could be a big event on the Trinity River, something that has not been done before, like the now popular Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats on the formerly polluted Trinity River.

Due to there being no barrier preventing me access to the formerly "Close to Public" Boardwalk, I was able to walk almost all the way to the Trinity River.

As you can see, in the picture above, this particular Gateway Park Boardwalk is in bad shape, really bad shape. The other Gateway Park Boardwalk, further downstream, is in better shape.

When the Gateway Park Boardwalks were built did no one remember that the Trinity River floods every once in awhile, with a tremendous amount of water flowing in what most of the time is a very sedate  river?

Did no one suggest that spending money on the Boardwalks was a waste because a flood would come along and seriously damage the Boardwalks?

After inevitable floods did do damage to the Boardwalks why was no attempt made to clean up the mess and repair the damage?

I see these Boardwalks as some sort of metaphor for the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

On a happier note, Gateway Park sure is seeming popular these days.

Is Gateway Park the most visited park in Fort Worth? I suspect it may be. Yesterday I saw thousands of motorbikes in Gateway Park. Today it appeared there was some sort of Disc Golfer Convention. Balls were flying in soccer games. I saw dozens of people on bikes, others walking and dozens of dogs in Fort Woof.

Changing the subject to my favorite one. The weather.

It is currently 72 at my location, according to my computer based temperature monitoring device. I have my windows open. There are some things I like about Global Warming. Windows open in December is one.

I tried to go swimming this morning. That did not go too well. I rather quickly ended up in the hot tub, and then back in the pool, and then back in the hot tub again.

I am not a fan of hot tubs.

I Am In A Concrete Limbo Annoyed About The American Gulag Archipelago Of Concentration Camps

This morning I read an article in this week's Fort Worth Weekly that totally disturbed me. The article is titled Concrete Limbo.

Even though what you read in this article is disturbing, I think you should read it.

Not that it will do any good that you read it, or that any good will come from FW Weekly telling this story.

I remember a time long ago when I was young and naive and thought the world was fixable, that all one had to do was make the case that something was wrong and good-hearted, right-minded people would fix it.

And then I grew up.

I am currently reading "The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder" by Vincent Bugliosi, he being the famous California prosecutor.

Richard Nixon had to cease being president due to way too much outrage over various things that were all wrapped together in this thing called the Watergate Scandal.

The Watergate Scandal.

Such innocents were we to turn such a thing into such a scandal. No one died due to the scandals that brought down Richard Nixon.

However, thousands of American kids are dead, due to Bush's War in Iraq. Thousands upon thousands of Iraqis are dead due to Bush's War in Iraq. Saddam Hussein could have been neutralized, was neutralized, without a war, had a wiser head been at the head of the American nation.

And yet, where were the Congressional Hearings into the Iraqgate Scandal? I am only part way into this Bugliosi indictment of that man who should never have been president and it's got me totally aggravated.

I get the idea that Vincent Bugliosi totally despises George W. Bush, and so far he is making a really good case for feeling that way.

Back to the article in FW Weekly. It is about the detention centers where those suspected of being illegally in this country are kept til their fate can be decided by a judge. These are called detention centers, but what they actually are is Concentration Camps.

To me it is just a bit shameful to have anything that smacks of a Concentration Camp in America.

Long ago I read Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago and was appalled that such inhumanity on such a scale existed in the Soviet Union, and got worse after World War II. The Soviet citizens did not have that free speech thing us Americans have. Nor did they have mass communication available to help right a wrong.

Yet, even with America's free speech and mass communication, a lot of evil, government sanctioned, festers unfettered.

An entity called Detention Watch Network compiled a list of the 10 Worst Illegal Immigrant Concentration Camps in America. Two are in Texas.

How many of these Concentration Camps are there in America, if there are enough to have a Top Ten?

Way back in 1996, as part of a long roadtrip that started with houseboating on Lake Powell, and continued on to Taos, then Alamogordo, then Douglas, Arizona, with Douglas, Arizona being the reason I am bringing up this particular roadtrip.

Douglas is a bordertown. Across the border, in Mexico, is the much bigger town of Agua Prieta. By the time I got to Douglas, on that day's drive, I was tired and needed a motel. A 6 Motel filled that need. It was a very busy 6 Motel.

After checking in and finding my room I wandered around and saw there was a former motel next door, completely surrounded by high fence topped with concertina wire. It looked rather dire. I saw what looked like guard towers.

I went to the 6 Motel office to ask what that was next door. I was told it was a Detention Center where suspected illegals were held, and that a lot of the people staying in the 6 Motel were relatives trying to free their incarcerated relatives.

I found this all very disturbing.

But, not nearly as disturbing as the Concrete Limbo article in FW Weekly.

Other than the horrific conditions in which these people in the American Concentration Camps are kept, the thing that bothers me most is the fact that these American Concentration Camps are operated by giant, for profit, private businesses.

Even Hitler did not do anything so galling as to contract out to private business his Concentration Camps. Nor did Stalin.

Those incarcerated in the American Concentration Camps are kept there while they await a hearing in front of a judge, regarding their status. A shortage of judges causes the long incarcerations, supposedly.

Would it not make more sense to hire a lot more people to do the judging, than pay to warehouse thousands of potential innocents in American Concentration Camps?

Of course, that method would not be profitable for the private businesses running the American Concentration Camps.

I'm not going to get into how much it annoys me how much our Mexican neighbors are demonized, by some, for crossing the border into the the land that used to be Mexico, before America used a 19th Century version of an American Anschluss to gain more Lebensraum. Methinks we could be, should be, a bit more accommodating of our Mexican neighbors, even when they visit their old home without an invite.

And we certainly should not throw our totally welcome, albeit, un-invited guests, into American Concentration Camps. That is just un-American, un-friendly and un-neighborly.

And very very very stupid.

A Tandy Hills Walk Over A New Bridge While Being Detoured In Town Talk By A Fun Run

New Bridge Over Tandy River

Today I was back on the Tandy Hills for the first time since Thursday. During those couple days, between then and now, the recent freezing has delivered a death blow to the majority of the leaves on the trees.

Colorful Fall foliage is no more. Not to return until some point in time in 2013.

On Thursday on the Tandy Hills I came upon a Fort Worth Water Department crew digging up the culvert pipe that was not big enough to handle the Tandy River when it goes into flood mode.

Or when a sewer or water pipe breaks.

Today the new bridge appeared to be totally installed, which you can see above. The new culvert pipe is multiple times bigger than the old culvert pipe, which, inexplicably lies to the side of the Tandy Highway, between the orange posts that you see in the picture, and crime scene tape.

The temperature was near perfect, today, for a perfect Tandy Hills hike. I saw only one other human out enjoying this perfection. Currently, after 3 in the afternoon, this 3rd Saturday of December, it is 71 degrees. The temperature has been above 50 for a couple days. I think I may try to see if swimming works, later today.

Whilst hiking today, when I came to the location on the View Street Trail, aka, I think, the Jackrabbit Trail, that overlooks I-30, I saw two pickups parked precariously at the side of the freeway. Within the hour I figured out why the pickups were parked precariously.

Today is Fun Run Day in North Texas, that being the day, each year, when thousands of motorcycles and their drivers drive east, to Dallas (or is it Arlington?) on I-30, delivering Christmas toys to those in need of such things.

On my way to Town Talk, driving Oakland Boulevard over I-30, I saw dozens of vehicles parked on the side of the freeway, waiting for the Fun Run. This seems sort of unsafe to me, but, what do I know about what's safe?

Driving by the north entry to Gateway Park, almost to Town Talk, I saw what looked like thousands of motorbikes, assembling in Gateway Park.

Fun Run From Town Talk Parking Lot

When I have witnessed the Fun Run in years previous I saw the motorbikes coming in from the west. I remember being on the Beach Street overpass, watching the incoming motorbikes coming from the west. Was this huge throng in Gateway Park joining those already on the freeway? I have no idea.

Whilst pushing my cart amongst the Town Talk throngs I began hearing the roar of motorbikes. I walked outside to see Fort Worth police blocking traffic from Beach Street, so the phalanx of motorbikes could make it to the freeway, unimpeded by pesky motorists.

The blocked road  meant I needed to take the scenic route back to my abode, through a very interesting industrial zone of Haltom City, where I saw a herd of tiny horses, dozens of kids on dirtbikes and a lot of other vehicles forced to take this detour over a very bumpy road.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnakes Will Have Their Day

The largest rattlesnake roundup in the world takes place every year on the second weekend of March, in the Texas town of Sweetwater, out near the eastern fringes of West Texas.

I have only been to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup once. I was both amazed and appalled at the spectacle.

It  is sort of both amazing and appalling that there are so many rattlesnakes out in West Texas that every year thousands can be rounded up and murdered, with a fresh supply ready to be rounded up for a repeat the next year. And the year after. And the one after that.

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup takes place every year on the second weekend of March. The roundup begins on Thursday and ends on Sunday, so it is what is known as a long weekend.

There are those who strongly object to the Sweetwater rattlesnakes being rounded up and murdered. People like Robert Piller, from whom I got the email you see above.

Robert insists that "The snakes will have their day."

And that "If there's anyone out there that opposes this butchery and has information that might assist, then please get in touch. We intend to go global."

Robert ends his email message with...

Robert Piller
Campaign Against the Trade in Endangered Species...

Are rattlesnakes an Endangered Species? They seem sort of prolific to be endangered, but what do I know?

The Lingering Creepy Weirdness Of Fubbo The Hut

On the left you are looking at a recent photo of Fubbo the Hut.

A long time ago Fubbo the Hut was a distant acquaintance of mine.

I suffer from a syndrome known as having a Hypersensitive Empathy Complex. Years ago, due to that confounding complex, I found myself being too nice to Fubbo the Hut, due to feeling sorry for her, due to all the damage she'd done to herself, both via ingesting way too many calories and via also ingesting too much money that was not hers to ingest.

My Empathy Complex had never kicked in before for someone who was a convicted felon who had done jail time. This was new territory for me.

When it became clear to me that Fubbo the Hut's damage was all self-inflicted I found myself feeling less empathetic. That and I was more than a little offput to learn that my problem with being just too charming and amusing for my own good  resulted in Fubbo the Hut telling people I was her best friend and second husband.

Needless to say, I was mortified. Second husband to Fubbo the Hut? Like I said, mortifying.

Anyway, after over 4 years of trying to be totally rid of Fubbo the Hut, I've given up. I've decided Fubbo the Hut is like a chronic virus, or an incurable cancer, that one just puts up with as best one can.

I get emails from Fubbo the Hut, keeping me informed about her burgeoning flea market career. I must admit Fubbo's flea market career is quite astounding. Apparently Fubbo has now grown very wealthy due to having a flea market that is open once a month for a few hours. I'm guessing business schools across the world are likely studying this business model to figure out how to replicate the success.

Fubbo the Hut also continues to make the mistake of making comments on my blog, with the latest comment only recently discovered, by me, due to the comment being correctly identified, by Google, as annoying spam.

This Fubbo the Hut comment was to a blogging about Pathological Liars. I had used a classic Fubbo the Hut lie as an example of the genre, for blogging fodder. When Fubbo read this blogging, rather than own the lie, Fubbo the Hut chose to instead make the following comment, which, ironically, was full of more pathetic, pathological lies...

"I lie? Your entire life is a lie. I recently attended a reunion where I learned you are still blogging hateful things about me. Really? Is that all you've got? You are a pitiful, ugly, little man. Just so you know, people who you knew in high school know what a zero you have been in life. I am embarrassed I was ever your friend."

I really don't know where to start. But, I will try.

It totally hurts my feelings for someone who is an expert at being as ugly as Fubbo the Hut, and as pitiful, to paint me with that brush. I own a mirror, I am fully aware of how totally ugly I am. And how pitiful I am. And how little I am. I really don't need a really ugly, really fat, really pitiful woman reminding me of my ugly, little man pitifulness.

Fubbo is embarrassed she was ever my friend? Shouldn't she be more embarrassed she thought I was her best friend? And second husband?

What really impresses me is, according to Fubbo, she goes to an imaginary reunion where she has imaginary conversations with imaginary people who somehow read my blog, know the blog author is me, and know obtuse bloggings are references to Fubbo the Hut. This is a rather astoundingly ridiculous stereotypical lie from a pathological liar. I am also really impressed that Fubbo talks to imaginary people who have so accurately tracked my life that they know what a zero I have been at it. It is rather impressive for a zero at life, like myself, to have imaginary people talking about me.

Anyone, with even a passing understanding of psychology, can figure out that it is Fubbo the Hut who worries that others know she's been a big fat zero at life. A zero with a criminal record. It is obvious Fubbo mentioned attending a reunion, where I was the topic, to make me think she was referencing her class reunion, which took place last summer. What Fubbo did not know was I knew she did not attend that reunion. Did not attend, likely out of fear of someone mentioning her criminal record, or the fact that she was now a dead ringer for Jabba the Hut.

In addition to comments on my blog, Fubbo has been caught making comments on other blogs, caught by the magic of IP address tracking. The most amusing instance of this had Fubbo caught commenting her vileness anonymously, then when caught, via the IP address tracking, and made fun of, returning within an hour, to make denial comments, as Fubbo, denying ever commenting anonymously, while being so stupid she did not realize the same IP address tracking info was nailing her. At that point the pathological liar made up the lie that someone else was using her computer, making those anonymous comments.

Have I mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is stupid? Very stupid. Uneducated. Barely made it out of high school. Zero higher education. I would not say such things about someone, except, Fubbo the Hut gives herself unfiltered permission to say such things, and worse, about people, including me.

Over the years since I finally had to terminate allowing Fubbo the Hut to have direct contact with me, I have heard from many people, emailing me with questions. I think they ask me questions due to believing that I am Fubbo's best friend myth, and thus have answers, which I don't, not to all the questions, but I do to some.

For instance...

What does the Fubbo part of Fubbo the Hut stand for?

Fubbo is an acronym that stands for Fat Ugly Beast with Bad Body Odor. Yes, I realize that should make it Fubbbo the Hut, but the extra 'b' really seemed redundant. The nickname also comes from the fact that she bears a remarkable resemblance to Star Wars' Jabba the Hut. At some point in time, when Fubbo neared the quarter ton mark, her neck disappeared, consumed by the fat of her back and shoulders, which pushed her head forward, creating the Jabba the Hut look. Fubbo can not turn her head to look left or right, due to no longer having a functioning neck. I don't know how she keeps a driver's license.

On her blog Fubbo said that when she used to be thin she was into fashion. Was she actually ever thin?

I have never known Fubbo to be what anyone would consider thin. But, I have gone years, at times, without seeing Fubbo. So, she could have been thin at some point in time. I doubt it though. As for being into fashion, all I can think is how would she know what is fashionable? Let alone be into it? I've only known her to be slovenly. With really bad taste. Thus the flea market, junk dealer career, where she surrounds herself with fellow Mr. Haneys, who compliment her on her non-existent exquisite taste, while peddling re-purposed garbage.

Yes, I realize you who are reading this may be thinking what I am writing seems rather hateful. But, please refer to Fubbo's comment above where she said imaginary people had told her I was still writing imaginary hateful things about her. I really don't want to make Fubbo a bigger liar than she naturally is, and so I am trying to be a bit hateful here and thus make one of Fubbo's statements at least somewhat true.

Do you know what Fubbo did to John Bob that caused them to dump her?

The above question perplexed me. Who is John Bob I sat and wondered? I asked one of my Tacoma informants who this is. I got an answer. John Bob Cool Junk. I've met them. These are the guys who took Fubbo on her imaginary free flight to Phoenix for a free lunch, the tale of which generated the annoying comment above from Fubbo. I have no idea what Fubbo did to alienate John Bob. If history is any predictor, it likely involved Fubbo being caught in a BIG lie, or stealing something. Or both.

Do you know if Fubbo is a suspect in the mysterious death of Frank?

What? Who is Frank I wondered when I read the above question. Fubbo is now a murder suspect? I again queried my Tacoma informant. Turns out I've also met Frank. I had a few encounters with Frank and liked him. Frank despised Fubbo the Hut, accused her of stealing from him. And then ended up dead. I have no idea if this is an active homicide case, or what. Frank was a small guy. Did Fubbo sit on him?

On her blog I read that Fubbo has a group of young women lawyers, who get her, and leap to her defense when Fubbo needs defending. This was about something that happened at her show that had people taking sides for and against her. Do you know what she did?

I got an email telling me I should check Fubbo's blog to read the post referenced in the above question, with that email telling me Fubbo had gone totally into nuts mode. I just checked to refresh my memory to see Fubbo has deleted this particularly demented post. This post was far weirder than just the reference to an imaginary group of lawyers who get the incredibly difficult to get entity known as Fubbo the Hut. In the post, Fubbo had one of the imaginary lawyers sending in a Private Investigator to find out who said what about her at her flea market.  I am not making this up. Then Fubbo went off on a tangent about an uncle who molested her, giving her an STD when she was 7, after which her parents accepted  money from the uncle to keep quiet about the crime. Somehow the imaginary doctor also is convinced to keep quiet about the child with the imaginary STD.

To answer the "Do you know what she did?" question. I do not know what had people taking sides for or against her. But, as I've already said, with Fubbo the Hut, it usually involves Fubbo getting caught in a BIG lie. Or stealing. Or both.

Why is your sister involved with Fubbo and chickens?

I have absolutely no idea what my sister is doing with chickens and Fubbo. I know Fubbo has long had a chicken fixation. I remember an incident where Fubbo's chickens were left in her mother-in-law's care with the chickens all ending up dead.

Did your sisters go to Hawaii on vacation with Fubbo?

Not that I know of. I've been told about Fubbo trying get my sisters to go to Hawaii. If I remember right I blogged about this because I found it so amusing.

Fubbo is totally clueless regarding how transparent her embarrassing machinations are. She is no Machiavellian. She is more a clueless fat boob with really weird delusions. And really bad taste in all things that matter. Like knowing when to shut up. And knowing when to say she is sorry for her really bad behavior.

Have you heard anything about Fubbo getting in a fight with a homeless man in a Goodwill dumpster?

No, I have heard nothing about this. Sounds ridiculous. I  don't think Fubbo could get into a dumpster without some sort of mechanical assist, like a forklift or crane.

Fubbo told me you are homeless, living in your car. How do you get internet service in your car?

I think I have already mentioned that Fubbo the Hut is a pathological liar. I have heard from others that Fubbo tells people variations of my alleged homelessness. And that she he has gotten imaginary phone calls from imaginary people in Texas, asking Fubbo if she has the resources to help me in my imaginary dire straits, when the fact of the matter is, no one I know in Texas knows the real identity of Fubbo the Hut, let alone that lying idiot's phone number.

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Well, that ends this amusing blogging about Fubbo the Hut. I'll be sure and share any incoming Fubbo the Hut lunacy should it occur.....