Whilst walking the mean streets of downtown Fort Worth I came upon two points of interest I'd not seen previously. Both visible from Main Street, that being the road which runs from the Tarrant County Courthouse to the Fort Worth Convention Center.
Fort Worth loves its panthers, so much so that the town has named an imaginary island Panther Island.
The panther you see above rests on the plaza in front of the Tarrant County Tax Office. I believe this to be near the actual location where long ago a Dallas reporter reported that Fort Worth was so lifeless he saw a panther taking a nap on the courthouse steps. Or something like that.
After I was done visiting the napping panther I headed south on Main Street. Directly north of the Convention Center I saw what you see below.
A memorial marking the location of the last speech John F. Kennedy gave prior to heading east to Dallas on that unfortunate day over half a century ago.
Soon after leaving JFK I was caught up in the Trump Mob milling at the south end of the Convention Center.
I lasted about 15 minutes in the Trump Mob and then walk back to the Transit Center to get on what is known as a Spur bus to go east to another Transit Center to get on another bus.
I don't understand why so many Texans have an aversion to using public transit. Yes, the ride is not as smooth as a car or pickup. Yes, the seats could be more comfortable. Yes, it takes longer to get to ones destination. But, once you are there you don't have to find a parking spot.
To put oneself in the mindset to enjoy riding the Fort Worth buses think of Fort Worth as a big theme park and you are riding a theme park ride.
If you have experienced getting seasick, or find roller coasters to be a not fun thing, well, then, maybe riding the Fort Worth buses would not be something you'd want to do. If you have back problems or are easily nauseated by jerky motion you probably wouldn't like the ride you get on a Fort Worth bus.
The Fort Worth bus system now has a smart phone app you can use as your boarding pass. I have no clue how this works, but I saw several people use that method to get onboard.
The last time I roller coastered to downtown Fort Worth was back in March of 2012, almost four years ago. Apparently about every four years I ride a Fort Worth bus. It probably takes that long for the memory to fade enough to make it seem like a good idea to use the Fort Worth bus method of transit again....
The panther sculpture you photographed is called The Sleeping Panther. The Panther City Fountain, which features a panther lying on on it, is in Hyde Park which is the park space adjacent to Fort Worth's Flatiron building. Both panther sculptures were installed in 2002 interestingly enough.
ReplyDeleteI won't get into the artillery shells that used to be in Hyde Park or where there are most likely located today.
Good day.