No Haltom City Buffalo Elsie Hotpepper Lunch With Fried Blackberry Pie

Well, I have had myself a day. A long day. A long day of feeling like I was inside an amusing situation comedy, but not laughing all that much.

The day began with an early drive into bright sun and heavy wind to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metromess town of Haltom City.

The destination today was a new one, not the regular monthly trek to a specific location in Euless.

Today's new trek's destination was via this bumpy route called Haltom Road.

Did you know Haltom City does not open its library til a half hour before 11? Neither did I. Soon after finding that out I found out Haltom City is one of the D/FW towns in which driving can grind to a halt due to a train crossing town.

Eventually I reached my first destination. A short time after that, since I was in the neighborhood, I decided to check out how Gateway Park is doing. I took some photo documentation, but that will have to wait til tomorrow, because the Gateway Park part of the day was not situation comedy material, maybe tragi-comedy material. We'll see how I think about that when I tell about that which I saw in that Fort Worth location if I get around to doing so tomorrow.

Leaving Gateway Park the Beach Street route back to Haltom City takes me by Town Talk. Til today it had been a couple years since I'd been in Town Talk. Yogurt Sale on the reader board is what caused me to stop. The hope I'd find some exotic yogurt. I miss good exotic yogurt. Siggis comes to mind.

Dud. Town Talk is worse now than years ago when I decided to stop stopping. Sometimes a new owner thinks he/she has some great ideas, but those great ideas are not what was working in the first place. I can't see myself stopping at Town Talk ever again..

After Town Talk, like I said I was doing, I headed back to Haltom City, to a sub-city of Haltom City called Fuel City.

I expected Elsie Hotpepper to show up at Fuel City for lunch. I waited and waited and waited. Eventually I had a fried blackberry pie and a couple tacos, consumed whilst watching the Haltom City Herd which consists of a couple really big longhorns, a zebra, and a buffalo.

After about an hour of waiting for Elsie Hotpepper I got a text message telling me a pickup was ready in five minutes. I headed to the pickup zone, then headed to a bank back in Fort Worth to deposit a check. The route to the bank was adventurous, through Haltom City/Richland Hills No-Man's Land, eventually reaching smooth passage on Handley-Ederville Road.

Two seconds at the bank and it was realized the person who issued the check had neglected to sign the check. So, a phone call was made, and it was back to Haltom City, this time via the fast route on the 820 freeway to 121.

Nope. Total traffic jam on 820, so it was Randol Mill Road, back to Handley-Ederviille, back to 121 and then back to Haltom City where the check was signed, and then back to Fort Worth to the bank, via the southbound 820 route, which was not jammed.

After the bank, due to that aforementioned traffic jam, the route to the next destination, WinCo, an alternative route had to be taken. So, once more it was back to Randol Mill Road, via Brentwood Stair, and whatever the name of the road which connects the two, then crossing over the Trinity River and a new bridge which was actually built over real water, in way less than four years, in Fort Worth, at the same time that embarrassing bridge boondoggle limps along in another part of town.

Crossing that bridge the road goes by Gateway Park, then it was right on Beach, by Town Talk, again, then back to Haltom Road, driving by Fuel City and the zebra, buffalo, longhorn gang.

And now the I need gas light was on. No problemo. I stopped at a gas pumper I've pumped at many times. Inserted the card, entered the PIN. And then "CARD INVALID" or "CARD DECLINED". I don't remember for sure. I was already stressed out. That card had just been used to make that aforementioned check deposit.

I figured gas pump malfunction and continued on to Sam's Club where I had pumped previously. Same result. Total rejection.

Use another card? Can't find it. I don't have dozens of cards. Where is the other one? I start to get concerned. I have enough cash to get enough gas to get where I need to go, but still, why was the card getting rejected? I wanted to go to WinCo and get stocked up. I needed that card working. Figured it'd work at WinCo, that the card problem was a gas pumping malady.

I get to WinCo, take out the card, look at it, see the expiration date is 1/2018. I see that and think, wait, I just replaced this card with a new one the bank sent me last month.

At this point I am totally befuddled and completely bum puzzled.

And then I shuffle some papers on the paper holding thing between seats and I see another card. I pick it up. It's the new card. The one I had just used to make a deposit. Why was the old card in the vehicle? I'd activated the new card from inside my abode, took out the old card, or so I thought, and stuck the new card in my card holder.

I still have absolutely no clue by what mysterious means this confusing card conundrum happened.

So, went into WinCo, got the goods, and then proceeded to have myself a mighty fine drive back to Wichita Falls where I will likely be having nightmares involving bank cards tonight...