Remembering Pawnee Lane, Elsie Hotpepper & Rumors About Being Forced Out of Fort Worth

Last night I found myself scrolling through my email archive, finding myself disturbed a time or two to come upon an email, which had been opened, which I didn't remember reading. These were all from the last year, so not all that long ago.

Age related memory loss is my explanation.

Among the emails I did not remember was one from my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ.

The house I built before moving to Texas was on the market again. Jason emailed me the listing and the above photo he took of the deck above the carport, with Jason remarking "I always loved your house on Pawnee and the big roof deck."

I can see a screen door has been added. Which looks tacky. When I had control of this roof deck it was covered with plants, hanging baskets, a couple barrels with big blueberry bushes, planters for strawberries and herbs, like basil. I miss having a constant supply of fresh basil.

And a BBQ grill. I did a lot of BBQing. There was also a deck on the other side of the house, out of the kitchen. That deck had multiple levels. The intention was to put a hot tub there, but that never happened.

Another of the emails I found, which I did not remember, was one I would have thought I would have remembered, what with the fact I replied to the sender and forwarded it to the party referenced in the email.

Way back when I lived in the D/FW zone, east Fort Worth to be precise, I was a bit of a rabble rouser. A rabble rousing cohort rabble roused with me, who I came to refer to as Elsie Hotpepper. Elsie Hotpepper started up a blog to have a venue to verbalize about D'FW issues.

Anyway, here is that email, which referenced concern for Elsie Hotpepper's welfare and blog, from April of 2023, with names omitted...

Hi

I am trying to find out what happened to the blogger on the Star Telegraph that has been blogging forever but suddenly disappears in October 2022. I ask because Tarrant County is known for its brutal retaliation towards truth tellers, and I was wondering if you might know if this person is okay. I am scared to death to even be writing this as this county is so corrupt in every sector and I find out more and more each day. Unfortunately, whistleblowers are taken out in Texas. Anyway, thank you for your time….

To which, back in April of 2023, I replied with...

She is fine. She just got less motivated to post on her blog. Just last week she text messaged something she wanted me to put on her long dormant blog. I told her she forgot she had to send me such via email so I could copy and paste. That was days ago. She has not gotten around to emailing me the info. It's about the current TRWD Board election. I often did her postings, at her direction. I was who talked her into doing the blogging thing, years ago. I sure do not miss living in Tarrant County.

And then this more elaborate reply to my reply...

Haha, I was trying to hide my email but that didn’t work. I’m in big trouble. I have found out way too much and I need to walk away because I will lose everything with the way they retaliate here. It’s brutal. I was just trying to be a voice for the voiceless, our wildlife. They literally have nowhere to go as the destruction of habitat in Northwest Tarrant is out of control and zoning commissioner LF has been approving at an unprecedented rate. I can tell you more later how this got started, my curiosity. 

Every safe person I feel is trustworthy ends up not being so, not even the Texas Scorecard. Well, I have my suspicions.

 Anyway, I read somewhere that you were forced out or something along those lines and maybe you were joking, but knowing what is going on here, it wouldn’t surprise me. I have finally, after a year of digging, found what I suspected and have proof but don’t want to go missing, incarcerated or hurt my family who have deep connections here. 

Also, I’ve been following these two, PM and LF, for over a year and you are the only one who commented recently on PM and him running. Is everyone here blind or just scared to say anything? All anyone has to do is look up each and every campaign contribution and you are well on your way. They have no shame; the writing is literally on the wall.

Anyway, hope you doing okay. I know I don’t know you but feel like I do because of your work. Please know, all that contribute to the Telegraph, you are being followed, your blogs are being read, and people want to comment but I truly believe people are scared. Thanks for having no fear as I am envious of that. 

_________________________

Never heard from this lady again. I do not recollect ever feeling too threatened, except for one incident where I blogged I was heading to Gateway Park to photo document what I thought was a fracking violation, sucking water out of the Trinity River. 

I got to the location. As I was taking photos a couple trucks showed up, with several men looking a bit menacing. I headed back to my van, walking around the group of menacing looking men. I got to my van to find more trucks showing up, with one blocking my exit. 

I got in the van, started the engine, and then rolled down the window and made it look like I was calling and talking to someone, acting like I was reading vehicle licenses. Suddenly the boss of the group made a signal, signaling everyone to back off and get out of my way.

UPDATE:
Last night, after being unable to find the one email I had actually been looking for, it being one from FNJ, Jason quickly emailed me back confirming my memory of the information was accurate. In my email to FNJ I made mention of seeing another email from him which I did not remember, the one with the photo of the deck in front of my Mount Vernon house you see at the top.

Jason replied with a detailed bit of verbiage, including...

PS — and your Pawnee home pic is in my front room.  I always thought that deck was really cool — especially when covered with plants.

Jason included a photo of the Pawnee home pic in his front room...

I can tell that is Spencer Jack, at the upper right, standing in front of the Riverside bridge across the Skagit River in downtown Mount Vernon. I do not know what to make of the Row to Alaska pamphlet at the lower left. Are those Jason's aunts, Fancy and Clancy, on the cover?

Snow Predicted to Arrive in Texas Second Week of 2025

 Apparently, the predicted incoming Polar Vortex is not coming in til the second week of the New Year.

As you can see, via the above screen cap of the current forecast for my Wichita Falls location, the first Tuesday of the New Year will be the coldest day so far this year, dipping down to 23 degrees.

With the start of the second week of the New Year of 2025 forecasting some snow during next Wednesday's morning.

Last night my interior climate control device was blowing warmed air almost non-stop, or so it seemed, when I'd wake up for a minute or two or three, during the night, hearing that heating device blowing.

I remember when I was younger, significantly younger, I liked a good Winter storm. But that was when I lived on the West Coast, in Western Washington.

I never experienced an Ice Storm til I moved to Texas, experiencing the first of that type disturbing weather event soon upon my arrival in Texas, in December, near the end of the previous century.

Since that first Texas Ice Storm I have experienced many more.

In Western Washington I never experienced the temperature dropping below zero, like it did at my current location, during February, a couple years ago. With the Texas electric grid collapsing, necessitating finding a motel that still had power.

I do not remember a power outage in Washington ever being so dire...

Happy New Year Chilly Walk Around Sikes Lake

I read this morning that something called a Polar Vortex is heading south, due to arrive soon. Last night the temperature at my North Texas location dipped below freezing. 

Does this mean that predicted Polar Vortex is already here?

As you can see, no clouds arrived with the frigidity. The first day of the New Year is a clear blue sky day in Wichita Falls. A chilly blue sky day.

It was to nearby Sikes Lake I ventured this New Year's Day morning. As you can see, by seeing the waveless blue lake, the air was dead calm whilst I was doing my nature communing.

I thought there would be a lot of nature communers today, something that always seems to happen at the start of a new year, with a lot of people making a New Year's Resolution to get in better shape.