Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial Thorny Spring Hike With Meatloaf

The first day of Spring seemed to be a good day to visit the closest to my location Vietnam War Memorial, which is in Arlington, in Veterans Park.

Unlike yesterday's last day of Winter, for this first day of Spring I layered myself in sufficient outer wear to insulate from the windy cold.

After paying my respects at the two Veterans Park War Memorials I continued on to have myself a mighty fine, cold hike in the Veterans Park back country.

Til today it'd been awhile since I've hiked the Veterans Park back country. Years ago I hiked those backwoods frequently. Today I managed to get a bit bollixed up, sort of having to blaze a trail through a thicket of brush, some with thorns. I had two incidents where I was stopped by getting tangled up in brush.

I only remembered there being one creek that needed crossing in the Veterans Park back country. Today I had to figure out how to ford three narrow creeks.

By the time I made it back to paved civilization my shoes were not too muddy.

There was quite a large throng of people enjoying the first day of Spring, including a lot of disc golfers. The appeal of disc golfing is not understood by my feeble imagination.

I see an incoming email from Mr. Prairie Notes, Don Young, with "Happy Vernal Equinox!" as the subject line. I must go read  that and then have lunch.

Meatloaf, rice and beans....

With An Old Lady Saluting Arlington's New Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial

The other person besides myself who reads this blog is likely looking at that tidy row of outhouses and thinking I must have visited one of Fort Worth's many outhouse infested parks today.

Well, that person would be wrong.

The tidy row of outhouses you see here is a temporary installation in Veterans Park in Arlington.

Arlington is a town whose parks have few outhouses, unless one counts the amazing number of outhouses which dot the parking lots surrounding Arlington's ballparks, as in the place the Texas Rangers play baseball and the crashed spaceship in which the Dallas Cowboys try to play football.

I believe it likely that this tidy row of outhouses was installed in Veterans Park for the use of the crowd which attended the dedication ceremony for the new Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial.

Let's take a look at the new Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial.

As I hiked west, up a brown grassy knoll, towards the new memorial, I saw what appeared to be a white-haired little ol' lady saluting something. What is she saluting, I wondered? We will find out.

As I walked towards the saluting senior, and stepped onto the memorial area, the first thing I came upon was what appeared to be a large gold Buddhist urn, filled with coarse sand in which many spent stick of incense were stuck. At the center of the memorial there is a statue of two soldiers. The soldier on the left appears to be Vietnamese, fighting next to an American soldier. The red, white and blue wreath on the left paid tribute to the American soldiers. I assume the yellow and red wreath on the right paid tribute to the Vietnamese soldiers. But I could not read what that wreath was conveying because I am unable to read Vietnamese.

After looking at the wreaths I looked left to see what it was the white-haired senior had been saluting.

A long message on a shiny slab of polished marble or granite or some such polishable stone, of which my photo only shows about half of the message. At the top, in capital letters, "THEY SACRIFICED SO OTHERS COULD LIVE".

The first paragraph, being saluted, "Vietnam was for so many years engulfed in the fires and destruction of  war. More than 2 million soldiers in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, and more than 1,000,000 soldiers in the Armed Forces of the United States of America and Allied Nations fought valiantly and selflessly side by side for South Vietnam. Countless soldiers suffered injuries and became disabled. More than 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and more  than 58,000 American soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice, dying so the people of South Vietnam could live. They died, but their heroic spirits will never die. They were gone, but they are not forgotten."

I think I will not touch the irony in the sentiment expressed above and just leave it alone.

Above and below is a look at the American and South Vietnamese soldiers, fighting side by side. I believe the yellow and red flag, above, in the middle between the American flag and the state flag of Texas, was the South Vietnam flag, back when there was still a South Vietnam.

I was very impressed by Arlington's new Vietnam War Memorial. On one of the shiny slabs of stone we learn who donated the funds to build this memorial. Many of the donors were Vietnamese Americans, some of whom I assume were born in America, some of whom I assume were among those who escaped to America during the final sad chapter of that sad war.

Arlington has a large Vietnamese American community, who have made quite an impact on Arlington in many ways. A positive impact, working hard to make it in their new land, opening restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses.

The last time I had to renew my driver's license, back in August of 2012, I waited in line for hours behind a funny Vietnamese lady. She was one of the Boat People who made it to America back in 1974. She was very young when she left Vietnam, leaving her mom behind. She has made it back twice to Vietnam to visit her mom and other relatives. And her mom has visited once in America.

It works out best for America when we welcome new people, no matter how they get here, with open arms, not demonizing them as illegal aliens. Or so it seems to me.

Another thing. Arlington's new Vietnam Memorial was built very quickly. It seems like only a month ago, or so, I saw the foundation work underway. Clearly no unqualified son of a local congresswoman was in charge of getting this project finished.....

Remembering Veterans And My Wonder Years On The Way To Arlington's Chinatown

No, that is not the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man you are looking at here. What you are looking at here is the Shadow of the Veterans Park Thin Man.

Today I needed to replenish my ginger supply. I acquire ginger at the Saigon Cho Market in Arlington's Chinatown.

Veterans Park is accessed via the same road, Arkansas Lane, as Saigon Cho Market is accessed, with Saigon Cho Market a few miles further east.

When I visited my Favorite Nephew Joey on Wednesday the subject of the Tandy Hills came up. Joey asked me if there are a lot of nice parks here. Joey opined that every where you look it looks flat, so where are the hills?

I think I mentioned before that I thought when I moved to Texas I would be giving up mountain biking, due to the short supply of mountains. Somehow I knew that Tyler State Park in East Texas had well regarded mountain bike trails. And so a couple months after arrival in Texas I drove myself about 100 miles east  to pedal those trails.

I was surprised by how challenging the Tyler State Park trails were. At one point I was stopped looking at a directional map. Another biker rolled up. We started talking. I said I'd just moved from Washington thinking I would be giving up mountain biking, and that I was surprised to find such good trails only 100 miles from my abode. The other biker asked where I was located.  Haslet, said I, north end of Fort Worth. The other biker then informed me that there were good mountain bike trails all over the Metroplex.

I was shocked. But it's so flat said I. The other biker told me to find my way to Cedar Hills State Park, southwest of Dallas and see if it changes my mind about it being so flat. Soon I was finding the D/FW Metro zone's mountain bike trails, including the trails in Cedar Hills State Park. Rockledge, Horsehoe Trails, Knob Hills, all at Lake Grapevine. L. B. Houston in Dallas and others I am not remembering right now.

Changing the subject back to Veterans Park. Since I last saw it a couple weeks ago a lot of progress has been made in the construction of the Vietnam War Memorial, as you can see below.

A crew was busy working on the new memorial today. There was a stack of shiny black granite looking slabs laying on the ground. I suspect those are to be attacked to the multiple walls which have risen from the ground, with names etched into the granite.

On Wednesday I told Joey that the parks in Arlington are very well done. I mentioned Veterans Park and how a large part of the park is basically wild wilderness. An example of that is below.

My feeble photographer skills do not do justice to how steep the hill you are looking at here is.

Years ago there was a half-hearted attempt to make a mountain bike trail in the backwoods part of Veterans Park. If I remember right heavy rain and a flash flood washed out that effort.

Changing the subject again.

Overnight some text messaging between Texas and Arizona and Washington caused a treasure trove of documents to arrive via email. This treasure trove of documents is documenting some of what I remember from long ago, you know, my wonder years....

In Arlington's Veterans Park Checking Out The Incoming Vietnam War Memorial

No, that is not a selfie photo of my new hiking boots you are looking at here.

The boots you see here were not made for walking. These boots are being worn by the tall statue of an armed soldier who stands guard over the memorial in Veterans Park in Arlington.

I was in the neighborhood so I decided to take myself on a relaxing walk in one of the best parks in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

That sign you see between the soldier's legs is telling you that a Vietnam War Memorial is being built. Construction appeared to be well underway, as you can see below.

The soldier whose boots we were previously looking at is surrounded by those white pillars you see in the background.

The Vietnam War Memorial looks as if it will be quite large. No clue as to what it will look like.

In Dallas, in Fair Park, where the State Fair of Texas is currently underway, there is a Vietnam War Memorial of the same sort as the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. A wall with the names of all the Texans killed in that unfortunate war. It is a bit shocking to see that wall with all those names, representing only a fraction of all those killed in that awful war.

The thing about Arlington's Veterans Park that makes it such a great park is the variety of attractions. There is a paved trail for walking, biking and blading. There is a disc golf course. A Wildscape Xeriscape deal with all natural landscaping of the low water needs, grows well in Texas type. The trails through the Wildscape are like a walk in a woods. There is also a more formal type garden adjacent to the Wildscape. The park has a couple covered picnic pavilions. There is a big playground for kids.

And then there is the undeveloped part of Veterans Park. A hilly, heavily wooded maze of trails that one can get  lost in the first couple visits. In the hilly, heavily wooded part of Veterans Park it does  not seem one is at the heart of a metro zone with over 6 million people in residence.

The big dead tree, atop a cliff, is in the aforementioned hilly, heavily wooded part of the park. At this location there used to be a rope hanging from a tree that is behind me. Thrill seekers would hold on to that rope and jump off the cliff for a long swing back and forth.

The rope still dangles, but years ago vandals lit a big fire under the rope, burning it into uselessness. I don't know why no one has  replaced the rope. Well, except for the fact it would be a scary operation, climbing up the host tree and going way out on a limb. I always wondered how that rope got there in the first place.

No regularly scheduled Saturday Tandy Hill hiking for me today, with no Town Talk visit. I am trying real hard to get out of my predictable rut. That and I have not been liking Town Talk all that much of late.

Rolling Wheels Through Wilderness Searching For Arlington's Vietnam War Memorial

Today I decided to roll my mechanized wheels to a wilderness location to pedal my handlebars to the scenic scene you see here.

I don't have to go far in my rural location on the planet to be in wilderness that looks untouched by man.

About 8 miles takes me to a park in Arlington called Veterans Park, which would make that which you see here the Veterans Park Wilderness.

Bus loads of school kids celebrating the end of the school year were cluttering up the park today, along with way too many disc golfers.

It was way back in mid December of last year that I was last at Veterans Park. At that point in time I saw a sign that indicated to me that some sort of Vietnam War Memorial was going to be added to the existing Veterans Memorial. I figured with it being about six months later that the new memorial would be ready to be seen.

I figured wrong. Nothing new, the same sign I saw months ago.

Now I'm wondering if maybe the sign is the Vietnam War Memorial.

Unlike America's Biggest Boondoggle, that being Fort Worth's Trinity River Central City Panther Island Vision Boondoggle, Arlington is very modest with its signage.

In this instance, however, Arlington seems to maybe be emulating American's Biggest Boondoggle in putting up a sign indicating something is about to be built.

And then nothing happens....

Pantego Puzzlement Leads Me To No Man's Land In Arlington's Veterans Park

It was not soon before midnight, last night, that I returned to my abode after an exhausting night of Dancing with the Fort Worth Stockyard Cows.

Even though I got home late I got up early, before the sun, which enabled a sunrise hot tub bout which was quite salubrious.

Prior to noon I needed to go to Pantego to get myself bum puzzled  by a big electronic device which eventually gave me money.

No, there are no casinos in Pantego with slot machines. I have to drive all the way to Oklahoma or Louisiana to lose money by that method.

I was not long in Pantego before I headed to Veterans Park in Arlington.

Above you are looking at the Veterans Park Veterans Memorial, from the northeast side of the memorial.

To the south of the memorial, new signage has been installed since my last visit.

I had not heard that a Vietnam War Memorial was being added to Veterans Park.

When I saw the sign I wondered if this new memorial will be modeled after the Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington, D.C.?

Fair Park in Dallas has a Vietnam Wall Memorial modeled after the one in Washington, D. C., but with the Dallas Wall memorializing only the names of Texans who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth zone and you've not seen  the Vietnam Memorial in Fair Park, well, it is worth the trek to find it. It is very well done.

I'm sure the Arlington Vietnam War Memorial will also be well done. Arlington seems to have a habit of doing most things well. Except for things like public transit.

Today I hiked the more rugged area of Veterans Park.

As I gazed upon the scenic wonderland it caused me to wonder if this area you see here is not some sort of homage to the Veterans of World War I, with this being an art installation representing No Man's Land, with those rock structures representing trenches.

Or it may just be part of the Veterans Park Disc Golf Course.

Then again nothing stops this from being a dual purpose type deal.

Finding Renewal In Arlington With A Vietnamese Visit To Chinatown Before Finding Giant Mushrooms Sprouting In Veterans Park

If I remember right I have heard it said, a time or two, that everything is bigger in Texas.

I've thought that sounded ridiculous every time I've heard it said.

And then today I came upon the biggest mushroom I have ever seen, sprouting in Veterans Park in Arlington.

I have never seen the vegetation in Veterans Park sprouting at the lush level it is currently sprouting.

I was in Arlington today to get a vehicle registration renewal sticker. An annual ordeal I go through due to forgetting to mail the form in in time to avoid not taking care of it in person. Then again, I always enjoy the drive to the heart of Arlington.

Since I was in the heart of Arlington part of town and since I needed some Asian products, after doing the sticker renewal I headed further south and east to Cho Saigon Market in Arlington's Chinatown.

After shopping with the Vietnamese I was off to Veterans Park to find the aforementioned giant mushroom. There were dozens of mushrooms sprouting. I figured this sprouting had to have recently occurred because it seems unlikely these growths would last long without being plucked.

I was tempted to pluck one of the giant mushrooms to add to today's stir-fry lunch, but then I remembered these type things can be poisonous, like so many other things that are bigger in Texas.

Whatever that means....

Today I Got Myself Stocked With Asian Goods From Saigon Cho In Arlington's Chinatown

No, that is not the Fosdick Fountain in Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth you are looking at here.

This body of water and its fountain is located in Veterans Park in Arlington.

I stopped at Veterans Park for a short walking commune with nature before continuing on to Arlington's Chinatown to go get myself some much needed Asian grocery supplies at my favorite Asian grocery store, Saigon Cho.

Or is it Cho Saigon? One would think I could remember.

Today I got a lot of bottled sauces, including fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili sauce.  In addition to a lot of sauce I got a big bottle of siracha. Oh, I think that is a sauce too. A really hot sauce. I also got a big bottle of sesame oil, a big bag of vermicelli rice noodles, garlic and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

So, I am now well stocked with Asian sauces, which tomorrow will render cashew chicken over those aforementioned rice noodles. But, right now, enchiladas are baking in the oven. Apparently I am very multi-cultural, spanning the globe for the various cuisines which spew from my kitchen.

The lunch bell is gonging. Talk to you later.....

Getting Cold Getting A Cold While Walking Around Arlington's Veterans Park

No, that is not the Fosdick Fountain spraying water in Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth that you are looking at on the left.

What you are looking at is the Veterans Park Fountain in the Veterans Park Pond in Veterans Park in Arlington.

The weather prognosticators backed off of their dire icy alert by morning, due to the temperature not quite getting as far below freezing as predicted.

My computer based temperature monitoring device indicated the temperate was below freezing, at 31, when I woke up the computer this morning. But, I saw nothing frozen in the outer world, at my location, upon close perusal.

I walked around Veterans Park before noon. The time is now coming up on 2 in the afternoon of the last Monday of November of 2013, with the outer world now warmed to a still chilly 34.

My turkey hunt was not successful yesterday, but was today. And so the frozen bird is sitting outside, currently, thawing at an extremely slow rate.

Walking around Veterans Park today was more chilly than I thought it would be. I had on multiple layers of warmth inducing outer wear, including my favorite stereotypical Pacific Northwest long-sleeved flannel shirt.

I am currently having symptoms that seem like an incoming cold trying to make me sick. I do not remember the last time I was laid up by a cold.

Why does the illness that goes by the name "cold" go by that name? Is it because over time humanity has associated getting that illness with getting cold? Hence getting a cold?

Being befuddled is just one of the many incoming cold type symptoms I am currently experiencing....

Today I Did Not Get A Speeding Ticket In Pantego Before Not Falling Off A Steep Slope With Quacking Ducks

I found myself in Pantego this morning. Pantego is a little town surrounded by Arlington.

Pantego is famous, locally, for its imaginative speed traps.

I have never been caught in a Pantego speed trap, but I know someone who was caught in a Pantego speed trap, but beat the trap rap because on the ticket the cop neglected to write down the speed the speeder was alleged to have been speeding.

Pantego is close to Arlington's Veterans Park. So, after I successfully avoided Pantego's imaginative speed traps I had myself a walk.

I had never noticed the STEEP SLOPE warning sign you see here, during my previous Veterans Park walks.

The sign makes one think this trail is a bit dangerous, with a steep slope that is best avoided lest one find oneself tumbling over like the illustration on the sign.

Eventually, at the top of the hill, at the end of the paved trail, one does come to some steep areas. But I do not think it can be those steep areas to which this sign refers.

Before I got to the point on the trail were I was in danger of tumbling off a steep slope I had an encounter with a flock of ducks clacking loud.

I walked cross the dam that forms the Veterans Park duck/turtle pond when I came upon the above flock resting in the shade of a tree. The duck looking at me, slightly to the right of center, with the white bill, objected quite vociferously to my intrusion.

During a short stand off I stood still, aiming my camera, while the lead duck quacked what sounded like a warning. I anticipated the possibility that I might need to make haste in the other direction to avoid a duck attack. But, eventually the lead duck led his flock away from me, with all of the flock quacking their disapproval.

The Veterans Park ducks are bigger and feistier than the ducks I visit at Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park. I think they may be ex-military....

Tuning Up After A Morning Swim Before Wildscaping To Arlington's Chinatown

I don't know why it almost looks like waves were waving in the pool this morning whilst I was having my morning swim.

Due to weather related concerns yesterday's Labor Day Picnic took place in my communal neighborhood park.

There is a big fireplace in the center of my communal neighborhood park. For some reason Crazy Greg thought it a good idea to build a real big fire. I guess it was not HOT enough. This type behavior is why this boy is known as Crazy Greg.

Several people dragged barbecuing devices to the communal neighborhood park. I BBQed my keilbasa on the Silas and Sue BBQ. Miss Puerto Rico showed up, food-free, but with a supply of adult libations. Big Ed got in a rather odd argument with Miss Puerto Rico over the Spanish-American War.

All in all Labor Day was interesting. I was forbidden from photo documenting the communal neighborhood park Labor Day Picnic. However, no one said anything about me not painting any word pictures.

The day after Labor Day started off fine, with the aforementioned photo documented swim.

And then, mid-morning, I drove to Arlington to get a tune up for one of my motorized motion contraptions. For a decade, or longer, when I need some auto doctoring I go to a place on Division Street in Arlington, run by Iranian exiles.

I walked a bit in the neighborhood while the tune up was taking place. In the picture, above, we are looking east. That is the auto medic place on the left, to the left of the pointy thing. As you can see, this part of Arlington's Division Street is a bleak bit of commercial wasteland. Sparse on sidewalks.

The tune-up did not take too long. Since I was in the neighborhood I decided to drive to Veterans Park for a short walk before heading to Arlington's Chinatown.

Walking in the Veterans Park Xeriscape area eventually leads to the more formal garden area, where the above deck exists. The above deck  made me a bit homesick, due to reminding me of the deck on the backside of my house in my old home zone in Mount Vernon, Washington.

And then it was off to Arlington's Chinatown, to the Cho Saigon Market. I got myself some much needed Asian supplies. Curry powder, sesame oil, coconut milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, jasmine rice, garlic, tamarind pods, fresh mints, bean sprouts.

And 10 pounds of lean ground beef.

Yes, the Cho Saigon Market in Chinatown has an excellent fresh fish and meat counter.

Changing the subject from fresh fish and meat to something else.

I am only barely finished with lunch. Homemade black olive, green olive, mushroom pizza, BBQ chicken and salad.

To wake up my computer to find an email from the Fort Worth Library reminding me that the Ernest Hemingway Short Stories Collection that I checked out way back in early July, is due today and must be returned, lest I face a hefty fine that I can ill afford.

Wildscape Walking In Arlington's Veterans Park Pondering Too Many Wars

That is not a view of my usual Sunday outdoor walking or biking location in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

What you are looking at is part of the Wildscape in Arlington's Veterans Park.

Walking in the Wildscape is shaded and noticeably cooler than out under the glare of the sun.

Currently the glare of the sun has not yet managed to heat the outer world out of the 80s, as in it is only 86 degrees at this point in time in the early Sunday afternoon.

Are 100 degree plus days done for the year, not to return until 2014?

Below the soldier who guards the Veterans Park Memorial Plaza is standing up well under the glare of the August sun.

The rows of red are made up of bricks with the names of veterans and the wars in which they served etched on to the bricks.

You can find bricks with veteran's names and the war in which they fought going back all the way to the War of Northern Aggression, also known as the Civil War. There are Spanish-American War bricks, World War I bricks, World War II bricks, Korean War bricks, Vietnam War bricks, Gulf War I & II bricks, but I saw no Afghanistan War bricks.

Is there any other country in the world which has been in as many wars in the past 150 years as has the United States?

A Board Walk With My Sister In Arlington's Veterans Park

I was not bored walking the Veterans Park boardwalk today in Arlington.

This Arctic Blast which has returned natural cold air to North Texas, temporarily, is quite refreshing.

My sister who is usually in Arizona, but is currently in Idaho, went walking with me today.

Yesterday I mentioned my sister had a vehicular malfunction whilst driving to one of my other sister's wedding in Tacoma. I had been misinformed by my parental units that my sister was stranded in Twin Falls.

Instead my sister, and nephew, CJ, are stranded about 140 miles northwest of Twin Falls, in Nampa, Idaho. It was the air-conditioner that malfunctioned, with the repair to be made by this afternoon.

Meanwhile my mom  and dad arrived in Bend, Oregon much earlier than I, and my cousin, had anticipated. And so, my cousin was out of town, so, as far as I know, my mom did not get to see her sister. That will now need to wait for the return trip to Arizona.

Have I ever mentioned that Arlington's Veterans Park is an extremely well done park? With modern restroom facilities, with  no outhouses  to be seen anywhere, unlike that which is the park design aesthetic of the town to Arlington's west.

In Veterans Park there are locations where one can not tell one is at the heart of a 6 million plus people metropolitan zone, such as the location above with the gnarled tree, with green trees as far as one can see.

Veteran's Park has miles of paved trail, a boardwalk and landscaped walkway through a garden, a  Xeriscape, miles of unpaved, wooded trails, a music pavilion of the real permanent sort, again, unlike the design aesthetic of that town  to Arlington's west and many other amenities that add up to being a park a city can be proud to have in town.

Among the Veterans Park amenities I forgot to mention is the Veterans Park Memorial.

At the base of the Veterans Park Memorial there are memorial bricks honoring soldiers from American Wars all the way back to the Mexican-American War.

There are Civil War bricks from both the Confederate and Union side of the War of Northern Aggression. Choctaw Code Talker bricks, Spanish-American War bricks, plus bricks from all the wars of the previous and current century, World Wars I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan and likely other wars I'm not remembering right now.

I  can not be the only one who notices that America seems to get into a lot of wars.....

Entering Veterans Park's Wildscape Entrance Hunting For Fort Worth's Favorite Pearls Clutching Dowager Heiress's Missing Recount

In the picture you are looking at one of the Wildscape Entrances in Arlington's Veterans Park.

I had to be in Pantego this morning, so I thought, since I was in the neighborhood, I'd have myself a humid walk.

Early this morning, when I accessed the outer world to walk to the body of water where I do my daily swimming, the humidity was causing a strange dew-like thing to happen, which sort of seemed like an extremely light misty invisible fog.

Speaking of invisible fog, I am getting confusing messages regarding what I thought was a recount of the votes in the recent (May 11) Tarrant Regional Water District Board election.

A couple days ago I blogged A Thank You Has Me Wondering Who Is Overseeing The Impartiality And Accountability Of Marty Leonard.

That blog post generated a comment from someone named Anonymous, I then commented on the comment from Anonymous, which had Anonymous commenting on my comment. Below are the 3 comments....

Anonymous said...
Durango Texas,
You did not read very carefully, "Pol Adv by Marty Leonard" means she paid for the cards herself. Also, the Pearl Clutching Dowager Heiress is not overseeing and has nothing to do with the recount.

Durango said...
"Pol Adv by Marty Leonard" would seem to only indicate she authored the Adv. If it said "Pol Adv Paid for by Marty Leonard" that would clearly indicate she used her own funds. I was told be a fairly reliable source that Marty Leonard was going to be the TRWD Board's participant in the recount.

Anonymous said...
Better check the reliability of your sources before you comment.

I asked my reliable source about the Anonymous claim that "the Pearl Clutching Dowager Heiress is not overseeing and has nothing to do with the recount."

My reliable source then sent me a lot of information about this serious subject, including the following paragraph...

In the event of a dispute on whether to count a ballot, an observer’s role is nominal.  Should such a dispute arise, a recount committee member may submit an affidavit stating that legal votes were not counted or that illegal votes were counted.  The affidavit must be submitted to the recount coordinator (Marty Leonard).  Leonard would then have the discretion to order a recount of the disputed ballots.

The above paragraph was part of what seemed to me to be a rather legalistic document that seemed to me to be legit.

And so it goes. Texas election rules confuse and perplex me....

Taking A Sunday Walk With The Roses In Arlington's Veterans Park

The last time I visited the soldier who stands guard at the memorial in Arlington's Veterans Park was way back in July of last year.

I don't know why 10 months have gone by without me returning to one of my favorite parks in the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Metroplex zone.

It'd also been 10 months since I'd been to Arlington's International District to get Asian goodies at my favorite Asian grocery store, that being Saigon Cho Market on Pioneer Parkway.

The best Asian goodie I got at Saigon Cho today was 5 pounds of very lean ground beef. Asian ground beef is coarsely ground, which will make it excellent for a big pot of chili.

Nothing much had changed at Veterans Park since my last visit.

The view you see below I always find enjoyable. One would never think one was in the center of a metropolitan area with a population over 6 million when one looks at this view with nary an element of civilization as far as one can see.

Veterans Park was blooming a lot of wildflowers today. Flowers that weren't wildflowers were also blooming a lot of color, in the Xeriscape area.

Including a lot of red roses. Red roses smell good.

The above patch of pink Evening Primroses is the biggest Primrose patch I have seen this wildflower season.

I had myself a might fine time swimming this morning. At that point in time I did not need sunglasses. I think I may go for another swim this afternoon, along with some lounging under the now fully exposed sun. I am trying to reduce my pastiness level so I can lounge on a sunny beach without getting sunburned

Walking The Boardwalk In Arlington's Veterans Park Worrying About Getting Too Skinny

I took a walk on the boardwalk at Veterans Park this morning on my way to Arlington's International District.

The maze of trails that is part of Veterans Park's Xeriscape Garden is heavily shaded and thus quite a bit cooler than being out from under shade, where the sun has direct contact, with no intervention.

The Xeriscape Garden shows locals how to landscape with plants that grow well in the Texas heat whilst requiring less water than plants that aren't as well suited for this harsh climate.

Speaking of this harsh climate, currently it is only 91 degrees, with the humidity making it feel like it is 101.

I found out a couple days ago that without knowing it I have been on the Six Weeks to OMG Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends Diet.

I wondered why I was getting so skinny with seemingly no concerted effort towards that end. Now that I know that the morning swimming, among other things, was making me skinny, I increased the amount of time I've been pooling in the morning.

I hope I don't get too skinny.

Up On A Pedestal With The Veterans Park Soldier Thinking About Going To Trader Joe's & Other Aggravations

Due to last night's heavy rain, I decided Veterans Park in Arlington was a good, likely wet-free, walking option. That and I wanted to go to ALDI.

I would have rather gone to Trader Joe's, in Fort Worth, which had its Grand Opening today, but a madhouse was expected, with parking problems.

When I arrived at Veterans Park and saw the memorial, I saw a young lady on the pedestal where the soldier who guards the memorial stands.

I do not know what this young lady was doing with the soldier, but it appeared very odd to me. Some girls just go gaga over any man in a uniform. Or so I heard. Somewhere.

I've had an odd day. One of those odd days where one aggravation after another clears up. The biggest aggravation to clear up has been aggravating me since February. It involved Facebook, AT & T, M-Qube and a local entity which I will now refer to as Buzzard Electronics, because the Customer Care person at Buzzard finally took care of the problem.

I kept avoiding blogging about my aggravation with Facebook, AT & T, M-Qube and Buzzard Electronics, and was right on the verge of doing so, using the actual name of Buzzard Electronics, because I felt I'd given them plenty of time to take care of the problem.

I will get around to blogging about this aggravation, because it is an aggravation that I know has aggravated a lot of people.

Another aggravation that got cleared up today was confusion over a contract.

Another aggravation was a malfunction of my air-conditioning system. The air-conditioner system repair people fixed that aggravation while I was out and about today.

Changing the subject from my chronic aggravations to something else.

Rosie the Rat Dog and Entourage are now far enough north on the Alaska Highway that darkness does not arrive til after 10. The latest update on Rosie the Rat Dog's Alaska! blog has some really good photos of what it looks like to drive the Alaska Highway. And a lot of bears.

And there is one photo of that famous location on the Alaska Highway where thousands of stolen signs have been erected. Rosie found one with my name on it.

Visiting Arlington's Veterans Park Soldier Talking To My Sister About Going To Alaska

I stopped for a walk in Veterans Park in Arlington on my way to Arlington's International District.

As you can see in the picture someone has laid flowers at the feet of the soldier who guards the Veterans Park Memorial.

It is Memorial Day Weekend, which likely is the reason for the flowers at the feet of the soldier who guards the Veterans Park Memorial.

I called my eldest sister whilst walking in Veterans Park. This eventually had me sitting on a park bench which caused my visit to Veterans Park to last much longer than I had anticipated.

In about a week my eldest sister is leaving Washington on a 3 month trip to Alaska, via the Alaskan Highway. She will be transporting herself, my ex-wife and 3 dogs in a bus sized, high-tech RV, which gets a couple miles per gallon.

Behind the RV my sister will be towing her Honda SUV. At some point after they make it to Anchorage the RV will be anchored at a RV storage spot, with the Honda SUV unhitched to serve as their vehicular transport to the Arctic Circle.

I have seen my sister's latest RV only once, on August 4 of 2008 at Bay View State Park. The RV is push button operated. Push a button and the bedroom expands. Push a button and the living room expands. Push a button and the flat screen TV appears. Push a button and Rosie the Robot delivers an adult beverage.

I made that last one up.

I like to stay in motels, rather than drive a motel on wheels.

All but less than a mile of the Alaskan Highway is paved these days. There are no longer long stretches without services.  Wi-fi is available at the campgrounds along the highway, so my sister will be emailing photos.

I have only been to Alaska once, a long long time ago. That trip was not made via a RV and the Alaskan Highway, it was via Alaskan Airlines, landing in Juneau. And then getting on a float plane to go to Hoonah, then Alaska Ferry to Sitka, then Alaskan Airlines back to Seattle.

Visiting Veterans Park Before Visiting Arlington's International District

On my way to Arlington's International District, today, I stopped at Arlington's Veterans Park to visit the veteran who guards the Veterans Park Memorial.

As you can clearly see, this morning it was cloudy and windy in Arlington.

What you can not see is that both of the park's parking lots were almost full. There was not one large singular activity that accounted for the almost full parking lots, but a lot of individual activity of individuals and small groups of individuals.

After visiting Veterans Park I visited 3 stores in Arlington's International District. That being 2 stores that are Asian themed and one, Import Market, that is more Middle Eastern/Russian themed.

I got a jar of Ginger Paste at the Import Market. I have no idea what this is used for, but it was on sale for $3.99 and the description on the jar made it sound as if there are all sorts of uses for it. I also got Whole Wheat Pita Bread. I'd not seen Whole Wheat Pita Bread before.

I looked all over the Import Market for Hummus. I found cans of chickpeas, but no Hummus.

The customers in the Import Market appeared to be more multi-cultural than the Asian themed stores I went in, where I tend to be the only Anglo in the store.

I did see one other Anglo in one of the Asian stores. She was stunningly beautiful, exotically so.

Many of the Asians in the Asian stores are dressed very stylishly. The Asian stores are run very efficiently. The Middle Eastern/Russian store has some quirks in how it operates, with the quirks being part of what is interesting. For instance, many items have no indicator of the price. So, I bought the Whole Wheat Pita Bread not knowing what it cost til I saw it scan at $1.49.

If you live in the Arlington zone and have not shopped in Arlington's International District, you really should check it out.

I wonder why no one opens a Uwajimaya type complex in the D/FW zone? Uwajimaya is in Seattle's International District. Uwajimaya is an Asian store on steroids, with one of the best food courts I've ever had the pleasure of being pleased in.

Hunting For Sesame Seeds In Arlington's International District's Cho Saigon

A Field Of Bluebonnets In Arlington's Veterans Park

This morning I decided I wanted to make myself a Chinese type stir fry for my noontime feeding.

Checking supplies I saw I was suffering from a shortage of the type things I need to replicate Chinese food.

Before today it had been a long while since I'd been in the part of Arlington I've called Chinatown, in the past.

Today I realized the part of Arlington, along Pioneer Parkway, that I call Chinatown, would more properly be called Arlington's International District, due to the fact that while there are Asian grocery stores, featuring products enabling the cuisines of various Asian nations, like Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Korea and, of course, China, there are also grocery stores featuring Middle Eastern food products.

Arlington International District's Cho Saigon

And Russian food products.

And Mexican food products.

And even American food products.

Like the Jack in the Box next to the Cho Saigon grocery store I visited to stock up on my Asian ingredients.

On the way to Arlington's International District I got gas. So, I called my mom and dad to tell them I got gas. They were not home. What a surprise.

After getting gas I went to Arlington's Veterans Park to try and un-kink my kinky legs with some salubrious walking.

After Veterans Park I headed east to the former Chinatown. It takes awhile to find stuff at the Cho Saigon. There are dozens upon dozens of soy sauces to choose from. A long treasure hunt to find sesame oil.

No use asking anyone who works there where anything is located. The helpless hunt makes it funner. Eventually I found the sweet chili sauce I wanted. I gave up on finding sesame seeds.

The stir fry I concocted, after I got back to my abode, turned out quite tasty. Baby bok choy is a good stir fry ingredient, as are oyster and shitake mushrooms. And red peppers.