Another HOT Fort Worth Friday With Betty Jo Bouvier Burning & Soul Food

That's the clear blue sky view out my computer room window, this Friday morning in the Fort. Worth, that is.

Currently, at 9am, it is 83 with a Heat Index of 88, heading to a high of 98. In other words, it is HOT. And gonna get HOTTER.

I went swimming for a long long time this morning, shortly after the sun arrived to light up the place.

The remodeling my patio project ran into a snag yesterday which required replacing a long support post. Yesterday afternoon the construction noise became so noisy I hauled my laptop over to Miss Puerto Rico's for some peace and quiet.

Last night I received disturbing photo documentation from the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier, of her latest pyromaniacal accident. This is not the first incident where Betty Jo has caused a burn pile to go explosive, doing extensive damage to her usually well-managed hair.

As you can see, this time the fire explosion sort of turned half of Betty Jo's hairstyle into a Princess Leia look. Maybe Betty Jo can somehow give the other side the same treatment and achieve a balanced look.

I think maybe it is time for Betty Jo to re-consider this whole Wild Woman of Woolley thing. It seems too dangerous to me.

Change of subject from Betty Jo Bouvier's latest hair debacle.

Lately I have been channeling my inner African-American and making soul food. I'm doing so again today. Oven-fried chicken legs, mashed sweet potatoes and diced celery sauteed in butter.

Lunch is around 1. Don't be late.

Musing About The Amusing Betty Jo Bouvier While Passing Time In Texas

I don't think I have seen Betty Jo Bouvier, in person, since some point in the Summer of 1991.

Betty Jo lives in the Skagit Valley where she is known as one of the Wild Women of Woolley. I used to live in the Skagit Valley, before I moved to Texas. I don't think Betty Jo had become a Wild Women of Woolley while I was still living in the Skagit Valley. I think I would have heard about it.

Over the weekend Betty Jo went to a birthday party for the mom of one of our dear ol' friends from our school years, Linda R., who I also don't think I've seen since 1991, though I have talked to her on the phone, actually in this century.

Earlier, Betty Jo falsely reported that Linda R.'s mom's birthday was her 90th. That was way off. Betty Jo can be a bit of a ditz, I suppose the ditziness may be a holdover from her Hippie Girl Phase.

Betty Jo was a real cute Hippie. Although, I found the blonde Hippie Hair disorienting, due to the fact that Betty Jo is a brunette, not a blonde, though she does have some blonde tendencies, such as overly aging Linda R.'s mom.

My memory is quite vague about a lot of things, I know Betty Jo and I used to do a lot of fun things. But, except for a few details, most of it is lost to my failing memory. We both had Mustangs. Betty Jo's was a newer model, but mine was cooler, due to it being a 65 Fastback. That's all it had going for it. Betty Jo's ran more reliably.

It is because of Betty Jo I ever came to know another of my favorite Hippie characters, she being Beth Ann. Betty Jo and Beth Ann really should be Southern Girls, they both drip honey with their super sweetness. Super sweetness way back when, super sweetness now. Beth Ann is my favorite TV star. Lately she's been hanging out with George Clooney.

I've often been told I'm a ringer for George Clooney. We both have brown eyes.

Okay, that is enough of a nostalgia trip down my failing memory lane. I look forward to seeing Betty Jo and Beth Ann the next time I am in Washington. And a lot of other people.

Sticking The Wild Woman Of Woolley In My Mustang's Trunk

Earlier today I mentioned the Wild Woolley Woman, Miss CVB, and her resemblance to her beautiful daughter.

So, I told Miss CVB that I'd recently come across some ancient photos of her teenage years. Today I had to scan a bunch of documents, so I figured, since I was doing some scanning, the first thing I'd scan was some evidentiary photos of Miss CVB, back when she was still Miss CV.

That is my first car in which Miss CV is trunk sitting. It was a 1965 Mustang Fastback. If it were still alive today it would be worth a small fortune.

I bought my Mustang in October of my Senior High School year. A lot of fun was had in that car.

I've been feeling a bit homesick for Washington lately, the scenery, the clean air, the good weather, the people. Washington is like living in a theme park. In Texas there is a nearby theme park that I can go to, Six Flags Over Texas, that I don't like. In Washington I could go a few miles east and be in the mountains, a few miles west and be on a saltwater beach.

In Washington I had so many favorite places to go hiking within a 25 miles radius. The Tandy Hills is nice, compared to other choices in my current Texas locale, but the Tandy Hills would not be hike worthy if they were nearby where I lived in Washington. I doubt they'd even have any trails. Why would they?

So, why is Miss CV in the trunk of my car? Well, we were wild kids. Miss CV was practicing for going to see a drive-in movie. She'd hide in the trunk and then once I was safely parked she'd climb through the panel door that opened from the trunk. We ended this practice after being caught at the drive-in in Bellingham. It was a little embarrassing.

I can't remember for sure if the car next to mine is Miss CV's or Miss Beth's, aka Miss Oahu's? If I remember right Miss CV had a Mustang and Miss Beth had a Cougar. I suck at identifying cars. If forced to guess I'd guess it is Miss CV's Mustang, mostly because I can tell the cars are sitting on her driveway.

The passage of a lot of time has dulled a lot of what I'm able to remember. The aforementioned Miss Beth wrote something in my annual about never forgetting a moonlit night at Bay View. I had no memory of what she was talking about. But, Miss CV claims this references an incident where it was real warm, with myself, Misses Beth and CV at Bay View, late, feeling like going swimming, but with no swimsuits, going swimming in our underwear. It bothers me because one would think I would remember this.

In the black and white picture I think me and Miss CV were up in the North Cascades, maybe. I remember having a picnic and pulling out the easy to remove back seat to use to sit on.

Okay, enough time spent on Nostalgia Road.

Wild Woman of Woolley Nightmares While Sleeping In Texas

I had a nightmare last night that had the Wild Woman of Woolley, Miss CVB, in it. (I had not noticed before, til just typing it, that CVB are in that exact order on the low row of the QWERTY keyboard)

A couple days ago Miss CVB sent me a picture of her daughter. That is her in pink. It seems recent in my memory, but it was long ago, that I saw Miss CVB's daughter, in person. She was just a baby.

I'll spare you the rest of my memory on this subject. Suffice to say that Miss CVB's daughter puts me in mind of Miss CVB all those years ago.

So, last night, I'm having a nightmare. I was back in the Skagit Valley. At the Mount Vernon Mall. It's dark. I run into Miss CVB, well, actually, at that point in time she was Miss CV. I asked if she wanted to go have pizza. Sure, she said.

So, we go in this dark pizza joint, sit at a table, I go order pizza, then go back to the table to find Miss CV missing. I figure she had to go do something but would be right back. So, I sit. I do not wait well, but I continued waiting. Eventually I realized Miss CV was not coming back. I then woke up.

After that I could not go back to sleep. I started obsessing over the Mount Vernon Mall. There were two malls in Mount Vernon, one on each side of College Way, on the east side of I-5. These malls were built in the 1970s. Then torn down in the 1990s and replaced with more modern strip malls. I think.

And that's what kept me awake. Trying to remember what replaced the 2 malls. I could remember Albertsons and Ernst on the south side and a huge Safeway on the north side. And, awhile after that, a Wal-Mart. But then I go blank.

I do recollect being back in Mount Vernon, after I moved to Texas, for a funeral, staying at the Day's Inn in Mount Vernon and roller blading from the Day's Inn all over the Wal-Mart and Safeway parking lots. But, I can't remember what was there besides those 2 stores and a Jamba Juice joint.

I wonder if I am exhibiting early Alzheimer's and what the Freudian implications are of last night's Miss CV nightmare? If any.

A Texas Cow Wash With The Saloon Hopping Wild Woman Of Woolley Washington & Twister

That Wild Woman of Woolley, Miss CVB, sent me the picture of a Texas Car Wash. The caption said "Only in Texas."

I do not recollect seeing a Cow Wash in Texas. I also don't know where Miss CVB found this picture. Maybe she came across it while doing research for her upcoming trip to Texas with Miss BS(-M).

I can't remember the last time I went sightseeing with Miss CVB. I recollect years ago, Miss CVB and me, driving up in the Cascades, driving over Diablo Dam, prior to the existence of the North Cascades Highway, and getting sort of stuck on a narrow logging road. Miss CVB has never gone saloon hopping. I am so looking forward to that.

Miss CVB regularly reminds me I need to go to Phoenix to visit my parental units. This morning Twister tweeted me a picture of himself deep in the aforementioned North Cascades. The full picture is a panoramic view. You can look at that here.

Why am I mentioning Miss CVB and Twister in the same paragraph? Well, the two of them have put it in my mind that it is time for a roadtrip. I have not driven back to Washington since July of 2001. I am thinking a roadtrip to Phoenix to see my mom and dad, sister, brother-in-law and nephews, on the way to Washington, would be a real fine time.

I will make sure this trip to Washington has none of the problems that I dealt with the last time I was there. In other words I won't be staying in Tacoma. I likely won't even do a Tacoma drive-by, due to the fact that that town is south of what will be my location.