Lake Wichita Memorial Day With Big Brother & Long-Nosed Gars

 Last week I read 1984, you know, that dystonian novel by George Orwell that sort of missed its future foretelling mark when 1984 became the actual year, with 1984 not being quite as bleak in reality as Orwell foresaw it being.

And then over three decades after 1984 George Orwell's book was back being a book store best seller, along with borrowing waiting lists in libraries across America, and other parts of the world where the literate found themselves appalled to find the American president to be an Orwellian nightmare of doublespeak, doublethink and totally doubleplusungood.

The last couple days I have been having myself some computer aggravation. Every time I think I have solved the problem I find I am erroneous.

Feeling I had reached some sort of computer plateau I decided to take a break and join the throngs of Memorial Day memorializers at Lake Wichita for some sun time whilst enjoying the cooling breeze blowing from the lake.

I was not long at Lake Wichita, atop Lake Wichita Dam, when I saw that which you see above, which is the reason I mentioned 1984, because when I saw that which you see above I thought to myself it looked like what a 2017 version of 1984's Big Brother might look like.

Soon after seeing the Lake  Wichita Big Brother I saw the bucolic scene you see below.

These fisher people are fishing near the ruins of the Lake Wichita Pavilion.  All which remains of the pavilion, which succumbed  to fire in the 1950s,  are the wood pilings you see the fishing pole pointing towards.

As you can see there are also non-fisher people wandering about under the watchful eye of the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Another view of the Lake Wichita floating dock. That dock looks nice and stable today, but if one visits it on a windy day, when whitecaps wave across the lake, the ride on this floating dock can be sea sickness inducing. The last time I was on this dock when it was in rocking mode it reminded me of being on the Port Townsend/Keystone Ferry ferrying from the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island during a stormy tidal change, with the ferry rocking so much walking was extremely difficult.

As you can see fishing and walking was not the only activity at Lake Wichita this Memorial Day. The people you see here are on the Circle Trail  on top of Lake Wichita Dam, heading north away from the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Okay, I have mentioned the Lake Wichita Big Brother a couple times. Now let's see what it is this Big Brother is looking out from.

A fishy sign. Can you find Big Brother?

This Fish of Lake Wichita sign identifies all the fish which live, or try to, in this lake.

I have never seen anyone swimming in Lake Wichita. I know in the past, long ago, swimming in this lake was a popular summer thing to do. A streetcar system delivered  people to the lake. Long ago Lake Wichita was a popular resort-like destination, with multiple attractions in addition to fishing and swimming.

There is an ongoing attempt to revive Lake Wichita and restore it to some semblance of its former glory.

Methinks this effort should be accelerated.

I have seen the Lake Wichita Revitalization plans. If those plans come to fruition it will be a real good thing.  I do not understand why there is not a more vigorous effort to bring about this lake's revitalization. I've heard other towns in America fund such developments by having its citizens approve of some sort of funding  mechanism, rather than rely on car washes and selling memorial bricks to raise money.

If Lake Wichita does get revitalized and swimming again becomes doable I sort of would like to know a couple of those Fish of Lake Wichita are no longer in the lake. Like the long-nosed gars. Or the channel catfish. The other Fish of Lake Wichita look harmless.

I have never liked fish with whiskers. Or long sharp pointy noses...

Walking Around Fosdic Lake In A Misty Drizzle Thinking About Catching A Dungeness Crab

I did not realize it til I left my abode that a fine drizzling mist was moistening the outer world at my location.

The fine drizzling mist was very much like what frequently happens in a coastal zone, like my old home port in Washington.

I did not want the fine drizzling mist to drizzle on my camera so I took a photo from the Oakland Lake Park picnic shelter, looking through the bars, whose function I don't understand, at Fosdic Lake.

I was hoping going on a walk would make me feel better. It didn't.

I grow very weary of whatever it is, allergy or virus, that is making my respiratory system not function correctly.

Sister Jackie & Nephew David

Yesterday, on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, I was unable to reach my sister to wish her a happy birthday.

This morning on the Blue & Max blog I saw that my sister is up in Tacoma, which explains why she was not answering her land line in Arizona.

For her birthday my sister got Dungeness Crab at Pike Place Market in Seattle.

I have not tasted Dungeness Crab since the last time I was in Tacoma.

I miss fresh seafood.

Catfish does not qualify as seafood.

The 2nd Day Of Spring In Texas Running Low On Catfish

I am up early this 2nd day of Spring on this 3rd Monday of March.

It is 65 degrees outside right now. That makes that blue oasis you see in the picture a tempting target.

Last night's booking of a flight to her home island for Miss Puerto Rico turned out to be as annoying as I expected. I actually found myself having to say "shut up if you want me to do this."

I have wanted to tell that girl to shut up for years. It felt very good to do so.

The Fire Ant damage to my arms seems to have drastically improved overnight.

I am not sure if it is good news or bad news, but in the news this morning I read that the catfish supply in Texas is drying up. Due to cheap catfish imports, the high price of corn and low market prices having made catfish farming a less than profitable operation.

Maybe the catfish shortage will get Texans to try other seafood and discover that catfish does not taste at all good compared to good seafood.

Like cod, red snapper, salmon, crab, clams, lobster and just about everything else that grows in the sea and does not taste like mud.

The sun has arrived. It is time to go swimming.

Betty Jo's Man-Eating Chinese Catfish & Splash The Texas Catfish

That is Splash the Catfish looking at you. Splash was caught in Lake Texoma back in 2004, caught, captured and hauled to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas, where Splash took up residence on January 14, 2004.

At the time of her captivity, Splash was the World Record holder as the largest Blue Catfish ever caught, at 121.5 pounds. Splash held that record until 2005 when a 124 pounder was caught in the Mississippi River.

Splash quickly became the Star of the Fisheries Center, with large numbers showing up to watch the daily dive show, when Splash was fed chicken, herring and mackerel.

On the 1st anniversary of the arrival of Splash, around 800 people showed up to celebrate, including 133 school kids who brought Splash birthday cards.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Scientists estimate that Splash was at least 23 years old when she suddenly died in December 2005.

A life-sized replica of Splash is currently on display at the Fisheries Center. It is estimated that Splash is survived by thousands of descendants in Lake Texoma.

Splash the Blue Catfish was brought to my mind this morning by the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier.

Betty Jo sent me an article about a Giant Catfish that had been caught in China's Huadu Furong Reservoir. This Giant Catfish was 9.8 feet long, 3.3 feet wide. After cutting the fish open the remains of a man were found inside.

Apparently there had been a problem with swimmers disappearing while swimming in the reservoir, including, recently, the son of a government official. Now that the Chinese realize they have Man-eating Catfish lurking in their reservoir, swimming is banned.

I got back in a Texas lake after my near fatal encounter with an out of control Turtle, but seeing a Garfish for the first time, that was far more unsettling than a Turtle. I have not been swimming in a Texas lake since I saw my first Garfish. I don't know if the Lake Texoma Catfish descendants of Splash are big enough to eat a man. I suspect not.

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center is located at 5550 FM 2495, four miles east of Athens. Fish in the dive tank may be viewed any time the center is open. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Dive shows are at 11 a.m. on weekdays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.

Catfish Hunting At Cho Saigon Market In Arlington's International District

Yes, those are Catfish in the picture. No, that is not a picture of Catfish that I took while on a Catfishing expedition.

I don't know if Catfish is the State Fish of Texas. But I suspect it may be.

The Catfish in the picture are in the live fish tanks at Cho Saigon Market in Arlington's Chinatown. Well, probably more accurately, it should be called Arlington's Vietnamtown.

Or maybe just call it what Seattle renamed its Chinatown to, long ago, and say Cho Saigon Market is in Arlington's International District. That makes sense. Just across the street is another market, with that one specializing in Middle Eastern products.

There is a lot of live seafood available at the Cho Saigon Market. Including Dungeness Crab. $9.99 a pound for Dungeness Crab. I used to get Dungeness Crab for free by driving a few miles west and sticking a crabpot into Puget Sound. Paying $9.99 a pound for such a thing just seems wrong to me, like when I see blackberries for $1.99 for a teeny container.

A suspected Self-Anointed Catfish Expert (SACE) told me that the Cho Saigon Catfish were Mud Cats. As opposed to Channel Cats. Something to do with the long whiskers indicating they had been bottom feeders. This came up when I speculated that these Cho Saigon Catfish might not have that disgusting mud taste that permeates a lot of Catfish.

I chose not to buy a Cho Saigon Catfish, even though Cho Saigon makes it very convenient. They'll give you the fish in at any of 6 stages you prefer. I think Step 1 is hand it to you live, then the Steps go through various stages of butchering the fish, with Step 6 being they'll fry what they've butchered for you.

World's Best Catfish At Tuckers Catfish Haven In North Richland Hills

It is Wednesday, so I went up to Southlake today a little before noon.

On my way back from my first stop in Southlake I went to Sprouts Farmers Market and got a lot of good stuff. I've never seen Sprouts so busy.

Were people stocking up for the upcoming return of winter with its possible Friday ice storm?

On the way back home, after Sprouts, I had been asked by an Anonymous Person to pick said person up at Tuckers Catfish Haven in North Richland Hills.

Why do so many people insist I not put their name in my blog? It perplexes me.

Anyway, I'd been in the Tuckers Catfish Haven parking lot previously. But I had not bothered to look at their sign. I read the sign today and was surprised to learn that in Tuckers Catfish Haven I could get the World's Best Catfish.

I added the apostrophe to World's. For some reason Tuckers does not seem to like apostrophes. It seems like it should be Tucker's Catfish Haven, not Tuckers Catfish Haver. And it should be World's Best, not Worlds Best.

Sorry about being an apostrophe Nazi.

I do not understand why catfish is so popular in these parts. There may be more catfish restaurants in the D/FW Metroplex than any other genre. Even BBQ. To my semi-refined tastebuds, catfish is, at best, flavorless, at worst you can bite into catfish that tastes like the mud the catfish bottom fed from.

The texture of catfish is mushy. Very unappealing. And then the catfish is usually deep-fried with a corn meal coating. Although I have seen catfish grilled in various ways, but none that tasted very good to me.

Usually with catfish you'll get these things called hush puppies. These are little balls of deep-fried cornmeal dough, usually tasting the same as what the catfish is coated with.

So, I guess the thing I've learned today is if I want the World's Best Catfish, which I don't, I need to go to Tuckers Catfish Haven.

Catfish, Kava Tea & Only Child Syndrome

That is a nondescript catfish joint called Tuckers in the picture. It is in North Richland Hills on Davis Boulevard. Its billboard says its catfish is famous. I have no independent verification of that, nor do I care to personally sample their famous inland "seafood."

I was at this location due to me agreeing to pick someone up here on my way back from Southlake. I won't go into the details of why I was in Southlake, except to say while I was in Southlake I also went to Sprouts Farmers Market, and among other things I got Kava Tea. I've not had that medicinal herb since I got a supply direct from the island of Kuaui. That's part of Hawaii. Hawaii is a state way out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

I do not wait well. You can see how impatient I was being by looking at the picture, on the right, of me looking impatient, getting all rumpled and bored. When I agree to meet someone I expect them to be at the appointed location at the appointed time. The party in question was supposed to be on a precise spot at precisely 1:15pm. However, at that point in time, that spot was occupied by an urchin selling some sort of Valentine bauble. I declined the Valentine bauble offer. I do not participate in Hallmark type occasions, which pretty much makes me immune to just about any holiday.

At 1:17 pm the person in question finally arrived, unforgivably tardy. I'll probably get over it. I may even forgive it. After awhile.

When I got back here and checked my computer messages I saw one of them was a very good comment from a person suffering from Only Child Syndrome. I keep intending to blog again about OCS, what with there being so many sufferers out there, both those who are OC's and those who are victims of OCS.

But, it just so painful to write about, dredges up all sorts of troubling memories. And it is complex to detail my personal experiences with Only Child Syndrome, what with the behaviors being so oddly convoluted, yet sort of amusing when viewed from the perspective of distance and time. In other words, when written about when the memory of the pain of dealing with one of those monsters is not quite so fresh.

I did not see any sign of damage from last night's storm when I drove north.