Acquiring Endorphins At Sikes Lake With A Terrible Tuesday Tornado Memorial Sidetrip

The past couple days I have not acquired my required dose of endorphins via aerobic stimulation, due to not wanting to be in the outer world with it being wet and cold.

Pushing a shopping cart for a half hour, in Walmart, really does not suffice in the endorphin acquisition department.

Without my endorphin fix I start to get grumpy. I assume this to be like the withdrawal misery a drug addict experiences when a drug fix is not to be had. I also assume endorphin withdrawal is likely much milder than withdrawal symptoms from something more potent.

So, today, on this final Thursday of the 2024 version of March, with the outer world back being warm, I ventured to nearby Sikes Lake for some high-speed endorphin acquisition.

Along with a lot of other people enjoying the return to non-winter-like conditions.

Today I exited the Sikes Lake trail at the west end to enter the Wood Memorial Park.

There is a monument in Wood Memorial Park. That is what you see photo documented above.

This memorial memorializes those who died in the 1979 Red River Valley tornado outbreak.

Known in Wichita Falls as Terrible Tuesday.

This memorial is located in the path of the deadly tornado. The Red River Valley tornadoes broke out on April 10, 1979, killing 58 people, injuring 1,927 more.

I have experienced three tornadoes since I have been in Texas. I have never seen the stereotypical twister. All I have seen is a dark, greenish wall cloud, with the tornado somewhere behind the wall.

Climbing Fort Worth's Fosdick Steps Trying To Emulate Elsie Hotpepper

Today when I left air-conditioned comfort to head to Oakland Lake Park for my regularly scheduled Thursday walk around Fosdick Lake I left my old-fashioned digital camera at home, taking with me the new-fangled cell phone for photo taking purposes.

Well, the cell phone photos my cell phone takes do not turn out as well as the photos my old-fashioned digital camera takes.

I have long thought it is time for the selfie fad to fade.

Maybe I think that because my few attempts at taking a selfie of myself always end up being difficult. As in it is awkward, I can't see the screen, clearly, even when in shade.

Which results in that which you see here, basically me glaring at a phone while trying to touch the take a picture button on the screen.

Some people seem quite talented with the taking a selfie thing.

Elsie Hotpepper comes to mind.

Elsie may be the Queen of the Selfies. Of course it helps that she has such photogenic subject matter and is a whiz at new-fangled technology. Like text messaging. Elsie Hotpepper can churn out a mini-novel in seconds via text messaging, while it takes me several minutes to churn out a sentence.

After I gave up on trying to successfully take a selfie photo with the Fosdick Fountain showing up behind me, I switched the phone to the mode that takes pictures in the other direction.

As you can see, via the hazy photo above, a pair of fishermen were angling for dinner in the fertile water of Fosdick Lake.

Catfish? Bass? Trout? Garfish? Bullheads? All I know for sure is it is unlikely any salmon were caught.

With my bike temporarily out of service I needed a new way to get myself a dose of endorphins via aerobic stimulation, so as to put myself in a much better mood. My early morning swimming does not seem to meet my endorphin needs.

So, today I ran up and down the above Fosdick Steps a few dozen times. I was quite pleased with how light on my feet I was being, sort of popping up the stairs pretty much effortlessly. I don't know if the extra spring in my step was due to new hiking shoes. Or the 20 pounds I have lost. Or something else, like my morning deep knee bend addiction of 80 repetitions.

Anyway, tomorrow morning I am going to be at the Fort Worth Stockyards, taking photos and maybe video. I will be using my old-fashioned digital camera to take photos, not this new-fangled phone method.

And no selfies. Well, maybe one attempt with a longhorn.....

My First Endorphin Inducing Bike Ride In Texas Of The New Year Has Me Feeling Good

I did not realize, until this 3rd Saturday of the New Year, how much I have been missing the blue sky of Texas, when the sun which that blue sky lets shine, heats the air to a temperature allowing outer wear of the t-shirt and shorts variety.

In other words, the temperature currently is halfway between 60 and 70 which made it possible to go on my first bike ride of the new year along with getting my first good strong dose of endorphins of the new year.

If I remember right the last time my handlebars parked at the location you see here, looking at my neighborhood golf course, the grass of the golf course was still green.

How come Western Washington grass in winter remains green, while Texas grass in winter turns brown, for the most part? One would think it'd be the opposite, what with Western Washington getting way less sunshine in winter than what usually brightens Texas.

I did not realize til getting today's strong endorphin fix how much I had had been suffering from the rigors of endorphin withdrawal.

Prior to getting an endorphin fix I had no energy or desire to take myself to downtown Fort Worth to watch the 2015 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Parade.

That parade is now over, but if I felt before it started, like I do now, I think I would have made one of my rare visits to America's Imaginary #1 Top Downtown to do some parade viewing.

The Stock Show Parade is one of the best, if not the best, parade I have ever witnessed.

Seems like in years past my regular Saturday habit was to go to Town Talk. I don't think I have been to Town Talk yet this year. I guess I am no longer a creature of habit....

Seeking Endorphins On The First Drippy Friday Of December

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell, late in the morning of the first Friday of the last month of 2014, with the outer world a bit damp, but warmed to the relatively balmy temperature of 69 degrees, I am feeling in dire need of some serious aerobic stimulation and that stimulation's resultant endorphins.

I was in the Hot Tub and Pool last night and real early this morning. The Hot Tub and Pool really don't give me the level of endorphins that I get from bike riding or hill hiking.

I had a rough night last night, way too many disturbing nightmares. I really should not watch any Mama's Family sketches from the Carol Burnett Show prior to sleep time.

In the middle of the night during one of my awake bouts I had what at the time seemed to be a really good blogging inspiration. Suffice to say the subject was Fort Worth and the phrase "Where the Best Begins" played a prominent role. But, that particular blogging inspiration is currently stalled. Maybe a dose of endorphins would help re-stimulate me, inspiration-wise.

Yesterday's drizzle had me in Haltom City in the noon time frame for the Grand Opening of a new ALDI. I got a lot of freebies during the course of the ALDI visit. Plus some amusing aggravation when somehow a single bag of carrots at $1.39 rang up as 7 bags of carrots at $9.73. I think the embarrassment at the embarrassing mistake is why I ended up being given extra canvas ALDI shopping bags,  filled with goodies, most of which is not the type stuff I eat.

Candy bars.

I did not even like candy bars when I was a kid. In the canvas bags were a couple versions of bags of peanuts, a sweet and salty almond all natural bar, which was tasty, and a couple bags of popcorn. So, all that ALDI gave me was not of the candy bar sort, but most of it was.

I think I will hit the publish button on this blogging and then hit the outer world and see if I can find myself some of those elusive endorphins....