Biking To Metal MSU Bikers Thinking About Ruby Tuesday Flight North

This first Sunday of August, day six, also known as the anniversary of the Hiroshima atom bomb bombing. And my mom and dad's anniversary.

Mom's first anniversary without dad.

This morning I took my bike on a ride. Eventually ending up on the MSU (Midwestern State University)  campus where I soon found  myself running into that which you see here.

A pair of bikers memorialized in metal. An homage to the Hotter n' Hell 100, the latest iteration of which takes place towards the end of this current month.

I won't be riding in the Hotter n' Hell 100, but I likely will venture to downtown Wichita Falls, to the MPEC (Multi Purpose Event Center) to partake in the festivities.

That is if I make it back in time from my journey north and west, which starts up the morning of this coming Tuesday.

Tuesday morning I will land somewhere at D/FW  Airport, brought to town by some flying device the nature of which is unknown  to me. Jet? A plane propelled by propellers?  I have no idea. Years ago I landed in Juneau, Alaska, arriving on a 707, soon finding myself on a small plane propelled by propellers, to fly to a little town called Hoonah, where there was no airport, so the plane had to land on the water. That was an adventurous landing.

I am almost 100% certain the plane that will fly me to D/FW will not be landing on water, even though Lake Grapevine is nearby.

I have almost three hours to kill after I land at D/FW before my plane to Seattle takes off. Elsie Hotpepper may use her TSA Homeland Security credentials to get past security to take me out to lunch at one of the airport's many fine dining locations, like McDonalds.

When I land in Seattle I believe I will be getting picked up by David, Theo and Ruby, then brought to Tacoma where the annual neighborhood Potato Fry will be taking place at Ruby's, next door to David, Theo and Ruby's.

Apparently Ruby has become a commonly used name in the Pacific Northwest.

On Friday David, Theo and Ruby will be taking me to the far north, to Birch Bay, where we will stay til Monday.

On Tuesday I will be back in the air again, heading south to Phoenix, to see my mom. And my sister, Jackie, and, I hope, nephews Chris and Jeremy, and my favorite brother-in-law, Jack.

Starting the next day I should be having myself a mighty fine time having a morning swim with the Sun Lakes Ladies.

I get back to Texas August 22, arriving in Wichita Falls an hour before midnight. The next morning I get to drive back to the D/FW zone. I will likely be a bit tired....

Bizarre DFW NBC TRV Bridge Boondoggle Propaganda

Yesterday I blogged about Visiting Fort Worth's Infamous Graveyard Of Broken Promises.

In that blogging about Fort Worth's ghost town of abandoned bridge piers I mentioned being puzzled as to why no D/FW media entity seems interested in finding out why the construction of these simple little bridges, the construction of  which began with a TNT bang way back in 2014, has stalled.

Ironically, soon after mentioning the lack of media interest in Fort Worth's embarrassing bridge boondoggle, Captain Andy, Elsie Hotpepper and others pointed to a new piece of absurdly embarrassing D/FW media propaganda regarding Fort Worth's ridiculous bridge fiasco.

This time the perpetrating propaganda purveyor is DFW's NBC affiliate in a "news" story titled Plan from Two Cities on the Same River : Fort Worth construction underway on Panther Island Trinity project.

Click the link to read the article and watch the "LIVE" from Fort Worth clip from DFW NBC local TV news, which seems to channel the spirit of Ted Baxter, in both male and female Baxter versions.

The local NBC TV "news" story leads one to think Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision is well underway, unlike the Dallas version of the vision. Even though Dallas has actually completed two actual signature bridges, actually built over water, known as the Trinity River. DFW NBC TV's report also gives the impression that Fort Worth's river vision only recently came to be, when the sad reality is this myopic vision has been limping along since the beginning of the century.

Some choice bit of ironic idiocy from  the print version of the DFW NBC TV article about Fort Worth's Bridge Boondoggle, including, as always in such articles, choice bits of utter nonsense from Congresswoman Kay Granger's boy, J.D....

The Fort Worth redevelopment area along the river will become what is now called Panther Island with construction of a new flood control bypass canal across a bend in the river north of downtown.

The redevelopment area will become what is now called Panther Island? After a flood control bypass is constructed across a bend in the river? That paragraph is what is known as meaningless gibberish. More accurately stated the redevelopment area will be known as Panther Island if the ditch ever gets dug to separate that chunk of land from the Fort Worth mainland, creating an imaginary island.

Bridges that would cross that future canal are under construction, even before digging of the canal that is slated to begin next year.

The bridges are under construction? Did the DFW NBC reporter not notice the weeds growing amongst the long stalled bridges? And the rusted rebar? That imaginary construction began with a bang way back in 2014. It is now past halfway through 2017. It took about that much time to build the Golden Gate Bridge. Over water. Digging  the canal is slated to begin next year? Really? And where did this erroneous information come  from?

J.D. Granger, executive director of the Fort Worth Trinity River Vision Authority, said the redevelopment area on the new island doubles the size of the Fort Worth Central Business District.

Yes, Granger has repeated this pretty much every time he is "interviewed" for one of the local media's propaganda pieces. Doubles the size of the Fort Worth Central Business District? Anyone know the whereabouts and  measurements of the Business District to which Granger refers? New island? As opposed to the old island? And by what rational stretch of the imagination is this going to be an island, even if that ditch is ever dug and water diverted into the ditch?

“This is very much going to have a functional purpose for flood control, and on top of that a wonderful backdrop for development — a beautiful promenade all along the water’s edge, and immediately adjacent to that you’ll be able to dine and have great residential looking over the water every day,” Granger said.

Great residential looking over the water every day? What does that mean? A functional purpose for flood control? Where no flood has occurred for well over half a century due to levees built and paid for way back  in the 1950s.

A 300-unit apartment is due to break ground in December near what is planned to be an urban lake on the Trinity.

The apartment about to break ground chestnut is always part of these propaganda pieces. Has the builder applied for building  permits yet? Does anyone know precisely the location of the shore of this urban lake which has changed size multiple times throughout the decade? Why does J.D. always use the "urban" modifer to describe this possible lake? Aren't all the lakes in a city urban lakes? And what is meant by "urban lake on the Trinity'? The Trinity is a river. How do you have a lake on a river? You can dam a river, creating a reservoir, which is often referred to as a lake. Isn't this particular proposed "urban lake" simply a section of the Trinity River which may be widened to create an imaginary lake?

“It solves the majority of our flood issues in our community, which is a huge issue for us given our population growth,” Granger said.

Now, the above is the most  embarrassingly stupid doozy to be uttered by J.D. Granger during the entire multi year period in which he has been uttering insipidly idiotic utterances.  This solves the majority of the flood issues in our community? As has already been mentioned, this area has not flooded for over half a century. However other areas of Fort Worth, and Tarrant County, such as Haltom City, have serious, unaddressed flooding issues. Deadly flooding issues.

“To be in a Texas city in a waterfront community in a landlocked area is a very, very unique opportunity,” Granger said. “So we’re working very hard to capitalize on it, because that’s something very special.”

Waterfront community? In a landlocked area is a unique opportunity? The water in this currently imaginary waterfront community comes from the Trinity River. The polluted Trinity River, where frequently the pollution reaches levels deemed unsafe for humans.

As for "very, very". Has no one mentioned to J.D. Granger the famous quote from Mark Twain regarding what apparently is one of J.D.'s very favorite words?

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very'; your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be."...

Visit Fort Worth's Infamous Graveyard Of Broken Promises

UPDATE: Ridiculously Bizarre DFW NBC TRV Bridge Boondoggle Propaganda

Way back in early July, after receiving photo documentation from Captain  Andy, and after reading a bizarre article in the Fort Worth Business Press, I blogged J.D. Granger Spews Trumpish Bridge Propaganda Exposed By Captain Andy.

In that blogging we learned about the absurd means by which J.D. Granger claimed he and his minions had assembled a scale model of one of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision's bridge V-piers, which Granger then claimed was dissected to prove to Doubting Thomases that the design of the forlorn bridges was workable.

And that construction could resume on the long stalled bridge building project, the construction of which began years ago, with a then astonishingly long project timeline which way back then had the bridges completed by 2018.

And now we are past the middle of 2017 and the non-existent bridges of what has become  known far and wide as America's Biggest Boondoggle are still in stall mode. We learned this yesterday from Captain Andy, who messaged the following report, which Captain Andy indicated, in his opinion, was not worthy of a Bridge Boondoggle Update. I thought otherwise, hence what you are reading now.

Below is what Captain Andy had to say about J.D. Granger's still stalled bridge construction....

Still nothing. Someone posted that they finally poured a pier. I drove by this afternoon and no v-pier has been poured. The site looks abandoned and with all the rain, the weeds are slowly reclaiming the site as the rebar begins to show signs of rusting. Not worthy of a new bridge update imo, but just wanted you to know, whatever column they may have finally poured, it wasn't one that mattered. When this debacle finally ends,  I'm wondering if we will find out what the heck happened. If I had to guess, I'd say the v-piers are structurally deficient and can't be redesigned. But that's just speculation.

___________________

The reason, in my opinion, making mention of the still stalled bridge construction was a worthy thing to do is the fact that this bizarre reality does not seem to be newsworthy to any of that which passes for news sources in the Fort Worth zone.

America's Biggest Boondoggle is headquartered on the ground floor of the Star-Telegram building. Is that what prevents that sad excuse for a newspaper from acting like one regarding what one would think a legit newspaper would consider to be an issue of great public interest, the facts about which the public has a right to know?

Even though the public has never been allowed to vote on this public works project which has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Why has the town's "independent" news source, Fort Worth Weekly, not done some investigative journalism looking into Fort Worth's notorious bridge mess?

Regarding the apparent engineering problem with the Boondoggle's bridges, just look at that V-pier form in the photo above. Imagine that form filled with concrete. And then the supports removed. What happens then. A quick crash to the ground? How were/are these V-piers supposed to support themselves?

Fort Worth's Graveyard of Broken Promises, that being the location of multiple rusting rotting V-pier forms, has become Fort Worth's top tourist attraction, with visitors having little interest in the nondescript downtown, instead asking how to get to the location of the million dollar Homage to a Trash Can and Ground Zero of America's Biggest Boondoggle.

Fort Worth has long sought something to make the town "special" to the rest of America and the world.

Being the location of the world's biggest experiment in urban gas fracking did not do the trick.

But being the location of America's Biggest Boondoggle with its bridges stuck trying to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, seems to have given Fort Worth a tourist attraction the likes of which the town has not had  previously.

Add to that the spectacle tourists get to witness when throngs of Fort Worth natives float the polluted Trinity River on inner tubes, listening to music coming from an imaginary pavilion on an imaginary island.

What is the actual problem with the stalled construction of these simple little bridges? Does anyone know?

UPDATE: Ridiculously Bizarre DFW NBC TRV Bridge Boondoggle Propaganda

Long Ago Wheels Rolling In Burlington's Berry Dairy Days Parade

Of late I have had reason to look through my collection of photos. Doing so I have come upon a few from long ago, photo documenting moments which I had long forgotten had been committed to the photo documentation process.

Such as the three photos you see here.

In the first photo that would be me, with my bike crepe papered red and white.

I have absolutely no memory of this. I assume my bike was dressed up in this manner because I was rolling my wheels in Burlington's Berry Dairy Days Parade.

My dad, with mom's help, built many parade floats in our Burlington garage. Most of the floats only floated in the Burlington parade. But, one of the years, after we won the Best Float Award we hauled that float east a few miles, to Sedro-Woolley, to float in the Loggerodeo Parade.

I do not believe that prize winning float was either of the two you see below.

Above we are in front of our Burlington house, getting ready to parade. That is sister Clancy Nancy sitting on a throne looking very regal while my little brother, Jake, and I get ready to pull her past the throngs of parade watchers.

When I saw the below photo, before I installed my reading glasses, I thought I was seeing a new sibling was on the float.

But, I think that is an actual doll in the little berry, not my little sister, Jackie. I think this was the float which got us on the cover of Darigold's company magazine, due, I think, to the float displaying Darigold products hanging from tree branches behind the two big berries.

My little sister, Jackie, was the centerpiece of the most complicated, biggest parade float my mom and dad ever made. I believe that float was the last one ever built.

I can find no photo documentation of that most complicated, biggest parade float, so word pictures will have to suffice.

On a big square base, with a large square cut out of the center, my dad built a giant frame on which crepe paper turned the frame into a strawberry.  Atop the strawberry there was a seat. And on that seat my, at the time, littlest sister, Jackie, sat, attired like a Berry Dairy Princess.

A door in the strawberry gave dad access to the interior. Dad was the giant strawberry's motor. Dad had built a steering mechanism to help guide the giant berry.

People were easier to amaze,  long ago,  which had parade watchers puzzled as to what was moving that giant strawberry.

And then about a third of the way along the parade route there are railroad tracks crossing Fairhaven Avenue. Those railroad tracks proved problematic, bringing float movement to a halt.

My non-floating siblings, and mom and I, had been walking along the parade route, following dad and Jackie, but from the sidewalk. When the giant strawberry got stuck, after a minute or so, at least it seemed that long, or longer, some parade watchers realized dad needed some help, and so they boosted the giant berry over the railroad tracks.  I remember loud clapping and cheering as dad resumed rolling that giant berry down Fairhaven, with Princess Jackie, waving to the crowd.

I do not remember if we won an award that year.

I know photos of that giant berry with Jackie on top exist, but I do not know where....

Meanwhile In Fort Worth & Other Locations Dominated By Dimwits

I saw that which you see here, yesterday, via the Seattle Times.

45 new restaurant openings in Seattle.

Will the economic devastation from that $15 minimum wage ever cease?

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth and other locations dominated by dimwits...

Oh, why bother.

So, next week I am going to be seeing Seattle and much of the Western Washington Pacific Northwest zone in person for the first time in almost a decade.

I will get to eye witness, up close, the horrific results of an area of America dominated by well educated liberal progressives, as contrasted with what I see in less well educated conservative, non-progressive areas of Texas, such as Fort Worth, where little happens, slowly.

Such as attempting, for years, to build little bridges over dry land connecting nothing to nothing over nothing. Or decrepit parks allowed to fester in utter decrepitude year after year after year, such as Fort Worth's embarrassing boarded up celebration of the town's apparently limited heritage, Heritage Park.

I will be staying for a few days in Tacoma, a town where the streets have sidewalks, on both sides of the street, with a landscaped barrier, in most locations, between street and sidewalk.

What a concept. Sidewalks. Probably something those damn liberal progressives came up with, deranged mental midgets that they be.

One can only wonder how much more their economy would be booming if Seattle, and Western Washington, had not raised the minimum wage to such an economy stifling level...

David, Theo & Ruby Coronado Beach Combing For Soon To Be Favorite Uncle

Sometime around five o'clock in the afternoon, a week from today, for the first time ever, if all goes according to plan, I should be meeting the trio you see here for the first time.

From the left, in more ways than one, Theo, Ruby and David.

It has been a long time since I have had the fun of being an uncle to ones so young.

And this will be the first time I have ever gotten to be an uncle to a niece.

I am eagerly anticipating doing some heavy duty uncle time.

The picture you are looking at here is from a week or so ago, in San Diego. Judging from what I see in the background, Theo, Ruby and David are where some like it hot, Coronado Beach.  I make that judgment due to seeing a famous beach front hotel in the background which Marilyn Monroe used to like to play in.

Starting August 11 David, Theo, Ruby and I will be at another beach, though this one is not quite as famous as Coronado Beach, Birch Bay, way north, by Canada, not Mexico.

I highly doubt Marilyn Monroe ever played on the Birch Bay beach. However, I am fairly certain Bing Crosby and Loretta Lynn may have.

I was surprised to learn last night that I likely will not be seeing Spencer Jack or his uncle Joey when I am up in Washington this month. Apparently my nephew Joey will be fishing while Spencer Jack will be east of the mountains at Lake Chelan.

In Western Washington one refers to the the eastern half of the state as east of the mountains, due to the east side of the state being east of the barrier which bisects the state, known as the Cascade Mountains.

I also learned yesterday that much of Western Washington will be sweltering with record breaking HEAT this week, possibly going over 100, a degree which never happens on the west side of the mountains.

David, Theo and Ruby are rare Western Washingtonians in that their abode has air-conditioning.

At my current location currently the outdoors is being naturally chilled to a relatively chilly 76. Quite a drop  from the recent 100s. Rain is scheduled to drip, along with some thunder booming.

I am taking off now on a bike ride before the dripping and booming begins...

Rolling Around Mount Wichita Thinking About Heading North To Washington

This final Monday morning of July of the year 2017 I took my bike on a Circle Trail roll to Lake Wichita.

About a third of the way on this morning's bike roll I stopped for a drink on the Lake Wichita floating dock, which is what you are looking at here.

No waves were disturbing the peace of the lake, so there was no rocking and rolling whilst stationary on the dock.

The goal of this morning's roll, from the dock onward, was to head across the dam, exiting at the north end, then taking the unpaved, crushed rock trail to the north end of Lake Wichita Park, then continuing south on the continuing unpaved, crushed rock trail til eventually reaching the west side of Mount Wichita, that volcano like dome you see above, on the opposite side of the lake.

By the time I returned to my abode my bike's odometer indicated I rolled a little over 12 miles this morning.

A week from tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, I will find myself in one of the mountain bike meccas of the world, the Pacific Northwest.

I wish I was able to take my bike with me. My nephew Theo has become a mountain biker. And his town, Tacoma, has a new park with what look to be real good mountain bike trails.

If I remember right, and I usually do, the last nephew I mountain biked with was Theo's cousin, Spencer Jack's uncle Joey, at some point in time late in the previous century.

I should be seeing both Spencer Jack and his uncle Joey the Saturday following my Washington Tuesday arrival, about 100 miles north of Seattle, in Lynden, about four miles south of the Canadian border.

I do not think I have been to Canada since shortly before I moved to Texas, when Spencer Jack's dad, Jason, took me north to ride the Skytrain to downtown Vancouver, and beyond.

I understand it is not as easy to cross the border as it was when I lived in Washington in the previous century.

However, as far as I know, no wall has yet been built to separate the two countries...

This Year's Wichita Falls Watermelon Festival Lacked Something

This last Saturday of July the 2017 version  of the Wichita Falls Watermelon Festival took place in downtown Wichita Falls at the Farmers Market.

I greatly enjoyed last year's Watermelon Festival, particularly the amusing Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest.

This year I left about the time the first round of watermelon seeds were being readied for spitting.

Last year upon arrival I soon found myself being handed Bell Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. This year I found no ice cream being handed out. I did find a lot of watermelon. Sweet, tasty, perfect watermelon, in copious amounts.

I had myself a lot of watermelon today. As did a lot of other festival goers.

The crowd seemed larger than last year. A lot larger.

A large supply of watermelon and watermelon suppliers were seen in various Watermelon Festival locations in the Farmers Market zone.

And inside the Farmers Market building, as one joined the milling throng, one came upon various tasty samples of watermelon iterations, such as the cubed version you see below, with a tasty jalapeno salsa kick installed.

But.

Last year the Watermelon Festival seemed much more festive,  much more lively, much noisier.

Last year a band provided background sound, which added to the festive atmosphere.

This year the Watermelon Festival seemed quiet.

Extremely quiet.

Last year an excellent sound system was used to inform the festival goers about what they could be doing, or expecting. Such as registering for the Seed Spitting Contest. This year there was no sound system.

When the time came for the Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest many of the festival goers had no idea this was happening. People leaving the festival was quite noticeable,  even as the Seed Spitting Contest officiators were trying to get the seeds into spitting mode.

Above you see the first group of Watermelon Seed Spitters, waiting. The young group goes first. Last year this seemed well organized. And last year the emcee was amusingly talented. This year there was no emcee, no sound system, nothing that let the few remaining festival goers know what was happening.

I left soon after the above picture was taken, with the kids seeming to grow impatient, with no one seeming to know what to do.

What happened to the well run machine which ran last year's well run Wichita  Falls Watermelon Festival?

Sad.

But, the watermelon was good....

Euless Doctor Visit Leads To Arlington's Vietnam Town's One Pillar Pagoda At Ben Thanh Plaza

Today was the day of my regularly scheduled return to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex mess.

The drive was pretty much uneventful both going and coming back. The I-35W re-build seems to be less annoying with each passing month.

After a short stop at a doctor's office in Euless I headed south with Arlington's Vietnam Town as my destination. I usually refer to this district as Arlington's Chinatown, but today I realized referring to this district as Arlington's Vietnam Town is more accurate, since the Vietnamese influence seems to be dominant, with other Asian entities also in the mix, entities such as Japan, Korea, Thailand, India, and, of course, China, along with others.

Earlier in this century my main to go place in what I then called Chinatown was an Asian grocery store near the intersection of New York Avenue and Pioneer Parkway. But, around the time of the Great Recession that main go to Asian grocery store went out of business.

A few years later the Saigon Cho Market came into existence, a short distance on Pioneer to the west.

So, today when I left that doctor's office in Euless I decided to head south to Arlington via 360, avoiding heading south on Collins or Cooper Street, with those street's extreme traffic woes and possible closures due to Arlington being the biggest town in America which can come to a standstill, vehicle movement-wise, when a train rolls through town.

Taking 360 to get to Pioneer Parkway had me driving by the location of that Asian grocery store which had closed during the Great Recession. As I drove by I was pleased to see that that Asian grocery store has risen  from the dead, and is back way better and bigger than before.

This multi-store, multi-building complex is now called Ben Thanh Plaza. This is a Vietnamese themed plaza, with Vietnamese flourishes spread throughout, including the parking lot.

Above you see the homage to the One Pillar Pagoda in front of the main entry to Ben Thanh Plaza.

The One Pillar Pagoda  has an informational plaque explaining the significance of the Pagoda. That information in its entirety....

This One Pillar Pagoda is one  of the most distinctive and unique architecture designs in Ben Thanh Plaza. It is a replica  of a historic iconic Temple in North Vietnam and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in VIETNAM. The original Pagoda was built by the Emperor Ly Thai Tong (1028 - 1054) in  1049, with a unique architectural design by erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond and is visualized as a blooming lotus. In 2012 One Pillar Pagoda has been recognized by the Asian Records Organization as having the more unique architecture in  Asia.

There is a lot of information available about the One Pillar Pagoda when one Google searches, including a Wikipedia article about One Pillar Pagoda.

When I snapped the photo you see above a semi-elderly man caught my attention to ask if I wanted him to take a picture of me and the Pagoda. I said no thank you. He then asked me if I would take a picture of him in front of the One Pillar Pagoda. After doing so I asked if he was Vietnamese, even though I already knew he was. He proceeded to tell me about the Pagoda and about the layout of Ben Thanh Plaza and how it symbolically represents North Vietnam, with the nod to Hanoi at the north end, and South Vietnam and Saigaon (also known as Ho Chi Minh City) at the south end.

When we finished chatting I was surprised to suddenly find my hand being vigorously shook with the Vietnamese man thanking me for being so kind.

I then walked through the main entry into the interior of Ben Thanh Plaza.

I was more than a little surprised to find that what used to be one giant store had been transformed into what seemed to be a mall. Inside the mall I came to that which you see above, the entry to Ben Thanh Central Market.

Ben Thanh Central Market is HUGE. Inside to the left I saw a big sign indicating "Farmers Market" To the right another big sign, this one indicating "Meat Market". The Farmers Market was the location of produce. You can  probably guess what was to be found in the Meat  Market.

At the back of the store is what looked to me to be a futuristic fish market. I should have taken a picture. It was all glassed in, with entry made via various doors allowing access the tanks of live seafood.

All in all I had myself a mighty fine time today in the D/FW zone. I think I will add returning to Arlington's Vietnam Town a regular part of my monthly visit...

Army Engineer Corps Gives Okay To Lake Wichita Revitalization Project

At six o'clock the last Tuesday evening of July I found myself atop Lake Wichita Dam listening to people speechify, including the esteemed mayor of Wichita Falls.

What the mayor had to tell the assembled listeners was that he held in his hands the approval document from the Army Corps of Engineers authorizing the Lake Wichita Revitalization Project.

I somehow thought this approval had long been given, but, perhaps, I mis-read, or mis-remembered the news regarding this issue.

From what I have seen of the plans to revitalize Lake Wichita it seems to me to be an excellent, well thought out, doable plan, which if turned into a reality will be a HUGE asset to Wichita Falls.

If you go to the website supporting this revitalization you will get the idea this revitalization is underway at this point in time. I'm guessing optimistic sorts thought the revitalizing would be doable and underway by now.

And then there is that vexing raising the funds to pay for the project problem.

Since I have been in Wichita Falls I have seen car washes raising money for the Lake Wichita Revitalization Project.  I have seen other charitable acts raising funds. A lot of locals seems to think revitalizing Lake Wichita is a good idea.

At tonight's ceremony multiple entities presented large checks, as in both the amount and the physical size of the checks.

While the speechifying was going on Mount Wichita hovered in the distance. When will Mount Wichita actually see the lake the mountain overlooks getting revitalized?

More than once since I have been in Texas I have been  perplexed as to how public works projects get funded, particularly extremely viable, extremely valuable public works projects such as the Lake  Wichita Revitalization Project.

An enhanced  Lake Wichita will be a HUGE improvement to Wichita Falls, an enhancement of the community the value of which would seem to far exceed the cost of the project.

So, why is it a viable public works project, such as the Lake Wichita Revitalization Project is not put to a public vote where the public approves a bond issue to fund the project, thus enabling the project to come to fruition, and benefit the community, in a timely fashion?

Without relying on car washes, brick sales and charitable donations?

Extremely perplexing...