Good Government: Fort Worth Style

The Mayor of Fort Worth is an oil man named Mike Moncrief. Fort Worth sits on top of this stuff called Barnett Shale. Barnett Shale can be turned into natural gas. There are several natural gas drillers drilling holes in Fort Worth. It is very controversial. But some people make a lot of money from the hole poking, so all is good.

The Mayor of Fort Worth owns an interest in several of the natural gas drillers. Yet, unlike in other jurisdictions in the democracy known as America, in Fort Worth an elected official is allowed to influence issues in which he might have what is known as a vested interest. In other words, in Fort Worth you can stand to profit from voting a certain way, thus possibly skewing the principle known as fairness, and no one calls foul.

Well, no one who matters calls foul. I'm a Yankee and my opinion does not count.

Currently the most notorious of the natural gas drillers, an enterprise called Chesapeake Energy, owned by the corrupt thief, Aubrey McClendon, who stole the Sonics from Seattle and moved them to Oklahoma City, wants to poke 7 more holes in Fort Worth ground so they can extract natural gas from a resting ground known as the Greenwood Cemetery.

The neighborhood surrounding Greenwood Cemetery is split on the drilling issue. So, there was a well attended city council meeting this past Tuesday to discuss and allow citizen input regarding Chesapeake's request for a waiver so they can go to work under a cemetery.

There were 2 letters to the editor in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that being the paper I no longer pay for, but glance at online, mostly to make sure I don't miss anything in Fort Worth that is causing waves of green envy outbreaks in the rest of the nation.

The first letter was title "Good Government." The second letter was titled "Bad Government." I suspect a paid shill working for Fort Worth's Ruling Junta wrote the Good Government letter.

Below are the 2 letters....

Good Government

I took great pride in seeing democracy in action Tuesday night at the City Council. Our mayor and council, but especially Mayor Mike Moncrief, were magnificent.

They spent almost three hours discussing granting a waiver for a permit for Chesapeake Energy to drill seven gas wells in the area of Greenwood Cemetery and Rockwood Park. The wells would be in the Greenwood Cemetery area and would benefit the cemetery, the Crestwood neighborhood and Rockwood Park.

The council ultimately approved drilling with certain stipulations, but how they reached that conclusion was most impressive.

This action had been approved by the Parks and Community Services Advisory Board and addressed twice before by the council. Every council member had toured the site.

Tuesday, the council sat through almost two hours of resident comments along with a presentation by Chesapeake Energy.

Every resident who wanted to speak was allowed to speak.

Prior to the presentations, Moncrief explained the “house rules” that everyone had to be respectful and not make personal attacks.

Three times he cautioned speakers that they were about to cross that line. Moncrief was definitely in control, respectful of everyone, kept it moving and injected lots of humor.

One person said he lived close enough to Rockwood Park Drive that he could spit on it from his house. Moncrief jokingly asked him just how far he could spit.

The council, especially Councilman Carter Burdette, spent a tremendous amount of time and effort evaluating alternatives and trying to determine the best course of action. We should all be proud of our mayor and council for such outstanding service to our city.

— Glen Estes, Fort Worth

Bad Government

As a longtime resident of Fort Worth, I regret to admit that I have never attended a City Council meeting until Tuesday night and I must say that I was very disappointed.

One item on the agenda was regarding gas drilling in residential neighborhoods and there were many people in attendance. They were cautioned to be respectful of everyone — a very valid request.

I did not realize that this request meant that one could not voice any criticism of any kind, however. Mayor Mike Moncrief corrected those who used a “negative” verb with regard to the gas drillers and then silenced the first person who made a comment that indicated the city was giving the gas-drilling entities free water and that he would like some free water.

We live in America and still have First Amendment rights, but I guess that doesn’t apply to Fort Worth City Council meetings. Could it be the mayor realizes that many of us who live here feel as if the city has sold out to the gas-drilling companies, especially Chesapeake, and is afraid to hear from us?

The mayor and council members were elected to uphold the laws and oversee the good of city residents, not protect the interests of any one corporation or industry.

(By the way, I support drilling in the Barnett Shale, but I want the needs of the community considered first and foremost.)

Moncrief should recognize that the right to free speech is not his to revoke.

— Cheryl Andrews, Fort Worth

Is anyone but me on the Clyde Picht bandwagon? For the enlightenment of you non-Fort Worthers, fascinated as you are by the most fascinating city in America, Clyde Picht is running against Mayor Mike in an election that will quickly be upon us. Clyde Picht is given a ghost's chance in Hell of winning. In Fort Worth you have to have the support of the Ruling Junta and the Good Old Boy Network to become mayor. Most of the people who might benefit from having someone like Clyde Picht be their mayor, don't vote. The majority not voting is what keeps the Ruling Junta in power. It's a pretty sweet system. And it pays pretty well, too.

River Legacy Reptile Encounter & Dallas Cowboy Stadium Name

I had my first encounter of the new year with a large reptile this morning at River Legacy Park. I had to be in Arlington, again, at 10am, so a morning bike ride seemed to be the thing to do.

I saw no Wild Boars today, but I did get startled, coming around a turn, by a large mammal. On the second time around I stopped to talk to the large mammal. She was Blonde. I asked if she'd seen a Boar. She had. A solo one and it was big. She'd only been walking at River Legacy Park for a couple months and she's seen a Big Boar.

I've been biking at River Legacy for years and only learned of the Herd of Boars last week, followed, within days, by seeing the Herd in motion. I asked if the Blonde, Bobbi, had seen a Bobcat. That seemed a logical question after learning her name was Bobbi. Blonde Bobbi said she'd not seen a Bobcat, but she was prepared. She showed me her can of pepper spray. I told her she was safe from the Bobcats, but the pepper spray was a good defensive plan against other predators in the park.

I'm guessing you can guess that my large reptile encounter was with a Turtle. He/She was a cute one in really good shape. Sometimes you see Turtles that look like they've had a rough life. This is the time of year when Turtles and Armadillos wander where they should not be wandering, looking for love in all the wrong places, often ending up as roadkill. Which in these troubled times could provide a struggling family's protein needs for the week.

On initial encounter, today's Turtle retreated into its shell, but quickly got over its shyness and posed politely for closeups.

I did the mountain bike trail loop 3 times. That is over 15 miles. The pool had warmed up a lot by this morning, so I comfortably swam for about a half an hour. No need to warm up in the hot tub. The water will be even warmer tomorrow morning, because we are in the 80s again. So, between the swimming and the biking and talking to Turtles, I've had me a day.

Anyway, like I said, I had to be in Arlington again, once more by the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. No one has wanted to fork over the bucks to name the thing. Some have suggested temporarily naming it Salvation Army Stadium, due to Jerry Jones' longtime philanthropic endeavors helping the Salvation Army. I forgot how this scheme benefited the Salvation Army monetarily.

When I saw the new stadium today I was coming at it from the west on side streets. It looks so weird how it so hugely looms over all these little old houses, like something from outer space touching down in a poor American neighborhood. When I came to Collins Street I pulled into a CiCis Pizza parking lot to snap the picture you see here.

Having just had that reptile encounter at River Legacy, I looked at the stadium today and realized what it is that I've never been quite able to identify that it looks like.

Today it was obvious. The building looks like a turtle. I think it should be named Turtle Stadium. That's real catchy.

After driving by Turtle Stadium it was on to Sweet Tomatoes for lunch. Today's most memorable item was an unusual salad of spinach leaves, mint, strawberry, banana, peach, other fruits and a lemony dressing. I didn't think I'd like it, but I went back for seconds.

Illuminating Luminarias in Fort Worth

A few days ago I verbalized my curiousity about a long gone restaurant at the end of Ben Avenue on the western edge of the Tandy Hills, high on a hill, facing downtown Fort Worth.

I eventually learned that the original restaurant was a Mexican place called Luminarias.

I have been unable to find a photo of the original restaurant. But I have found a photo of the view from the restaurant in its Fort Worth Cattle Drive iteration. At least that is what the claim is, but to me the view does not look to be from a high enough perch.

In addition to the photo, I came upon an interesting discussion about the long gone restaurant. I'll copy some excerpts of that discussion....

A guy calling himself "mattaken" asked about a restaurant he remembered from when he was a little kid that his parents told him was a steak house that was expensive.

To which someone calling himself "seurto" replied:
You'll probably get a lot of replies on that question. I believe the last incarnation was The Fort Worth Cattle Co. which was, obviously, a steakhouse. I believe originally it was called Luminaras and had a few changes in between. Considered one of the best views of downtown you had to get to it off Lancaster. It was a cool place and I believe the story goes that the original owners tried to buy out a pig farmer whose land was connected, but he wouldn't sell, so supposedly there was some "ambience" that came with it.

To which "Phil Phillips" said:
Yes, I remember the pig farm. Also, smelled it every time we came into and left downtown in the 60s. The pig farm was between the hotel and the Twin drive-in and was gone by the time the restaurant opened. The restaurant had a great bar on the back with large windows and the downtown view. I was there last in the mid 80s. The lack of access is what killed it.

Which had "chellomy" saying:
I don't remember the pig farm but I do remember both the smell and that the sewage treatment plant back then was in present-day Gateway Park between Beach and Oakland. I always assumed the odor came from down there.

Which had "mattaken" thanking the above for their replies, saying:
It's funny to hear about the pig farm. In this day and age it's hard to imagine something like that being so close to downtown. Does anyone remember how long ago the building was demolished? It looks like the parking lot/foundations are still there.

Then "FWFF'r" answered:
I don't know when it was demo'd. I remember it best when it was a fairly hot night spot called Calamity's.

"John Cirillo" like me, is wanting a photo:
Just to clarify further, the last incarnation was called Fort Worth Cattle Drive Restaurant. The old Cyberrodeo website from 1996, which is still floating around in Google's cache somewhere, listed it as "Steaks, seafood. Elegant." It's funny, there are several restaurant sites on the web that still list this restaurant. Be the first to review it. Does anyone have a photo of this place in any incarnation? It was one of those places I always passed but never thought to snap a shot of.

And then we hear from someone, "Papaw" who ate there:
I don't have pics but had several good meals there. The view was really neat and the food was very good. I had a hell of a time finding the place the first time.

"Buck" then tells us the restaurant was owned by the same company as Baby Doe's in Dallas. Baby Doe's was also difficult get to, was also on a bluff, very visible from the freeway, also with a very good view of downtown and also is out of business.

Then "lonzer" chimes in confirming again the Calamity's incarnation (originally mentioned to me by the Old Man with the Cane, walking in the Tandy Hills):
I do remember it being called Calamity's when it first opened but it went through several different name changes after that. I don't know what it was by the time I moved to Austin but I remember it as Calamity's.

"Mother Earths" mother worked there:
My mother worked there as a cashier when it was called Luminaries. I ate there once or twice and the main thing I remember was that the windows all faced west, giving a great view of downtown. However, the sun was blinding in the afternoon and evening which made me not want to return even though the food was good, in my opinion. I hope whatever is built there next has a little more thought behind the design. I am pushing for an ecovillage to be built on the site.

And "wren" mentions being there during a storm:
Once when my husband and I ate there a huge storm blew up. There was a lot of rain and lightning. I don't remember what I ate, but the storm was awesome to witness. I'll never forget the sight of lightning bolts flashing through the sky and lighting up the skyline. It was a beautiful sight!

"Birdland in Hand" is another person who had trouble getting there:
Location, Location, Location--but hard to locate?!? I remember going there for a special family get-together in the early 70's; in its first incarnation, Luminarias. It was frustrating--so visible from I30 but so puzzling to get to. I remember mom & dad got lost, but, fairly soon got there. (And the view was great!) I think some owners may have invested eventually in a billboard telling people on 30 the route to the restaurant. I suspect that was not enough without a convenient exit and straightforward route; thus all the restaurants failed.

"redhead" also had trouble finding it and provides some interesting details:
We lived in Arlington in the mid-80's and had to go to DTFW for something late one afternoon. We had always talked about eating at Calamity's, and decided just to do it...had a hell of a time finding it, and when we did, there was a fairly long wait. I remember that behind the building, there were paths to multiple fire-pits. So we waited outside with our own private fire-pit, drinking adult beverages until we were called to a table...nice memories...Oh yeah, we had gone to court to get married.

The above all came from a discussion in the online Fort Worth Forum. Now, someone, somewhere must have a photo of Luminarias.

Going To New York, Texas For Some ZipLine Adventures

Last summer I blogged about a fun sounding new adventure out in the East Texas zone called NY TX ZipLine Adventures.

Sky-High Thrills-Texas Style!

Well, when I was up in Tacoma last summer. (I think I've previously mentioned being up there) It was really really cold for an entire month. I was quite miserable.

Anyway, while I was in Tacoma I heard from Connie of ZipLine, thanking me for mentioning them in my blog, telling me that they'd had several visitors come their way, from my blog, after being directed to their website.

Well, I got back to Texas on August 20. I remember that date clearly due to feeling so relieved. But, due to so many things going on all around me, I forgot about ZipLining.

Until today. I once more heard from Connie of ZipLine, reminding me that there are Two Free Zip Tours waiting for me and that I would be glad I came and zipped with them in New York.

So. Who wants to go ZipLining with me? Any volunteers?

Tandy Hills Flowers & the First Snakes of 2009

When I got back here a bit ago I checked email before I checked blogging and there was an email from Michael Moore. I'm pretty sure this is not the Michael Moore of movie-making fame. Mr. Moore emailed to thank me for mentioning the Tandy Hills frequently, saying he appreciated my efforts to make people aware of its beauty and accessibility.

I don't know if it's irony or coincidence, but I was on my way to blogging about today at the Tandy Hills when I read Mr. Moore's email.

When last I blogged about the Tandy Hills I mentioned an exotic yellow flower that had sprung up, pre-spring. Today a tree had bloomed with white blossoms. That's one of the blossoms in in the picture above. It looks like the blossom of a fruit tree, like a cherry tree, but I don't think I've ever seen any fruit in a tree in the Tandy Hills.

Regarding the beautiful, bright, exotic yellow flower that is blooming now on the Tandy Hills, a kind soul informed me that this wildflower is called a dandelion. What an exotic name for an exotic flower. Exotic and edible.

As for the first snakes of 2009. I have never seen a snake while hiking the Tandy Hills. But this afternoon I had to be in Arlington at 2. That was concluded faster than I'd anticipated, so I decided to pedal the River Legacy Park mountain bike trails, hoping to maybe get a picture of the Wild Boar Herd.

I saw no Boars today at River Legacy, but I did see 2 snakes. They were very little. I've no idea what brand of snake they were, but neither rattled and both looked perfectly safe, due to being so little.

Another Killer Bites The Dust In Texas

In what I think was the 2nd Texas Execution this week, yesterday we gave the Lethal Needle to a 38 year old man who, in 1991, shot and killed a 63 year old Houston man named James Adams during a bungled burglary.

The latest execution was reported in the Dallas Morning News on page 4 of the A section in a column of little blurbs under the heading "BRIEFS".

Every time I read of one of these executions I think "and OJ went free". Well, free until he finally did something that got him put behind bars, that being his own botched burglary, that fortunately did not include someone getting murdered.

Sirhan Sirhan, who murdered Bobby Kennedy, is alive in a prison somewhere, I assume in California. Sirhan killed Kennedy and wounded 5 others in the process. It was a political assassination affecting a presidential election. And he still lives.

While I'm not totally against capital punishment, I am not a fan of the way it is so arbitrarily executed. In Texas we seem way too cavalier, and sometimes careless, about who gets the Lethal Needle. We have had innocent people put to death here, exonerated post-humously via DNA evidence. Or improved analysis tools.

As in a couple years ago a man who was executed for setting his house on fire, killing his family, was found to be innocent after Texas killed him. Can you imagine losing your family in a fire, then being falsely accused of setting the fire, then sitting for years on Death Row, waiting for Texas to murder you? And then doing so? Who got the Lethal Needle for that murder?

I think this state should really start erring on the side of caution, rather than err on the side of killing innocent people. And when the Great State of Texas does decide it needs to kill someone, the news of that killing should be on the front page of every newspaper in the state.

Like it is in the other states that execute people.

Horoscopes & Northwest Nuttiness

Unlike Nancy Reagan and Gar the Texan I really don't put a whole lotta stock in Horoscopes, beyond some slight entertainment value. And, unlike those two, I certainly don't arrange my existence around how the stars are aligned.

But, every once in awhile the daily Horoscope for my sign, that being Leo, can be spooky. Then again, just by chance, if you read enough random things, something is going to resonate with ones own reality.

So, my Horoscope for today is, "New information shows who was telling the truth and who was not. Get your informants to keep talking and the entire story comes out."

Okay, for several weeks now I've been getting emails and comments, to this blog, regarding "things" in Tacoma and Seattle. I have not been publishing the comments and haven't known what to make of what these "informants" are telling me. As in, am I reading truth, or not? Nor have I been able to figure out the motivation for ferreting this information to me. Some of the time I think I'm being manipulated by someone using me to get at some one who's ire we share in common. But I'm thinking that's assigning a way too Machiavellian cleverness that just isn't warranted by the nature of the instigating aggravation.

Trouble is, I really have no direct contact with anyone in Tacoma who might shed some light. So, the easiest thing for me is to be both intrigued and to basically ignore the incoming information. Maybe I should quit ignoring and print it all and see if a pot somewhere starts to boil, or fizzles.

It's a perplexing conundrum. Maybe tomorrow's Horoscope will point me in the right direction...

Boars, Boots and Barbed Wire: The LaSalle County Wild Hog Cook-Off & Fair in Cotulla, Texas

Yesterday I blogged about seeing Wild Boars at River Legacy Park. This morning "Fort Worth Guy" sent me a comment telling me about a Wild Hog event in Texas. And that the Wild Boars do make good eating.

I think the event that "Fort Worth Guy" is talking about must be the LaSalle County Wild Hog Cook-Off & Fair, down in Cotulla, Texas. Cotulla is on Interstate 35, about 80 miles south of San Antonio.

It is a short notice, but the Hog Cook-Off takes place very soon, as in the 2nd weekend of this very month, that being March. The same weekend as the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. And just like the Rattlesnake Roundup, the Hog Cook-Off Fair starts Thursday, March 12 and runs through Sunday, March 15th.

The Rattlesnake Roundup is a closer drive for me than the Hog Cook-Off. But, eating pig sounds far more doable than eating snake, so the Wild Hog Cook-Off would be worth the extra miles to me.

According to the Wild Hog Cook-Off website, the cooking gets real wild, with Hog Cookers from near and far matching hog cooking wits with their own special recipes, including showing off their hog cooking showmanship and presentation skills.

There are also cowboys showing off their presentation skills in one of the wildest rodeos in South Texas. The cowboys do their cowboy thing with both wild hogs and cattle.

Looking at the Wild Hog Cook-Off website it appears there is a lot to see and do at this event, including a carnival. One of my favorite things about Texas is how well done small town events like this are, as in, if you have never gone to one, you really should.

The 2009 Wild Hog Cook-Off & Fair theme is so totally Texas...."Boars, Boots and Barbed Wire."

Texas Wild Boars & Texas Wild Boors

A few days ago I'm sure you remember me mentioning mountain biking at River Legacy Park and coming upon a guy who, among a lot of other things, told me that he'd seen a herd, or whatever their grouping name is, of Wild Boars.

I knew there were Wild Boars at the Fort Worth Nature Preserve. I've been biking at River Legacy for years. I've seen plenty of Bobcats, Armadillos, Squirrels and Snakes. But no Wild Boars.

So, today, my very first time back at River Legacy, I'm at the first new section, where I avoid the "Steep Climbs" option and opt out for the "Bypass." I was hearing noises rustling the ground cover, like a lot of really big squirrels. You often hear squirrels.

I stopped pedaling and what do I see? A big group of Wild Boars. They were on the move. I think they heard me coming. I was not quick enough to get a picture, so I Googled for "Texas Wild Boars" and found the picture you see above. I saw no baby boars in the group I saw today, but they looked just like the ones in the picture.

They did not look cute like the Pigs I've seen on a farm. These look sort of like ugly no-neck monsters that moved funny. They reminded me of someone I used to know.

I was curious about the Wild Boars so I Googled for info. Apparently Wild Boars wander all over Texas. While farmers see them as crop damaging Pigs, others see them as all natural free ranging pork. The Texas Wild Boars are thought to be a hybrid mix of Russian Red Boars and Domestic Pigs. Supposedly chefs all over the country are seeking out Wild Boar due to lean, natural, exotic meats being popular with foodies.

Texas Wild Boars are caught and shot all over the state. Some say that the unique environment of Texas brings a unique taste to the pork with the meat being fuller flavored with a sweet nutty taste.

Who knows what garbage those Wild Boars might be eating in Texas, is what I thought. Who knows what causes the "exotic" flavor.

And now on to the Texas "Boor" part of today. So, after seeing the Wild Boars I pedalled on. A couple miles later someone was coming up fast behind me. I let him by. It was the guy I'd never seen before last week, who had told me about the Wild Boars I'd never seen before.

As he passed by he started talking to me and kept talking as I pedalled behind him. I slowed down to let him drone on into the distance. About a quarter mile later he was stopped on the trail, admiring a bit of trail work, which is where I'd seen him the first time. At that time he'd told me all about 2 trail vandals. On and on he went. Today he started in telling me the same stuff, as he very slowly pedalled ahead of me. Unlike the first encounter I provided no feedback. Finally he must have realized I was not listening to him or he realized this was the guy he'd told the same stuff to, a couple days prior.

The trail guy popped a wheelie and sped off at a high speed. When I came to the trailhead I saw he was busy yapping away at some fresh listener. So, that's my tale of Texas Boars and Boors for the day.

World's Biggest Butt: Part III---The Hunt In Texas

Sometime ago I was at my nearby Wal-Mart Super Center. As I took a turn onto a different aisle I found myself looking at the biggest butt I'd ever seen. It was astonishing.

So, I blogged about it. I've mentioned before that I'm amazed at how many people from all over the world are looking for information and pictures of the World's Biggest Butt. Every single day.

Look at my FeedJit stats and you'll see what I mean. Sometimes the number is real high, as if there is a meeting of the Big Butts Fan Club and they are all Googling "world's biggest butt" at the same time.

And for some reason my blog is about #3 on the list.

I have developed a new habit of always having my camera with me. I'm having about a 95% rate of not forgetting it. If I come across that astoundingly big butt at Wal-Mart again, I want to be able to photo-document it for all those world-wide who are looking to see such a phenomenon.

I think I've mentioned before that I find the obesity epidemic to be troubling and perplexing. I don't think enough resources are put into finding out why people do this to themselves. Someone commented on one of my bloggings that it is as if the person has put himself into a jail cell made of their own body.

I like that jail cells analogy. So many overstuffed fat cells that your own body imprisons you. It's like being permanently tethered to 300 pounds, or more, of ball and chain.

One thing I have made note of, and found, well, disgusting, is if you are (un)fortunate enough to spend enough time with an obese person to observe their feeding habits, it quickly becomes clear how they end up being heavier each day than the day before.

It is like there are no brakes on the food shoveling. I've seen an obese person order tartar sauce to dip french fries in, and then lick the tartar sauce container dry. When you watch an obese person, during their feeding period, it's clear one of the problems is caused by how they speed up the amount of food they shove in their mouth. It's like feeding a wood chipper, complete with noisy sounds. The mouth is busy chomping, while the hands are getting ready the next deposit into the food disposal.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to Wal-Mart today, both to buy a couple things. And to do some Big Butt Photo Hunting.