An Unforgettable Moonlit Swim In Washington

A few days ago one of my favorite friends from way back in high school got into our senior annuals. She thought what I wrote in her annual was amusing, due to me making a rather bizarre spelling error. I was mortified when I saw it.

I then dug out my ancient annual to see what the spell checker, I'll call Miss B, wrote in my annual.

Well, the only thing that caught my interest was a line that said "I won't forget Bay View in the moonlite!"

I had no memory of anything unforgettable about Bay View in the moonlight. So, I asked a mutual friend, also one of my favorites, if she could remember what Miss B was talking about. Well, this third party, who I will call Miss C, did remember what was memorable about Bay View in the moonlight.

Before I queried Miss C, I had replied to Miss B's message and asked her what the moonlight at Bay View, never to be forgotten memory was. She did not get back to me on that, but instead called Miss C and asked her if she remembered. Then Miss B got back to me, as appalled as I am, that neither of us remember Bay View in the moonlight. It is interesting that Miss C was both our go to sources to solve this puzzle. Apparently we both realize that Miss C's memory function has not deteriorated as much as ours.

Miss C has told us that the 3 of us were at Bay View on a moonlit night. To non-Washingtonians, let me explain, Bay View is a state park on Padilla Bay in Puget Sound. It is a shallow bay, so when the day is warm and the tide is low, the incoming water gets quite warm. Which it was the night of the memorable moonlight at Bay View that Miss B and me have totally forgotten.

So, with the water being enticing and us kids without proper swimwear, according to Miss C, we decided to go swimming in our underwear. Like Miss B said, wouldn't you think we'd remember this? Now, I was a boxer wearer at the time, so this would have been no big deal. But those girls getting down to their skivvies under the moonlight? If that happened, I'm thinking I would remember it.

I've suggested, to Miss C, that maybe she is remembering an incident at Baker Hot Springs. Although I don't clearly remember going there with Miss B & Miss C. Baker Hot Springs is a clothing optional type place, but at our tender, young ages, and being sweet, innocent kids, I don't think that would have been an option. But, I could see where hot springing in undies might have happened. I never had the full Baker Hot Springs experience til a year or two after high school.

Anyway, that's what's been perplexing and vexing me today. Being unable to remember a moonlit night at Bay View. Yet one more sign that I'm getting old and quickly losing cerebral function. Be kind to the elderly.

Below is a really short YouTube video I made last summer while up at Bay View to meet my grand little nephew for the first time. Apparently I did not put this video on this blog, but did put it on the Blue & Max Blog, those being the pair of cute little poodles you'll see in the video. You'll also get a good look at Padilla Bay and the location of the moonlit undie dip at Bay View.

Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned & Only Child Syndrome

I think I may be dealing with a mild case of Hell Hath No Fury Syndrome. I hate it when that happens.

And, speaking of syndromes, in the past year I've blogged several times about Only Child Syndrome. I think the OCS Bloggings get more comments than anything else I blog about. My Bloggings about Only Child Syndrome Google in the #1 or 2 position, which causes some to think I'm the world's go to guy for info about OCS. Or to deny the syndrome exists.

This morning I got the best Only Child Syndrome comment yet. As so many of my interesting comments are, this one is from the ubiquitous Anonymous, he/she being my most frequent commenter. The OCS deniers are almost universally quite angry, sanctimonious and self-righteous. I suspect the OCS deniers are Only Children cluelessly exhibiting the syndrome.

Below is the comment from Anonymous....

One thing I can add is that only children tend to be HUGE users of Facebook. I know one only child (a woman in her 40s) whose Facebook page is an avalanche of narcissism and an endless celebration of her specialness and awesomeness. And of course, Facebook allows her to make a big, big deal about her birthday. I don't display my birthdate on my FB page, and she acts like I'm some kind of sociopath because I don't want my birthday celebrated.

This same only child is also notorious for her weirdly manipulative gift-giving. She loves to give people odd, random gifts and then stands there, waiting eagerly for a flood of gratitude. Talking to her is agonizing because she constantly tries to one-up everything you say. And she takes EVERYTHING personally -- if the earth crashed into the sun, she'd think it had something to do with her.

Another only-child friend has a huge birthday party every year, and gets really angry if anyone skips it. At the last party, when she realized someone wasn't there, she flew into a rage and grabbed the phone, intending to call the party-skipper and chew her out. Everyone was squirming with embarrassment. This, incidentally, is a woman in her 50s.

What amuses me the most is that the most fervent debunkers of only child syndrome are the only children themselves. "I'm an only child, and I turned out GREAT! I'm beautiful, and brilliant, and awesome, and ... hey, where are you going? I haven't finished telling you about me!"

A Muddy Muggy Texas Day

A lot of rain fell here last night before midnight. By morning the pool was almost overflowing. And significantly cooler, which was a good thing.

Speaking of the weather, and really, I have nothing else to talk about, I'm hearing from people up in the Puget Sound zone of Washington State, being in Full Weather Baby Mode because it is in the 80s. In their defense, most people on the west side of the Cascades do not have air conditioning.

I think I've mentioned it before, but last summer I shivered a long wintery month in Tacoma. It never got higher than the very low 80s the entire month.

When I first arrived I was put into what I called the Arctic, due to it being in the basement and very very cold. After a week of never finding enough blankets to stay warm I petitioned to be moved to the house's upper loft/bedroom, deemed unlivable by the house's occupants, due to their belief that it was too hot, so much so that they did a rare in Western Washington thing by installing 2 window air conditioning units. And even with the air conditioning they still thought it was too hot.

So, I moved into what I called the Tropics. My sister would come up into the Tropics to lecture me about one thing or the other and quickly retreat due what she thought was stifling heat. I do not believe they believed me when I explained that the Tropics was cooler than I keep my place in Texas.

Like I was saying, it rained a lot in the past 24 hours. Today has been dry, so I was able to get to Oakland Lake Park around noon, unlike yesterday's rain aborted attempt. Signs of the deluge were all over, like the mudslide blocking the sidewalk, that you see in the picture.

I think last night's rain and flash flood danger must have totally exhausted Haltom City's #1 Creek Watcher because she has been sending me goofy emails today about our mutual birthdays and my voice and other things I can't repeat.

Remembering A Tacoma Pal

That is a dog named Pal and a mountain named Rainier you're seeing in the picture. The picture was taken in April of 2006. I was in Tacoma taking care of Pal, a talking parrot Hurky, which was way too good at mimicking, and 2 cats, one of whom savagely attacked me, opening up a big gash on my face that left me scarred forever.

That beach that Pal is on is part of Point Defiance Park. That's an enormous city park in Tacoma. I believe the only bigger city park in America is Central Park in New York City.

I first learned that it was fun to take Pal on walks when I stayed in his apartment building for a month in August of 2004. You could not accidentally say the word "walk" within Pal's hearing range, because as soon as he heard the magic word he'd get all excited and go stand by his leash, waiting for it to get attached to him. At that point I'd feel obligated to take Pal on a walk.

I last saw Pal last summer. He'd gotten old. I don't think he went on walks anymore. His humans abandoned Pal one weekend last summer, which made it my duty to lock him up overnight in the garage. This was not as easy as it sounds.

So, last night I learned that Pal has succumbed to the ailments of old age. I'm not a huge dog fan. But Pal was one fun dog. Cute too. My sister in Tacoma also has a pair of cute, fun dogs who like to go on walks, Blue and Max. They are little poodles. Blue and Max are a bit more high maintenance to take on walks than Pal was.

Below is a YouTube video from last summer, going on a walk with Blue and Max at the same Point Defiance beach with the same mountain in the background as the picture above of Pal.

Lightning Damage, Downpours & Flash Flooding In Texas

I got up late after an unusually late night of firefighting. So, I skipped swimming this morning. Around noon I felt the need to escape here by going to Oakland Lake Park.

But the Oakland Lake Park Plan was quickly aborted when the sky decided to go into heavy downpour mode. I'd had enough of getting totally soaked last night and was not in the mood for more of that today.

So, I drove to the scene of last night's lightning strike. That is the wet view, through my windshield and the downpour, of the lightning damage. I was surprised that there was nothing temporarily covering the open roof. I don't know what the people on the lower two floors are doing with all that rain coming in. They seemed quite traumatized last night.

I hear rumbling in the distance. I hope the Haltom City creeks are not rising into flash flood mode.

Wind Chimes Chiming In Texas

I get comments to this blog, over and over again, that sort of scare me by making it real clear that there are a lot of really dumb people out there, yet not so dumb that they can't operate a computer and type on a keyboard. It's very perplexing to me.

A long time ago I blogged about my dislike of wind chimes and the fact that many municipalities tightly regulate the peace and quiet disturbers.

I really don't get what is so hard to understand about the concept that a person should not be making noises that penetrates another person's living space. But, apparently, that common sense good manners concept is lost on some people, as evidenced by the wind chime comment I got yesterday from the ubiquitous Anonymous.

Here is what Anonymous had to say....

Pathetic!! If people want windchimes, they are perfectly entitled to windchimes!! They are not illegal otherwise they would not be able to sell them in the first place! If you want complete peace and quiet, go live in the middle of nowhere with no1 around! Honestly, do people have nothing better to worry about... very sad lives they must lead!!

Seems to me that Anonymous is living him/herself one very sad life. Reading blogs and making idiotic anonymous comments? That really is sort of pathetic.

The below YouTube video is a good example of wind chimes being annoying...

Lightning Fires Burn Up My Night In Fort Worth

Well. I have had myself a wild Sunday night. Sometime around 6 a thunderstorm started up. Soon thereafter, Miss Puerto Rico called me and told me that the lightning was putting on a real good show. She has a great view from her balcony.

So, I told Miss PR I'd be right over.

When I drove onto Miss PR's property I found myself following firetrucks. And then I found myself waved off from driving further. So, I parked and walked in. The smell of smoke was heavy in the air, even with the heavy rain.

I was soon face to face with a building on fire. I saw Miss PR. Walked over to her. She was in full panic mode. Miss PR manages these buildings. It was a lightning strike that started the fire. Talking to a couple who lived on the ground floor of the 3 story building, I was surprised at their account of how the lightning flashed through their apartment, zapping out of fixtures, popping out lights.

This is the 2nd time I have seen the Fort Worth Fire Department in action. I have not a single word of criticism that I would direct towards them. Unlike the Fort Worth Police. Ironically, a fellow watcher, he being a resident of the ground floor apartment below the one on fire, echoed my sentiment regarding the Fort Worth Gestapo. He had had some run-ins with the FW Gestapo. And he was being impressed with the FW Firemen.

The fire kept re-starting. At one point a huge pulse of water shot through the roof, blasting us on the ground with water and debris. And still the fire did not die.

I did not get a good picture of the flames when they were being their most flameworthy. It got a bit chaotic at times and there were rain issues.

As you can see, the smoke and rain made for diminished visibility. As darkness turned out the lights, the firetrucks retreated, the apartment dwellers were directed to temporary dwellings. It seemed to me like a situation that could have had a much worse outcome, had a good outcome. The Fort Worth Firemen were on the scene incredibly fast. I was impressed. Now, if they could only teach the Fort Worth Police to Protect and Serve with equal high quality, well, Fort Worth might see itself taking one small step forward.

Dangling Shoes, Possums, Catfish Killing Watersnakes & A Queenly Mystery Stalker In Texas

On the way to Village Creek Natural Historic Area I saw a pair of shoes dangling from a wire, way up high. How did they get there? Why did they get there? Very perplexing.

There were a lot of people at Village Creek today. When I pulled into the parking lot I saw a guy releasing a small possum. I have seen a lot of possums released at this park over the years. Makes me think a lot more have been let go than the ones I've managed to see. Possums are kind of cute. Sort of like armadillos without a shell.

There were a couple guys acting a bit odd by the first dam/bridge creek crossing. I asked what they were looking at. I was told they had been watching a watersnake catch a catfish. I saw nothing. Later I came upon them again at the other dam/bridge creek crossing. Due to the drought Village Creek is not running much water. One of the guys climbed into one of the culverts through which the creek flows under the dam/bridge. The other guy was at the other end of the culvert. I asked what they were looking at now. I was told a big turtle had gone into the culvert.

The location of the big turtle is where I had my one and only combo encounter with a water moccasin and a garfish. No way would I go in one of those culverts.

My day started off fine with the usual morning swim, then I dealt with the Dallas Farmers Market for a bit.

By mid-morning I had heard from my snitches, telling me that the Queen of Wink had blogged about me again. I find this terribly unsettling. I can not read her blog due to the Wink Queen used her extremely highly evolved computer skills to somehow cause my browser to freeze up if I try to look at her blog. Apparently, once she successfully blocked me, she began blogging about me. Like I said, very unsettling.

Apparently the Queen of Wink believes me to be a big mystery that she has been unable to solve, despite diligent effort. And so she says she is coming to Fort Worth, next month, to solve the mystery. Forewarned, I have tightened security and am employing defensive measures that should allow me to keep my privacy unbreeched. I hope.

Scorched Prairie, Dodging Gestapo Agents & Being Depressed In Texas

The scorched prairie at the Tandy Hills Natural Area covers a larger area than I expected to see burned. In the photo you are looking at the remains of 2 prickly pear cactus patches surrounded by blackened ground.

It is going to be interesting to watch the burned area come back to life. A fire like this returns the prairie to its natural state, getting rid of the predators, like Mesquite trees. It would be a good thing if a way could be found to safely burn the rest of the Natural Area.

We were predicted to hit 101 today. But, coming up on half past 3 we are still chilling at 99. I was in the pool early this morning. The water still retained a pleasant chill. That won't last long if we get a string of 100 degree plus days.

I parked at my new Tandy Hills hiking launch spot at the top of Tandy Mountain, off the streets guarded by the Fort Worth Gestapo. I figure this new parking location saves me about a mile. 20 trips to go hiking the Tandy Hills and that saved mile will amount to a gallon of gas saved. I am all about being conservative.

The Queen of Wink has got me thinking about all I miss about living in the Pacific Northwest. The abundance of fresh produce, seafood, flowers growing everywhere, the smell of evergreen trees perfuming the air. You don't notice that constant Christmas tree smell til you move away for a few years and then return.

By July most of the hiking trails in the Cascades are free of snow and open. I can not remember the last time I hiked up an actual mountain. That's depressing to think about. So, I'll stop thinking about it now. And switch to plotting moving back to the Northwest. I sort of miss living in a participatory democracy where freedom reigns supreme.

A Non-Texan Kooky Washington Cop Story

I got email from Erik M. of Fort Worth this morning. This is what Erik had to say...

Durango,

I came across this article and thought it might make your day, sounds familiar. Looks like Washington also has Gestapo police, I wonder if they are as bad as in Texas?

Erik M.

Ft Worth

When I clicked the link and started reading the article, I thought it was an incident that took place in my old home state of Washington. The highway names were not computing with me. Then I realized that this incident took place in the other Washington, that being the one with D.C. as part of its name.

In the Washington D.C. Gestapo incident a guy was driving what he thought was the speed limit, well, actually 3 miles over what he thought was the speed limit of 55. Then a D.C. cop pulled him over, right in front of a sign that increased the speed limit to 65. The cop ticketed the victim for going too slow. An $80 ticket for going 58 mph where the speed limit is 65 mph.

I do not know if President Obama has commented on this latest example of Gestapo stupidity.

Maybe there should be some sort of Universal Common Sense test that cops must pass before they are allowed to join the force. I wonder how much all this over policing, over regulating costs the economy? It's perplexing.