Seeing Birds and Fort Worth Mounted Policewomen

For weeks now I have been seeing Fort Worth Mounted Policewomen patrolling my neighborhood. I did not get a good photo opportunity until today.

Usually it is a solo cop on her steed that I see, a few times it has been a pair of lady mounted cops.

I have no idea what the purpose of doing this is. I see where they park the big horse trailer the horses are hauled in. Keeping horses is expensive. I know this from personal experience. Fort Worth has a lot of budget woes. The city cut back on library hours. Yet can somehow pay for horsebound cops.

I came upon the Mounted Policewoman today at a stoplight on Woodhaven Boulevard. The horse had the right of way. This gave me an opportunity to get out my camera. That is the picture to the right, taken as she slowly ambled down the street.

The cop and the horse presented a bit of a road hazard, walking slowly, basically blocking a lane. I think I mentioned, previously, that in recent times I was stopped by one of the Fort Worth Gestapo, because I was driving too slow in a quiet residential neighborhood and did not have my seatbelt on.

Well, the Fort Worth Mounted Policewoman was moving slow, on a busy street, not a quiet residential neighborhood. The Policewoman was not wearing a seatbelt. Or a helmet. I know a citizen can make a citizen's arrest. Can a citizen give a cop a citizen's ticket?

To take the picture at the top, I'd passed the mounted cop and looped back around her to take that picture, as she took a left, without signaling, nearly having a head-on collision, clearly illustrated in the photo. I was appalled at the disdain for public safety so wantonly on display.

After I was finished with photo documenting this latest Fort Worth police outrageous behavior I continued on my way to Oakland Lake Park to partake in some high humidity hiking. The temperate was a very pleasant low 80s, but this morning's rain had amped up the humidity.

There are a lot of waterfowl on Oakland Lake. Ducks and geese and others alien to me. People have fun feeding the birds. The birds get used to getting fed. Today I stopped to look at the birds and the pair in the picture were sure I was going to feed them something. They made a bee-line towards me. As I got out the camera, apologizing to them for my lack of food, they figured out I was not reaching in my pocket for food and turned their backs on me and waddled away, making scornful noises as they waddled. I'll try and remember to bring them something to eat next time I visit their home.

I Did Not Get Struck By Lightning While Swimming This Morning

A cold front was supposed to bring me a storm last night. That didn't happen. But, this morning the cold front has arrived. It is only 69 out there at half past 8 in the morning.

On my way down to the pool, a little before the crack of dawn, I thought I saw flashes in the distance. But I heard no rumbling. And it was not very cloudy.

I was about 10 minutes into the pool when dawn began to reverse itself with the sky growing dark. Then it got very windy. Still, no visible lightning, no thunder. Then the power went out, making it suddenly darker and a lot quieter, due to the lack of power shutting off the noisy fountain and waterfall.

About 15 minutes after the power went out the storm moved into my neighborhood. The lightning strikes were still about 5 miles away, but I started to think maybe it was time to get out of the water. I've been wary of combining water with lightning ever since I saw a building burn due to a lightning strike a few weeks ago.

So, I got out of the water. The power came back on at the same time the lightning was directly overhead. That seemed odd. One strike was earth shakingly close.

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch Alert. I suspect this may have some flood weary Haltom City people staying home to keep an eye on their creeks.

A Visit To My Wal-Mart McDonald's Car Crash Site

The entry to the Wal-Mart I frequent most frequently was barricaded with upside down grocery carts as the first line of defense, with bundled up cardboard as the second line of defense.

I blogged 2 bloggings ago that a car had attacked my neighborhood Wal-Mart this morning, smashing through the doors in a hurry to get to the McDonald's inside.

From the outside I could not figure out how the car got inside. The doors looked completely intact. I asked the Wal-Mart worker who was stacking bananas if he was in the store when the car crashed in. He said he was. I asked how the car got in, because the doors were intact. He did not know. I told him the Star-Telegram article said much chaos ensued. I asked what the chaos was like. He said there were people running all over and yelling. And that it was real loud.

The interior barricade to keep you out of the crime scene was a string of those orange cone like things Wal-Mart puts on the floor when the roof leaks or someone spells something, plus a shopping cart or two with signs taped on saying, "No Customers Beyond This Area Thank You".

I got my goods and found a check-out. My usual self check-outs were not working due to being in the crime scene area.

I asked the lady checking me out if she was in the store when the car came inside. She said she was. I mentioned the chaos and asked her to describe it. She said it was very loud, with people running and yelling for people to get out of the store. So, she and others ran outside. There she saw police trying to handle the guy who had done the damage. She said he was Asian, small, acting crazy and doing Karate moves on the police. I have trouble understanding the local dialect's version of English, sometimes, but I think she said the guy was running around the parking lot before police could catch him.

I asked her about the doors, asking how did the car get in without breaking the doors? She said the doors were totally destroyed, but that they had someone fixing them right away with new doors. So, that mystery was solved. Yet, strangely, as you can see in the picture, the doors do not look destroyed. And yet the car is inside, trying to make his own McDonald's drive-through.

Incoming Texas Cold Front & The Tandy Tent

The headline is "Cold front may bring severe storms to North Texas".

This from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The first paragraph says:

"A cold front is heading our way, bringing with it the possibility of strong to severe thunderstorms tonight."

Reading on, I learned this "cold" front may drop temperatures a whopping 4 to 5 degrees, creating a daytime high of around 94 degrees, which is normal for this time of year.

I guess the air-conditioning will still be running tonight, despite this frigid cold front.

A day or two ago someone commented, regarding me, on Facebook, saying that, "Even though you are bald, old and fat, none of that matters. Because you've got a good heart and personality." To which someone else said, "He may be bald and old, but he is not fat. He's an exercise fanatic".

I did not mind someone saying I was bald, old and fat, because they said it in a very nice way. But, calling me an exercise fanatic? That is just inappropriately rude.

If I were a fanatic I would have gone swimming this morning. But, I did not. But, by noon I was feeling withdrawal pains from no endorphins. So, I went to the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Homeless Shelter Area to go on a long, vigorous, mind-clearing hike up and down the hills in the mid-day heat. Does that sound fanatical to you?

Man Drives Car Into My East Fort Worth Wal-Mart Supercenter

Earlier today I blogged about yesterday's Arlington traffic jam that did not happen. I mentioned looking in both the Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers thinking I'd find a followup article about the results of yesterday's first dual event.

A short time after I posted that, Anonymous sent me a comment including the article about the lack of a traffic jam that he/she found, but I could not find. Anonymous suggested that perhaps the Star-Telegram ran the no traffic jam article after reading me complain about the lack of a follow up.

So, I went back to the Star-Telegram, online, to find that article. I still could not find it. But I did see an intriguing new headline, "Chaos ensues as man drives car into Walmart, tries to flee". I was curious where this Walmart is. Texas? Elsewhere? So, I clicked on the link.

After I clicked, the actual headline, above the article was, "Chaos ensues as man drives car into Fort Worth Walmart, tries to flee". So, now I knew it was local chaos. By the first paragraph and the mention of east Fort Worth, the chaos got closer.

This afternoon I plan to go to my nearest Wal-Mart Supercenter. Well, imagine my surprise. It's the one that got hit! The Eastchase Wal-Mart. The Walmart greeter got hurt, but not seriously. The Walmart greeters at that particular entry are always such nice greeters.

Important Update: I have now found that illusive article about the lack of a traffic jam yesterday. That posting time says 12:36 pm. I was looking for it before 8 am. But Anonymous found it and sent it to me before noon. It's perplexing.

Dallas Cowboy Stadium Paul McCartney Concert

Unless I missed it there was absolutely no follow-up in either the Dallas Morning News or the Fort Worth Star-Telegram regarding the traffic situation during yesterday's first experience with events taking place at the same time at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium and the Ballpark in Arlington.

My research assistant, L.C., reported this morning that the Dallas ABC affiliate, WFAA Channel 8 News, said Paul McCartney fans were kept waiting outside the stadium for 40 minutes, in the extreme heat, because the concert sound check was taking more time than expected. At least 10 line-waiting concert-goers were treated for heat exhaustion.

Both local newspapers gave rave reviews to the McCartney concert.

But, back to the sun stroking. I'd not thought about it before, but there is absolutely no shade outside that new stadium. Both ends of the stadium have plazas where people are expected to pay to be able to stand near the game, though not actually watching it. With no shade. What if it rains?

Methinks a quick solution to this lack of shade problem needs to be implemented. I like being out in the HEAT. But I can not stand standing in the HEAT. I have to keep moving. Waiting in a line in the HEAT would be something I would not long suffer. It's be as bad as being stuck on the tarmac in a plane for an hour. Or two.

A Year Of Sanity After A Month Of Insanity

This morning I realized it was a year ago today, August 20, that I returned to Love Field to relative sanity after a month of dealing with more insanity than I'd ever previously experienced.

Actually it is not quite a year, yet. I did not get back to Dallas til around 9 in the evening.

It took me quite some time to recover from my month in Tacoma. It took a lot of thinking to come to some understanding of what I'd dealt with and what caused the perplexing behaviors. I used this very blog to verbalize my progress in understanding what I had experienced. It was highly amusing at times, as others who felt my pain, and who had their own experiences dealing with the "problem," sent their condolences and appreciation at realizing there was such a large support group.

When I flew out of there I said at the time I likely would not return for at least 10 years. But as it always does, time heals wounds, so now I'm thinking I might return sooner than 9 years from now. Maybe.

A Tree Grows Dead And A Mountain Rises In Fort Worth

That's a dead tree at Oakland Lake Park. Today I saw it has been marked with an X. I assume this means it will soon be executed. Why? I don't know. I like gnarled old dead trees. It appears to be not presenting any danger.

There were a half dozen of big lawnmowers zipping around the park today. You have to watch out for them. They drive like maniacs. That and they hit things and send them flying. Like today, a golf ball went whizzing by me.

Yesterday was a totally aerobic free day except for running after a piece of paper that got away from me. Today has not been an aerobic free day. I was up real early, went swimming while it was still dark.

I got an email query asking if my Therapist had recovered from her bout of dizziness. This emailer said it sounded like morning sickness. I do not know how one could come to that conclusion. But it certainly is nothing I'm going to inquire about. And yes, my Therapist is back on the job.

After I was done looking at gnarled dead things that surround Oakland Lake I drove Meadowbrook Drive, east, to my local Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. Has anyone else noticed the sort of odd new Wal-Mart packaging? It must be some sort of money saving deal.

When Meadowbrook reached the I-820 freeway I was stopped by a redlight. I looked up to see a round white mountain in the distance. I've been at this spot before and had the same reaction. When you've spent most of your life in a place where there are big mountains in every direction, it's hard to shake that expectation that's buried in your sub-conscious, even after quite a long time spent in this mountain free zone.

After so many years of being conditioned to expect flatness, when I'm back in Washington, the mountains create an almost claustrophobic effect for me, particular going over a mountain pass.

Like I mentioned earlier today, that "mountain" you see in the picture will have Paul McCartney singing inside and a lot of people looking to the Arlington Traffic Command Center to keep them moving in their cars.

Paul McCartney & The Texas Rangers Jamming Arlington

Today is going to be the first real-life, non-simulated test of Arlington's ability to handle two big events at once in its always busy Entertainment District.

Six Flags Over Texas is open. Hurricane Harbor is open. And tonight the Texas Rangers play the Minnesota Twins in the Ballpark in Arlington, while a short distance away, my favorite Beatle, Paul McCartney, is going to be singing in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Somewhere in the range of 60,000 people will be finding their way to the two venues. Arlington officials have activated what they called their Traffic Command Center.

You can go to Dallas Cowboys Maps and enter your ZIP code and your assigned parking area to get your best route past all the road construction and barricaded roads. To park in one of the Dallas Cowboy lots it will cost you $30. To save $18 you can park in a Ranger's lot for only $12. With the short walk to the stadium being a little exercise side benefit, in addition to saving money.

I'm guessing that before today is done I'll will likely be seeing the results of a massive traffic jam as far as my abode. I am so old I remember traffic jams as being something that only happened in the Los Angeles area. I remember our first family trip to Disneyland and me and my siblings being so excited to be in our first traffic jam. We took pictures. Now traffic jams are the norm, not a novelty.

On Friday the Arlington Traffic Command Center gets another test, with the first Dallas Cowboy game in the new stadium. 70,000 are expected. One would have thought the stadium would be full for the first game in the new stadium. A lot of people must have balked at the high cost of renting a seat for a few hours. That $24 parking fee likely irks some, as well.

Ryan Seacrest Is Following Me

I have had me a day. In the late afternoon I suffered some absurd bureaucratic nonsense that was brain numbing. I can't describe it because I'd just get all agitated again. Suffice to say, eventually I solved the problem.

Earlier today I got an email from Twitter telling me that Ryan Seacrest is now one of my Twitter followers. I have never had a follower, as far as I know, who makes a minimum of $15 million a year.

A couple days ago, on my TV blog, I had blogged about Ryan Seacrest and the ridiculous amount of money American Idol pays him. Then this morning I Twittered about that blogging, which is what I think led to Ryan becoming one of my ardent Twitter followers.

After Ryan became one of my followers I became one of his. He has some good Tweeting on his Twitter page. I don't know how he finds the time. From one of Ryan's Tweets I got great TV Blog material about crazy Kim from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. As soon as I read it I knew I had to blog it. Those Atlanta Housewives keep my TV Blog on fire.

So, that's been my day, so far, dealing with fascist nutcases and having Ryan Seacrest following me. That and I had a virtual trip to Walla Walla to smell the onions with my favorite Scrabbler.