The Texas Grapes Of Wrath

I've read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I've seen the John Ford movie version several times. A couple days ago I watched The Grapes of Wrath for the first time while both living in an area of America affected by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and during a recession which is the worst America has suffered since the Great Depression.

Times were way tougher in the 1930s. People were left to fend for themselves way more than they are today. And the police could act in bad ways that are much worse than the current day abuses of the Fort Worth Gestapo and other misbehaving police.

In the 1930s there was no Internet, no cable news, no nothing to shine a light on the abuse heaped upon those forced to escape the Dust Bowl. It was an era of foreclosures, much like today. And like today, you could be ordered out of your home with bulldozers soon to follow, ala Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys and the City of Arlington.

I have personally known escapees from the Dust Bowl. The parents of my best BFF, known as Big Ed, in Texas, escaped the Dust Bowl, from Ness City, Kansas in the mid 1930s. Big Ed's mom and dad had 2 kids at the time. Big Ed's dad made a makeshift camper on the back of a pick up truck. One of those old time vehicles, which started the engine using a crank in the front. I was to see that truck, still running, in the 1970's, hauling firewood in a pasture in Washington. It should have been in the Skagit County Museum.

Big Ed's mom and dad made their way west on Route 66, joining thousands of other Kansans, Okies and Texans, seeking work and a life away from the walls of lethal dust and grinding poverty.

Big Ed's mom and dad eventually made it to Yuma, Arizona. There was cotton to be picked. Ed's dad, a real hard working man, picked cotton for one day, declared it the hardest job he'd ever done, quit and headed north, towards Ely, Nevada, where they heard there was work to be found in mining camps.

Big Ed and I have driven through the same areas his mom and dad traveled through on that old truck, including Yuma and Ely. Even today, Ely is a very isolated place, at the east end of the Loneliest Road in America.

They found work at the mining camp, room at a boarding house. Ed's mom worked as the boarding house cook. Ed's mom was not a good cook. But she made really good bread and homemade noodles. I suspect those were her specialities in the boarding house.

Eventually Big Ed's mom and dad got a letter from some Kansas friends who had made it all the way to western Washington, to this valley called Skagit, near this town called Alger. They told Big Ed's mom and dad that there was logging work and land for sale, cheap.

So, the family loaded up their makeshift RV, again, and headed north, by what road, I do not know. I do know there are some high mountain passes to cross between Nevada and Washington and that the roads were not quite what they are today.

Eventually the family made it to the Promised Land. A job logging for Weyerhauser was found. Land was bought, from Weyerhauser. The makeshift RV was taken off the pickup and became the first part of what became the house Big Ed and his twin, Wally, grew up in.

The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression trauma continued to affect Big Ed's mom and dad decades later. They were very frugal. Indoor plumbing was not introduced until the 1960s. In the 1970s I told my mom that Big Ed's mom had this cool thing with big rollers to wash clothes with. My mom was appalled. Mom decided she needed a new washer and dryer. Big Ed's brother-in-law, Keith, Big Ed and I brought my mom's old washer up to Ed's mom's place. Ed's mom was not happy at first, but she soon learned to like the modern appliances. When those wore out, she bought new ones.

Years later I remember visiting Big Ed's mom and being fascinated by her tales of life in Kansas in the Roaring 20s. She was a flapper! Big Ed had no idea his mom had such a scandalous past. He'd always known her as an extremely pious, Christian mom. Not a bob-haired, short-skirted Charleston dancer.

And now, all these years later, Big Ed finds himself back in the Dust Bowl zone, during yet one more Great Depression, trying to figure out if he needs to fashion a makeshift home on the back of a pickup in order to escape this place and seek his fortune elsewhere. What an ironic conundrum.

Excellent YouTube video below about The Grapes of Wrath. And how it mirrors our current troubled times....

The Melancholy Of The Grapes Of Wrath On An Unsettling Day

Yesterday the view you see in the picture had returned to blue sky. Today it has returned to what you see in today's picture. It appears to be building to something. I see a lightning strike in my future. Hopefully not a direct hit to my head. Though at this point in time, that might come as relief.

I'd not realized I'd not blogged today til I got an email from my therapist, Dr. L.C., who asked, "Are you okay?" She asked the same thing last night when she saw I was up late, she seemed to be concerned that I might not be conscious whilst email, and was instead sleepwalking and emailing.

This morning I lost an hour or 3 fixing a weird link woe that I discovered when this bit.ly thing I use to shorten URLs for Twitter came up with a No URL Found Error. I was trying to make a link to the webpage I'd made about the Riverwind Casino, up by Norman in Oklahoma. But somehow the pathline of that URL was wrong, with the folder that held the Riverwind Casino files named "Riverwind Casino." But the pathline in the URL changed to "riverwind casino," with no capitalized first initial, hence the No URL Found Error.

I soon found the error was repeated on every page with that link, except the main index page and the sitemap.txt file that gets sent to Google. So, ironically, the webpage was indexed correctly, it was just mucked up on my website. How this occured, I have no idea. It is very perplexing.

You'd think such a thing would be easy to fix. You would be wrong.

Then this morning I learned that one of my favorite people's dad has cancer bad. I was already feeling melancholy. Then somehow my little sister got me remembering the day she was born. More melancholy. Not a sad melancholy, more a melancholy of realizing happy days, long ago, that never will be again.

I'd been being melancholy since 2 nights ago when I watched Grapes of Wrath. I'd watched Grapes of Wrath before, but not when America was going through the worst economic crisis since the era of Grapes of Wrath.

Maybe I'll muster enough non-melancholy energy to blog about the Grapes of Wrath. I have a personal connection to that era that I find interesting.

The Blue Sky Of Texas Has Returned

The sun has been missing for so long I'd slipped into a Seasonally Affected Disorder Depression from the Tropical Depression that had been stuck over head since last Friday.

Suddenly, this afternoon, the gray lifted and the place got all bright again. The return of the sun does not seem to be heating up the place too much. Right now it is only 78 out there. So, I'm keeping the windows open. For now.

I did not go swimming early this morning. I didn't feel like it.

I did venture out into the gray gloom about noon to find Village Creek Natural Historic Area closed due to a flooding Village Creek. I did not check out the flooding Village Creek. That would have required a couple mile detour just to see some extra water, the likes of which I have seen before.

I checked out San Manuel, Arizona today. Interesting town.

I Do Not Ship Saddles From Texas To The United Kingdom

Internet World can be such a strange place. As long as I've been connected via this means to the rest of the world I've gotten odd questions that come at me for no apparent reason that I can understand.

Like someone in Singapore named Wee Cheng asking me a lovelorn type question about her ex-boyfriend, Teck Seng, coming in from London, wanting to rekindle their dead relationship. I told Wee to go for it. Eventually Wee and Teck got married and reproduced. I got invited to the wedding. Wee Cheng quit speaking to me because George Bush had invaded one country too many for Wee's taste.

The weirdest question I ever got was a lady in the UK seeking medical advice about something to do with her uterus. I guess this was what I deserved for calling myself Dr. Durango and having a website called Dialing Doctor Durango.

But, Dialing Doctor Durango was obviously not serious and I obviously was not a real doctor. This was the period of time when I realized you can not go wrong overestimating how stupid the vast mass of humanity actually is. I have since slightly mitigated that view.

However, this week it happened again. An odd email, I mean. Once more it was from the UK. Some guy named David had been at my Eyes on Texas website. Somehow the fact that this website, in large part, has to do with Texas must have meant, to David, that I must sell horse products.

Below is David's email...

Good Day,

I Am David James and I will like to know if you do sell Any of the following products:

• Saddles
• Horse Float
• Load Float
• Horse Walker
  

If you do then, I will like to know some of the sizes and price range of those that you have in stock at the moment? As soon as you reply me with those information I will get back you to with the quantity that will like to order so that we can proceed from there.

For the payment, I will like to know if you so take major credit card as method of payment?

Thank you and do not forget to include your Name and Phone number when getting back to me.

David.

Okay now. Well, I've pretty much given up replying to these type questions, politely explaining I have no horse stuff for sale. The majority of these type questions are in reference to the webpage I made about going to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup. I have probably had 2 dozen inquiries over the years, asking for stuff like rattlesnake skin, venom and rattles. As recently as last week I got asked how much my rattlesnake skins cost. And oddly enough, this question also came from the UK. I think, maybe Darwinian selection had the top notch Brit brains moving to the colonies, leaving the UK with a big brain drain that evidenced itself in the subsequent generations.

Of course, I am going on very flimsy evidence to be making such a harsh conclusion.

Feeling SAD At Lake Fosdic In Oakland Lake Park

It has been days since the sky in my zone of Texas has been blue. Day after day has me having my first SAD bout in a long time. I succumb to Seasonally Affected Disorder very quickly.

During yesterday's downpour I had to do something aerobic to counter my growing SADness. So, I went to Sam's Club and loaded up a cart with heavy stuff and proceeded to careen all the aisles, dodging legitimate customers.

Monday is another cloudy day, real cloudy, but so far no rain. So, I went to Oakland Park to walk around Oakland Lake Park which surrounds Lake Fosdic. There is no Lake Fosdic Park.

Due to the heavy rain, Fosdic Falls was falling a little water. All the litter had been swept away and the lake returned to a natural, non-green color.

The Trinity River is running a little high today. It was running over the dam/bridge by Gateway Park.

9/12 Downtown Fort Worth Protest March & Elsewhere

Growing up in the northwest I was used to seeing protests and protest marches and demonstrations. I remember being up there the week of the 2004 presidential elections. In Tacoma you'd see groups of people holding signs at key intersections. Bush signs on one corner, Kerry signs on the other.

I remember going up to Mount Vernon the day before the election, getting off I-5 at the exit that goes by the Skagit County Courthouse. There were a lot of demonstrators, including the one you see in the picture.

About a year after I moved to Texas I was up in Washington, in Seattle, and there was a huge protest march. I don't remember what it was about, but the wall of people went all the way from Westlake Center to the Seattle Center. Which means nothing to someone unfamiliar with Seattle, but that's a lot of people. The Fort Worth equivalent would be a wall of people walking, filling Main Street all the way from the Convention Center to the Stockyards.

I remember when I saw that Seattle protest march, remarking that I wonder why there are no protest marches in Texas, where there seems to be a lot that might raise some group's ire. Several years after that I was quite impressed with the huge demonstrations, here, in support of our Hispanic population.

On Saturday, 9/12, under a heavy rain, there was a rally/protest march/demonstration in downtown Fort Worth. Reports vary as to how many attended. Many reports seemed to downplay the event, to the consternation of those who experienced it first hand. As so often happens when you have eye witness experience, the media version will be at variance to some degree. That is always annoying.

Well, as happens so often these days, the Fort Worth 9/12 event was caught on video. The video seems to validate those who claim the media downplayed the number of people marching in downtown Forth Worth on Saturday. It looked totally peaceful. I saw no Fort Worth Gestapo. I thought they'd likely be out in force with their whacking sticks and tasers.

Below is a YouTube video of Saturday's 9/12 marchers. For those of you not familiar with Fort Worth, that parking lot they are marching around is known as Sundance Square. I think. I've never actually been totally sure what Sundance Square is...

Sunday Night Sky In Texas With Cockroaches

In the picture you are looking at Sunday night's stormy view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony at a bit before 7 this evening. A dangerous looking sky, but with no lightning and no funnel clouds.

Those may come later. We are in for a bumpy ride the next few days in North Texas, if the forecast is to be believed.

Upside, the rain has cleaned up the air. I should not be seeing any Level Orange Air Pollution Alerts in the coming days. So, I can breathe a bit easier and leave my gas mask at home when I venture out.

It was nice, tonight, to be able to sit outside and watch the passing cloud parade without dealing with air that is too warm. It is only 70 right now, coming up on 9. Not quite BRRRR territory, but getting close. A good night's sleep should be had, with no A/C cycling on and off, windows open, no Orange Level stuff penetrating my breathing space.

All I have to deal with, at the moment, is the cockroach invasion. Which I learned tonight has become epidemic in the neighborhood. I don't mind the little beasts too much. I have mine pretty much under control. For the most part. There are a few rogue roaches, but they work alone and are easily dispatched.

Rain Slows Up As Floods Flash In Texas & Sedona

We have been under water attack here in North Texas for well over 24 hours. This is the longest rain I remember in a long time. I'm feeling like I've spent an October in Washington concentrated to one day. Actually, I think the rain started Friday, so it has been off and on for 72 hours, or so, with steady wetness for 24 of those hours.

I got gas today. So, like I always do when I get gas, I called my mom in Arizona to tell her I got gas and that it was raining. I was trapped in my vehicle in a severe downpour when I called mom. I remained trapped for about 20 minutes, when a slight let up let me escape.

Mom told me they were over 100 in Arizona. I told mom we were 68 and my windows were open. Mom asked me if I knew about the flash flood in Sedona. I did not. Apparently on Thursday, September 10, a downpour caused a flash flood through a canyon, causing a usually dry creek bed to carry a water attack on Sedona which wreaked havoc.

Those are submerged Sedona cars in the picture. The flood ran through scenic downtown Sedona, flooding businesses. Appears to be quite a mess.

Speaking of messes. I Tweeted about Galveston yesterday. I love how I've learned the proper terminology. A week ago I would have said I Twittered. But that's a grammatical faux pas. The proper word is Tweet. Who makes up this stuff? I have no idea.

Anyway, after I Tweeted about Galveston I got a Tweet, actually I don't know if that is what you call it when you're on the receiving end. For all I know I got a Twat. Whatever it was, someone from Galveston, called Holiday Inn, told me, yeah that works, told me, rather than Tweeted or Twatted me, that Galveston is back, better than ever, totally recovered from Hurricane Ike. And that I should come for a visit. Staying at the Holiday Inn, I suppose.

Non-Stop Rain Has Texas Flooding, 9/12 Protest In Fort Worth, Key To The City For Glenn Beck & Jon Stewart

That is a flooded Interstate 35, southbound, flooded on Saturday by this non-stop deluge we've got falling on us here in North Texas. It has been raining for about 24 hours now.

This morning, walking to the pool, the shots of water stung a bit. When I was in the pool the rain switched to downpour mode. When I got out of the pool I didn't notice the rain hitting me. Of course, I did not bother drying off. What would have been the point?

I've not heard from the Haltom City Fossil Creek monitor this morning, except for a fervent plea for help on a non-flood related problem. I assume since no mention was made of her creek condition it must be staying in its banks.

Despite the deluge, yesterday's 9/12 protest march went on in downtown Fort Worth. My sources on the ground tell me there were about 1,000 people marching around, some under umbrellas, some carrying signs, saying things like, "Obamacare makes me sick," some chanting things like, "No more czars" and "You lie."

The 9/12 protest was the brainchild of conservative talk show guy, Glenn Beck. Glenn Beck is from my old hometown of Mount Vernon, Washington. A controversy erupted in Mount Vernon, recently, when it was announced the mayor wanted to give Beck the Keys to the City. As you might guess, Mount Vernon is a very liberal town. After an awful lot of protesting, Mount Vernon went ahead with the give Beck the Keys to the City plan. I don't actually know what that gets you to get the Keys to the City of Mount Vernon. I also do not know if Beck has been given the Keys to the City yet.

Meanwhile, the next big city to the north, Bellingham, where I have also lived, countered Mount Vernon by offering the Keys to the City of Bellingham to liberal TV personality Jon Stewart. Near as I can tell Jon Stewart's tenuous connection to Bellingham is Stewart went to the same high school as the Mayor of Bellingham, Dan Pike, who offered the keys.

Below is part of the Mayor of Bellingham's letter to Jon Stewart...

I am writing because I am currently the Mayor of Bellingham, Washington, a community of about 80,000 between Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. The next city south of us on I-5, Mount Vernon (pop. 30,000), has just announced they are giving the keys to that city to Glenn Beck, a native son. The news got me to thinking that if they could give Beck a key simply for being born there, perhaps Bellingham could provide a key to Mr. Stewart for the better reasons of providing cogent yet comedic analysis of news events and personalities on a daily basis, as well as being an alumnus of the same high school as Bellingham's Mayor. I was particularly moved and informed by the Daily Show's recent analysis of the evolution of Glenn Beck's feelings about the US healthcare system over the past couple of years.

We are bigger and better than Mount Vernon, and so are interested in a bigger, better star to receive our key. As an added bonus, should Mr. Stewart accept, we would try to track down Stephen, the eagle from the Colbert Report who frequently lives in our county, so Jon could have a personal sighting. If Mr. Colbert would like to receive a key to Bellingham, too, he is also welcome. If Mr. Stewart cannot come to Bellingham to accept, perhaps I could deliver it at some time in the months ahead, when I come to Lawrenceville to visit my mother.

While this is a joke of sorts, intended as a counterpoint to the Beck event in Mount Vernon, the offer is serious.

Fort Worth Glacier Peak Bearfire Resort Vision

Earlier today I blogged about Seattle's cruise ships. That somehow had me remarking that Fort Worth should add a fake mountain to go along with its fake lake as part of its very clear Trinity River Vision.

Then Steve A commented about the mountain idea by pointing out that there have been plans to build a mountain in Fort Worth called Bearfire. It was supposed to open in fall of 2009. However, ground was never broken on this ambitious project. I believe it was to be located out by the Texas Motor Speedway and Cabelas.

Bearfire was to have toboggans, bobsleds, a mountain called Glacier Peak, gondolas, ski lifts, ski and snowboard slopes.

An Alpine Village called the Villages at Bearfire were to have shopping, restaurants, ski shops, all in a romantic hamlet at the base of Glacier Peak. In the center of Bearfire Village you would have found Bearfire Ice Creek, using some sort of synthetic ice that has the properties of the real thing, except for not being really cold, the Ice Creek trail was to meander through the village.

I'm thinking skating on fake ice in the Texas summer heat might not have been too fun a thing to do. Maybe a lot of misters were to have been used. The snow on Glacier Peak was also to be a synthetic that replicated snow.

With Bearfire Resort and Glacier Peak not likely to happen, another group of visionaries is seeing the possibility of building a ski resort and mountain near Lake Grapevine. That would seem to be a much better location for such a thing than out in the Fort Worth Alliance area. A fake mountain and ski resort would be a nice fit with Gaylord Texan, where all of Texas is under one giant glass atrium and Great Wolf Lodge, where you can pretend you are staying a cabin in the wild north woods.

Now if only the brilliant visionaries, who saw the Trinity River Vision, could convince someone to build one of these fake mountains and ski resorts on the banks of Little Fake Forth Worth Lake, why then you'd be really having yourself something to have a vision about, that would have towns far and wide really super green with envy.