The History Of The Queen Of Wink's Texas Domain

You are looking at the building where the Winkler County Justice of the Peace dispenses justice, in Wink, Texas.

Wink lost the "ler" part of the county name when the town of Winkler asked the state of Texas for a post office. The town was told there was already a Winkler in Texas. And so Wink was born. That was in 1927.

1927 was also the year the first public school opened in Wink, one short year after the town sprung up in the West Texas desert after oil was discovered in the Hendrick Oilfield.

Before Wink was 1 year old the town had grown to a population of almost 4,000. By 1929 estimates range as high as 25,000 Winkites.

The Wink oil boom and population explosion brought problems to the new town. Lawlessness in the form of bootlegging, prostitution and gambling were big business in Wink. Organized crime took over the town, including the city government.

Wink was sort of a Fort Worth of its day.

In 1928 a District Judge ruled that the Wink incorporation election was void. The city government was then re-organized and made sort of legitimate, with the first city building opening in December of 1928. It was a jail.

In 1929 the Texas-New Mexico Railroad laid tracks from Wink Junction to Wink, connecting the town to New Mexico.

In 1933 Wink finally managed to get itself legally incorporated. During the Great Depression the Wink oil boom declined, along with the population. Many Wink businesses closed.

Wink's population continued to decline through the 1940s, shrinking to around 1,500, with 40 businesses still operating.

During the 1950's Wink's population remained stable at around 1,500. In 1958 Wink lost its railroad connection to the outside world.

In the 1960s Wink's population rose a bit, to a high of 1,800, but then declined to a new low of less than 1,200 Winkites.

In July of 1960 Wink received an urban renewal grant from the federal government of over 1 million dollars. The money went to paving roads.

In the 1970s and 80s Wink's population continued to decline. By the end of the 1980s the number of businesses operating in Wink had dropped to 5.

The 2000 census counted 919 people in Wink.

Wink is often the hottest location in Texas. At times Wink is the hottest location in the United States.

Wink is also known for its sinkholes. There are some who believe Wink is slowly sinking.

Famous Winkites include Roy Orbison (Wink has a Roy Orbison Festival & Museum). Other well known Winkites are the Queen of Wink and Gar the Texan.

The Wild Woman Of Woolley Tells You Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You

There is a town in Washington called Sedro Woolley. There is a group in that town that is called the "Wild Women of Woolley."

I think I must have mentioned my Fort Worth neighborhood's increase in burglaries, and armed robberies, to the Wild Woman of Woolley, who for privacy purposes, I refer to as Miss CVB.

This morning Miss CVB sent me 21 anti-burglar tips.

Friends of mine in Seattle have had their house broken into twice, with one of the times the burglars were an organized gang that had a little kid do the initial break-in, going through a small window opening, witnessed by a neighbor.

So, I've seen first hand how traumatic it is to have your house trashed and your stuff taken. If the Wild Woman of Woolley, Miss CVB's, 21 tips could possibly cause someone somewhere to do something that might thwart such a trauma, I guess that's a good reason to print the tips here....

Things Your Burglar Won't Tell You:

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste ... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it.

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom-and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door-understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather...

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.)

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at faketv.com.)

14. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

15. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

16. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.

17. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

18. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

19. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address.

20. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.

21. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

Happy Birthday Mom From Fosdic Lake & The Ducks In Fort Worth

I escaped here around noon. Could take being housebound no longer. Decided to drive to Oakland Lake Park to hike around Fosdic Lake.

It was 25 degrees with a wind chill factor making it feel like 15. I did not put on enough layers to keep warm. Including forgetting that long underwear might be a good idea.

There were several groups of ducks huddling to keep warm, but more were not huddling, instead floating solo or sitting on logs.

I think the last time I was at Fosdic Lake it was in the 50s and ducks were huddling and circling. The non-huddling duck behavior today was perplexing, with it being so cold.

With it being so cold there were no turtles to be seen. As we learned last week, the turtles, cold-blooded reptiles that they are, go into hibernate (technically speaking the word should be brumate) mode til their home warms up again.

I did not get gas today, but I called my mom in Phoenix, while I walked in the cold, because today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday, mom. I told mom how cold it was after she asked why my voice sounded so shaky. Mom asked why I choose to live in such a place with such a harsh climate. I told mom I have no idea why. And that this is the worst Texas winter since I've been exiled here.

It Feels Like 15 Degrees This Saturday Morning In Fort Worth

I've nothing else to talk about right now, so I'll talk about the weather here in my frigid zone of Fort Worth, Texas.

It is almost 25 degrees. With the wind making it feel like 15.

Most of the water evaporated from the streets before the freeze got cold enough to make it an icy mess out there. That's what I've been told. I have not eye witnessed the streets.

I did go outside on my way to the pool. However, that effort was thwarted due to ice rendering it impossible. No, the pool water was not frozen.

I need to get outside today and do something aerobic. What and where I do not know.

This morning I got email from the Queen of Wink in which she indicated she thought I'd been in Texas since 1990. That is off by about a decade. Blondes.

Japanese Sneak Attacks On My Blog

Every day, sometimes dozens of times a day, I get gibberish comments to my blogs. From Japan. When I get the email telling me there is a comment I need to moderate, the "From" part of the email is always a string of question marks. As in "????????".

Is anyone else being plagued by these "comments?"

There has also been a recent rash of comments along the line of, "I enjoy what you say, it help me with my school work. I please to tell others." Or, "Interesting blog. Great topic. You need to add more pictures."

I know of some bloggers who do not moderate their comments. So, why are they not getting these type comments?

Can anyone reading this read Japanese? Is that Japanese being written in the comment?

It Is A Wet Fort Worth Friday With No Ice, So Far

That is the 10am view out my computer room window this wet Fort Worth Friday. So far the temperature seems to be staying steady at 35. No ice. But a low of 25 is the prediction. If that happens it will be a slippery mess. I don't know if the Ice Storm danger has passed.

I had myself a very disturbing night, full of aches and pains. I had a nightmare, well, it was more of dream because it was sort of fun. Gar the Texan, aka Rag Boy, suckered punched me real hard on the right side of my jaw.

I then proceeded to give Rag Boy a sound thrashing, which probably was a bit of bad sportsmanship bad behavior on my part, even if I was sucker punched, because Rag Boy is just this little scrawny guy, like a lollipop, a skinny stick with a big head stuck on top.

I woke up from the beating up Rag Boy dream to find that my jaw hurt so bad where he'd sucker punched me, I don't recollect pain this bad, worse than post-surgery pain, worse than the chipmunk cheek pain I had years ago after my wisdom teeth were pulled.

Getting socked in the jaw occurred around 3 in the morning. I got up and looked for painkillers. I had none. I then started moving my jaw bone up and down, fighting the pain. The pain quickly became less painful. I went back to bed, slept in late, til past 6. When I got up the jaw pain was a distant memory, replaced by really bad back pain. Laying on the floor, reading and drinking coffee, got rid of the back pain.

So, without going on and on with the rest of my litany of misery, suffice to say, on this last Friday of the first month of 2010, I am a mess.

And, I have not heard from the Haltom City creek monitor this morning. This concerns me.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the aforementioned Gar the Texan, aka Rag Boy, this morning, offered to fix the Queen of Wink's dead computer. I don't know if me beating him up caused him to have this change in attitude, or what.

UPDATE: When I finished this blogging and hit the publish button, I checked the temperature to see we are now at the freezing point of 32 degrees, here in Fort Worth.

The Rain Is Downpouring In Fort Worth, Soon To Be Freezing Rain

I managed to get in my daily early morning pool dip. But by the time of my usual daily aerobic habit the sky had turned dire, here in my zone of North Texas, soon wet stuff began to hit the ground.

So, I decided to get my daily walk by pushing a grocery cart at my neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter.

On the way to Wal-Mart I needed gas. As I was pumping, an ol' geezer pumping from the adjacent pump asked me a question.

As in, "What's the difference between this gas station and Jesse James?"

I said, "I dunno. One's dead?"

"No," the ol' geezer said, "Jesse James used a gun to rob you."

Or something like that. I gave the ol' geezer a courtesy laugh. But I was not amused. In a public restroom I don't want the person using the adjacent urinal talking to me. I feel the same way when I'm pumping gas. Unless it is a being flirted with scenario, that I don't mind. But, no jokes when I am pumping gas.

As my one longtime reader knows, when I get gas I call my mom and dad in Phoenix and tell them how much it cost. But they were not home, so I left a message.

After about a half hour of pushing the heavily loaded grocery cart around in Wal-Mart it suddenly became very noisy, like a pounding roar, which it was, because the rain had shifted into downpour mode.

I checked out and on my way out of the store I asked the Wal-Mart greeter if she could please walk me to my car under an umbrella? The Wal-Mart greeter gave me a polite courtesy laugh. I was glad I'd anticipated a possible downpour, so I parked close to the door. Usually I do not park close to the door.

Right now it is 54 out there. That number is supposed to begin to drop, going below freezing sometime early tomorrow. I'm thinking it is going to be a real slippery mess in Fort Worth and North Texas soon. I hope it does not go into Ice Storm mode. Ice Storms wreak havoc with power lines. I don't want to lose power.

I forgot to tell you, the picture at the top was taken near the Handley Post Office, heading east on Ederville Road, with one of the flyovers that connects I-820 to I-30 overhead.

I must make a beauty named Elsie a map before lunch. Make that after lunch, I just heard the lunch is ready noise.

Experiencing Malice In Blunderland In Fort Worth Texas

Reading FW Weekly and TxSharon this morning has me aggravated.

The FW Weekly aggravation comes from the Metropolis section, which further documented the bad behavior of the corrupt state of Texas agency that calls itself the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, an agency name which is pretty much Orwellian double-speak, due to the fact that the quality of the environment does not seem to be much of a concern to this commission.

The TCEQ seems more concerned with helping the Barnett Shale natural gas industry cover up their dirty deeds and doings.

In the FW Weekly article we learn about the different testing results, and different methodology used by the TCEQ and the little town of DISH. A little Texas town that has been ravaged, in many more ways than one, by the basically un-regulated natural gas company Blitzkrieg that has damaged lives and livelihoods in a once peaceful small Texas town.

The town of DISH has an actual, real, serve the people who elected him, type of mayor, unlike Fort Worth's corrupt Mayor Mike Moncrief, who was installed by the gas industry to help facilitate the gas driller's massive Blitzkrieg on Fort Worth. The natural gas industry pays Moncrief over $600,000 a year to be their in the henhouse fox.

DISH Mayor Calvin Tillman has been fighting back, trying to save his town and the people who live there. Eminent domain was abused in DISH when the gas drillers decided it would be a perfect location for gas compressors, which are jet engine noise level contraptions. To feed the compressors, pipelines had to be laid. So, land that people used for their livelihoods was, well, basically stolen, using the corrupt Texas legal system to do so.

I sure use the word "corrupt" a lot. I never think I'm exaggerating when I do so.

After awhile, people in DISH started not feeling as well as they did before the Natural Gas Blitzkrieg hit their town. DISH paid to have their air tested. The results showed bad, bad things were in the air they were breathing.

And now, gas industry legal lackeys have sent the town of DISH some sort of legalistic, threatening letter, the theme of which seems to be making all sorts of claims of things DISH has not done correctly.

Visit Texas Sharon to read what Mayor Tillman has to say about this latest bullying by the corrupt gas industry thugs and read the thug's intimidating letter.

We are down the Rabbit Hole here, where black is white, yes is no, wrong is right. But, it's not Alice in Wonderland, it's Malice in Blunderland.

I've been in Texas around 10 years now. In all my years of living on the West Coast I don't recollect anything ever happening that appalled me like the things I've seen happen here in Texas.

A corporation wants a new headquarters? Boot 100s of Fort Worth low income people out of their homes and build a new Radio Shack Headquarters, that Radio Shack could not afford.

A mall needs some new parking space? Abuse eminent domain to take Hurst citizen's homes for the benefit of a private business known as the Northeast Mall.

A football team wants a new stadium? Abuse eminent domain, in Arlington, to boot more than 1,000 people from their homes and apartments and businesses. And bulldoze the homes before the victims have had their day in court.

Some goofballs get the hare-brained idea that ruining the confluence of two forks of the Trinity River to make a little lake and an un-needed flood diversion channel? Abuse eminent domain, taking homes and businesses, for a "public" project that the public has never voted on, known as Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision or Trinity Uptown Project or Fort Worth's Latest Boondoggle.

A company called Chesapeake Energy, run by a man many believe to be a lying shyster, named Aubrey McClendon, wants to run a non-odorized natural gas pipeline under a street called Carter Street, in Fort Worth. The Carter Street homeowners object, but one by one, under the threat of the abuse of eminent domain, they all give in to the strong arm tactics, all but one man, Steve Doeung.

And what does the City of Fort Worth do? Does the city tell Chesapeake Energy they must find a different route, and pipe only odorized gas. No, the City of Fort Worth sends in a gang of Gestapo Stormtroopers, in the form of code inspectors and Fort Worth Police, to raid Steve Doeung's house.

Where is the outrage here in Blunderland? Okay, there is some outrage, I mean I'm outraged. Texas Sharon is outraged. Don Young is outraged. The Queen of Wink is Royally outraged. Steve Doeung is outraged. 100s, maybe 1000s are outraged.

Why is the Environmental Protection Agency not outraged by what is happening in DISH. And elsewhere in Texas?

Has the Environmental Protection Agency been co-opted somehow, like all the other government agencies in Texas that are supposed to look out for the welfare of the people, but instead look out for the welfare of those who exploit and abuse the people?

What became of Dr. Al Armendariz? Why does the EPA not order a moratorium on gas drilling activities until the issue of pollution, both of water and air, are properly vetted to everyone's satisfaction, not just the satisfaction of the drillers?

I tell you, all this Malice here in Blunderland is the most perplexing stuff I have ever witnessed. I never dreamed, when I moved to Texas, that I would somehow manage to one day find myself being terrorized by White Trucks.

P.S. The Star-Telegraph has blogged about the Star-Telegram's article today which reverses previous articles which followed the gas industry and their lackey, Mayor Mike Moncrief's party line, that being nothing harmful is entering the air from the thousands of gas wells.

I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag Of Chesapeake Energy And To The Corporation For Which It Stands.....

You probably recognize 1 of the 3 flags in the picture, if you are in America, but not in Texas. You probably recognize 2 of the 3 flags if you are in Texas. You likely recognize all 3 flags if you have the misfortune to be a Citizen of the Shale.

On the left we have the Chesapeake Energy flag. On the right the Lone Star flag of Texas.

The flags are waving over the sprawling Chesapeake Energy complex, which is one of my neighbors, located on the north side of Randol Mill Road, at the northern termination of Oakland Avenue, on the site of what used to be a big ballfield park.

I do not know if Chesapeake Energy used eminent domain to acquire the ballfield property. Most likely it was City of Fort Worth property so Chesapeake simply told Fort Worth's Mayor, Mike Moncrief, that they wanted the land, and so they got it. That's one of the benefits when you operate your business where you also are in control of a city's government, for the most part, what with Fort Worth's mayor being on the take, taking money from all the natural gas companies operating in his domain.

Which. By the way. Is illegal. But not in Fort Worth, due to an exemption to the rule of law that operates in the rest of America.

The City of Arlington has a city flag. I've seen it many times. Does Fort Worth not have a city flag? If so, why is it not flying with the other three waving over the Chesapeake Energy complex?

I got a couple comments relating to Chesapeake Energy this morning, both from Anonymous. Both were very interesting....

Anonymous #1-----

Speaking of Gestapo-type stuff in FW, this picture reminds me to report what I thought was my eyes playing tricks on me a couple weeks ago while driving north on US 35 near I-20. I thought there was a black and white FWPD vehicle, with the light bar on top and all, coming up alongside of me. To my great surprise, the words on the side and back said Chesapeake Security. That is awfully confusing--not unlike how the city and council are awfully and easily confused with acting like they work for CHK when it comes to important policies. has anyone else seen one of these quasi-FWPD CHK PD cars?

Anonymous #2-----

I saw a white pickup truck that looked to be a natural gas company security vehicle. I couldn't get the name off of it because it was driving so fast and out of control. This is no exaggeration.

It was at the intersection of Westworth Blvd and Roaring Springs Road. I was on Roaring Springs waiting for the light when this white truck with light bar blazing turns south on Roaring Springs from WW Blvd, cuts through a very busy Quik Trip gas station, and gets back on Westworth. At a high rate of speed.

It was a WTF did I just see moment.

Speaking of white trucks. To take the picture of the flags in front of Chesapeake I pulled to the side of Randol Mill Road and snapped away. There are dozens of white Chesapeake trucks on the Chesapeake property. Many coming and going. As I drove away I soon saw a white truck close behind me. I thought, what fresh hell is this. The truck soon passed me. It was not a Chesapeake truck.

I tell you all these white truck incidents are turning me into a paranoid person.

I was wondering, at City of Fort Worth meetings, like a city council meeting, over which the corrupt mayor presides, is a flag present? If so, what one? City of Fort Worth. Lone Star flag? United States flag? Chesapeake Energy flag?

Is a pledge of allegiance said to open such meetings? I have no idea, having never gone to one, nor desiring to.

I'm thinking, what with the way things are here in Fort Worth, that there is likely a Chesapeake Energy flag present, with Mayor Moncrief standing, hand over heart, leading the pledge...

"I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of Chesapeake Energy, and to the Corporation for which it Stands, one Company, Immoral, with Decency and Common Sense for Few."

A Dark Wednesday Fort Worth Afternoon On The Tandy Hills

I should be tired. I've been awake since about half past 3 this morning.

I waited for the sun to light up the place, this morning, before going outside to the pool. The trip to the pool started off inauspicious when I went to tighten the drawstring that keeps my swimsuit from falling off me and something ripped.

I don't believe this was a weight gain, heft-related clothes ripping incident. It was my favorite swimsuit and it'd long ago reached its natural lifespan.

I was determined to go hiking the Tandy Hills today, because this might be my last chance in awhile, with the incoming return to winter expected to bring freezing rain and a possible ice storm on Friday.

You can sort of tell in the picture, looking west at the beautiful skyline of downtown Fort Worth, around 4 this afternoon, that we have turned very un-sunny here.

I forgot to mention, yesterday, when I was talking about the results of Saturday's Tandy Hills Brush Bash, that the Brush Bashers removed the remains of Annie's Hobo Campsite. I'm sure Annie will be worried when she learns the Hobo Campsite is no more, wondering where the Tandy Hills Hobo will live now.

Remember Brush Bashers and Brush Basher Wannabes, you have another chance to commune with Mother Nature and help Her return part Her Realm to its intended state, by showing up for Brush Bash II on the Tandy Hills at 10 am, Saturday, February 6. Don't forget to bring work gloves.