A Texas Cow Wash With The Saloon Hopping Wild Woman Of Woolley Washington & Twister

That Wild Woman of Woolley, Miss CVB, sent me the picture of a Texas Car Wash. The caption said "Only in Texas."

I do not recollect seeing a Cow Wash in Texas. I also don't know where Miss CVB found this picture. Maybe she came across it while doing research for her upcoming trip to Texas with Miss BS(-M).

I can't remember the last time I went sightseeing with Miss CVB. I recollect years ago, Miss CVB and me, driving up in the Cascades, driving over Diablo Dam, prior to the existence of the North Cascades Highway, and getting sort of stuck on a narrow logging road. Miss CVB has never gone saloon hopping. I am so looking forward to that.

Miss CVB regularly reminds me I need to go to Phoenix to visit my parental units. This morning Twister tweeted me a picture of himself deep in the aforementioned North Cascades. The full picture is a panoramic view. You can look at that here.

Why am I mentioning Miss CVB and Twister in the same paragraph? Well, the two of them have put it in my mind that it is time for a roadtrip. I have not driven back to Washington since July of 2001. I am thinking a roadtrip to Phoenix to see my mom and dad, sister, brother-in-law and nephews, on the way to Washington, would be a real fine time.

I will make sure this trip to Washington has none of the problems that I dealt with the last time I was there. In other words I won't be staying in Tacoma. I likely won't even do a Tacoma drive-by, due to the fact that that town is south of what will be my location.

In Fort Worth With Elsie Hotpepper On The Tandy Hills With The Color Purple

The annoying switch to Daylight Savings Time had me up later than normal.

About 7 Elsie Hotpepper called, insisting I needed to drive her to the Fort Worth Stockyards to get her car, which was left there overnight, due to me driving Elsie home on Saturday when she was not in suitable driving mode.

I told Elsie I'd come get her after I was done with my morning swim and breakfast.

So, those two onerous tasks out of the way, I took off to take a Hotpepper to her car.

Taking Elsie to the Stockyards proved uneventful. I dropped her off, then I took off for a much earlier than the norm hiking of the Tandy Hills.

I am trying to amp up my physical activity to reverse this unfortunate weight gain I may have mentioned a time or two.

I live in dread fear of many things, like fear of getting tasered by the Fort Worth police, but my #1 fear is my fear of turning into one of the humongous balloon people I see waddling about in these parts. I fear it is an easily slid slippery slope to get to being a balloon person.

With that in mind I did some heavy duty waddling up and down the Tandy Hills today. Absolutely perfect conditions, even though I am not in absolutely perfect condition.

And I saw a harbinger of the coming dose of wild color that will soon be putting on a fine display on the Tandy Hills, that being a purple wildflower coloring up the hills today. I am not all that adept at properly identifying colors. Is that a purple flower in the picture? Or is that a color other than purple?

I guess that sums up my Sunday in Texas, being perplexed by the color purple. With the windows open.

Fort Worth's Mayor Mike Moncrief & All The King's Men

I watched the last hour, or so, of All The King's Men, whilst eating tacos this afternoon.

Blue corn tacos with tofu/beef and Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar.

I don't know why I digressed to tacos.

All The King's Men is about corruption in a southern state, I'm not sure which one. Louisiana? Texas?

Willie Stark is the Governor/King. Willie started off with good intentions, but gradually got more and more corrupt. And did ever worse bad deeds.

Willie was able to con the people with his platitudes and by building a lot of public works that he put his name on, like hospitals and roads.

I don't know if Governor Willie built any fake lakes from any rivers in his state. Or if he ran any bogus flood diversion channels to try and con some money from the Federal government.

Eventually impeachment charges were brought against Willie, which he successfully fought, only to be shot by one of the people he'd run roughshod over.

Yesterday I spent a couple hours with good citizens concerned about the corruption that permeates to varying degrees throughout the area known as the Barnett Shale, with the locus of corruption seeming to be Fort Worth and the county of Tarrant, of which Fort Worth is the county seat.

The corruption seems to spread, like a cancer, a malignancy seemingly impervious to any known treatment. Calls for the FBI to investigate go ignored.

Pointing out that the Mayor of Fort Worth, makes over $600,000 a year from the various gas drillers poking holes in Fort Worth, those being gas drillers who Mayor Moncrief helps in various sundry ways, which is clearly illegal, clearly a conflict of interest, seems to not matter.

Minimally Moncrief should have recused himself from having any part of any decision affecting any business from which he gains monetarily. Moncrief should have had to unburden himself of the conflicts of interest by divesting himself of any holdings in the gas driller companies.

And then there is the corruption in the boondoggle known as the Trinity River Vision. The vision has been being funded mostly by money that Congresswoman Kay Granger has been throwing Fort Worth's way via earmarks stuck on spending bills. That is now a big no no. Where will the TVR get money now?

Another point of obvious corruption regarding the TRV is the fact that Kay Granger's son, J.D. Granger, was put in charge of the TRV project, a job for which he had zero credentials. What Kay Granger did is what is known as nepotism. Nepotism is a big NO NO in civilized parts of America.

The TRV has never been put to a public vote. And yet eminent domain is being abused to take property for the supposed public good, purchased, I guess, with the ill gotten gains of those Kay Granger earmarks.

Near as I can tell, the cancer continues to spread, more politicians are being bought off in various ways, newspapers co-opted, even newspapers, thought to be safe from being co-opted, seem to have been corrupted and co-opted by the Bad Boy powers that be.

What can stop this ever growing cancer? I don't think radiation or chemotherapy is an option. Radical surgery seems the way to go. An honest person needs to penetrate the Good Ol' Boy Network and throw open the closed door, opening the books, naming names, pointing fingers, insisting on a Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation.

I thoroughly believe that Fort Worth will not be well until the various tumors are removed. I think the Mike Moncrief tumor is a very good place to start. How to go about that operation? I have no idea....

Was The Fort Worth Gestapo After Me & Elsie Hotpepper Saturday At The Fort Worth Stockyards?

One of the Wild Women of Woolley, Miss CVB, got up from her sickbed this morning and mustered the energy to ask me how my Saturday of Fort Worth Stockyards Saloon Crawling with Elsie Hotpepper went.

I was not going to talk about the Saloon Crawling due to the Crawlers having so many rules and regulations about what I can say on my blog about who I Crawl with, what they say or anything else remotely related.

So, it's easier just to put these type things into an Area 51 Black Hole and make no mention.

And then the WWW Miss CVB asks me a question and I feel compelled to answer.

So, in answer to WWW Miss CVB's question, the Saloon Crawling was a real fine time.

Elsie Hotpepper does not object to me using her real name, but the other Saloon Crawlers insist I not identify them. I'll use nicknames. In addition to Elsie there was The White Knight and his sidekick, Robin. And Fort Worth's infamous Lone Ranger. So, that made for 5 Saloon Crawlers.

It being a St. Patrick's Day celebration going on in the Stockyards, and with 1/5th of us Saloon Crawlers being of Irish descent, beer was the adult beverage of choice, except for me and the Lone Ranger, who drank lemonade. I estimate that Elsie Hotpepper consumed 3 times as much of her beverage of choice than I did of lemonade.

Responsible adult that I am, I drove Elsie Hotpepper home, safely, after the Saloon Crawling was over.

I shot a lot of good Stockyard's video yesterday. I have yet to make what I shot into a YouTube video. But, I did extract one tiny extract. Above, in the picture, there is a Fort Worth police car in the lower left. The policeman parked his car in a no parking zone and proceeded to exit the vehicle and head in to the Love Shack, which is where Elsie and I were awaiting the arrival of the others.

We all live in dread fear of a Fort Worth Gestapo taser attack or illegal raid, so, when Elsie saw the Stormtrooper heading our way, she asked me, "What did you do?" I then rephrased Elsie's question, as in, "What did I do?"

You can hear this riveting exchange, in the video below, where you will also get your first chance to hear Elsie's sweet as honey Scarlett O'Hara voice...

The Day Before Daylight Savings Time Hiking The Tandy Hills In Fort Worth With My Therapist

As you can see, it is another blue sky Saturday, here in currently balmy Fort Worth, Texas, with just a few days til Winter turns to Spring.

Speaking of which, Spring, I mean, I must remember to spring my clocks forward an hour, tonight, to get them in to Daylight Savings Time mode, so that I don't wake up tomorrow morning all confused as to what time it is.

Hiking the Tandy Hills today had me feeling all sorts of happy. The hills were alive with the sound of birds chirping, the smell of flora coming to life, but, sadly, few humans enjoying Mother Nature having herself a good day. And, let's face it, she has been one cranky Mother this winter. It is nice she is back being nice. I hope it lasts.

I would mention that I had myself a really fine time, early this morning, swimming the longest swim of 2010, but, Anonymous told me that he/she tires of my daily swimming litany. I think a phrase like "you tiresome bore" was used.

This would have hurt my delicate feelings if they were delicate, which they are not, so I ignored Anonymous and mentioned swimming anyway.

I have to tell you that I had myself a real fine time with a new hiking partner today. My, well, slightly overweight therapist, Dr. L.C., finally took me up on my ongoing offer to show her the Tandy Hills. I wish Dr. L.C. would have let me take a picture of her in hiking mode, but she is overly self-conscious about that extra heft she carries, hence, the photo aversion.

Anyway, that's been my Saturday in Texas, up early, in the pool, hiking the Tandy Hills, then back here in my regular shut-in mode til Daylight Savings mode kicks in. Tomorrow I may go outside again.

What Is In My Fort Worth Neighborhood's Chesapeake Energy Ponds?

I live near a road in Fort Worth called Randol Mill Road. Randol Mill Road meanders all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. At one point in time there must have been a business called the Randol Mill, with a lot of roads leading to it.

Back when I first moved to my current location, at that point in time, where Randol Mill Road is met by Oakland Boulevard, there was a baseball field complex on the north side of Randol Mill.

And then a few years ago Chesapeake Energy began its Blitzkrieg on Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Eventually, the Chesapeake Blitzkrieg hit the ballfields at Oakland & Randol Mill.

After the ballfields and ballfield buildings were obliterated, Chesapeake Energy buildings began to appear, growing into a large complex.

A short time ago I was heading east on Randol Mill when I came upon a sign warning me that some street cleaning was taking place. What's making the road dirty, I wondered? And then I saw the Blitzkrieg army of trucks driving on to and out of the Chesapeake property, bringing with them a lot of dirt and mud, which is what the street cleaning was cleaning up.

This went on for days. The muddy street business. I was curious what was going on behind those closed Chesapeake doors.

So, I positioned a satellite into place and took some pictures. In the first one, at the top, you can see where Oakland Boulevard meets Randol Mill at the lower right. Across the street you see the area Chesapeake has commandeered. You can see the Trinity River meandering around the Chesapeake property. Let's move in for a closer look.

You can see several manmade ponds of various sizes and color. What is in these ponds, one can not help but wonder? Is this what those trucks were bringing in? Water to pump in these ponds? Or were the trucks taking water out of the ponds?

As you can see, in this close-up of one of the ponds, it appears to be heavily fortified with a thick lining, which again can't help but cause one to wonder what is in that pond. And what is in the little pond to the right?

Who monitors these ponds to make sure they are not leaking into the Trinity River? Anyone?

Fort Worth's Tandy Falls Roars While Elsie Hotpepper Wants Me To Go Bar Crawling

That is the Tandy River roaring over Tandy Falls today, in the heart of the Tandy Hills Natural Area. I think this may be the most water I've seen flowing over Fort Worth's Niagara.

It is a semi-warm Friday, in the 60s, and very windy. Wildfire danger is in the air, I mean, wind, according to the National Weather Service. So, I'll be real careful if I do any smoking outdoors.

Speaking of my health issues. I have recovered from my nearly broken ankle, that nearly had me crippled, due to a bad fall a couple days ago. Thanks for all the words of encouragement that helped me remain strong during this difficult time.

What am I saying? There were no words of encouragement during my most recent difficult time. Heartless, uncaring, be ye.

Elsie Hotpepper read about those busybodies busying themselves with great concern about me being a housebound shut-in who does not get out much. And so, Elsie wants me to go bar crawling with her on Saturday.

I told Elsie bar crawling is not something on my to do list, but she is very insistent.

To shut her up I agreed to Elsie's bar crawling proposal.

By Saturday morning I'm counting on Elsie forgetting, which is her usual pattern. My fall back position is to not answer my phone if Elsie calls tomorrow. No way am I going bar crawling with that Hotpepper woman. I'm not even sure I know what bar crawling is, besides knowing it is something I intuitively do not think sounds fun.

I probably should try and be more open-minded about these type things.

Is It Time To Line Fort Worth's Carter Avenue With American Flags Again? Or Is Chesapeake Bluffing Again?

Something is going on here. What it is is not exactly clear.

But, near as I can tell, and I can't tell much, Chesapeake Energy is taking the advice rendered on the protest sign, at last Thursday's CARO Rally on the Tarrant County Courthouse steps, and is going to take their Carter Avenue Pipeline and shove it somewhere else.

It seems like I've heard this before.

But.

Near the end of last Thursday's Steve Doeung vs. Chesapeake Energy court date, after Judge Sprinkle indicated he had no choice but to sign the order granting Chesapeake Energy the right to run a potentially explosive, high pressure, non-odorized natural gas pipeline under Steve Doeung's home, and that Steve Doeung would have 30 days to appeal the ruling from the point in time when the Judge signed it, Steve Doeung then asked Judge Sprinkle to please take his sweet time in signing the order, because Steve had reason to believe that a significant announcement would be forthcoming that would obviate Chesapeake's eminent domain case, due to the Carter Avenue route no longer being needed.

At that point in the proceedings, the chief Chesapeake lawyer told Judge Sprinkle that he knew of no impending announcement which might affect the case.

And then, a few days after that, the Fort Worth City Councilwoman who represents the district Carter Avenue is in, Kathleen Hicks, had minions place letters in Carter Avenue resident's mailboxes. The letter was a sort of obtuse meandering that seemed to be somehow taking credit for something that was about to happen, which Ms. Hicks seemed to be indicating she had been working hard to bring about.

Even though Ms. Hicks has had no contact with Carter Avenue residents during this controversial period. Nor would Ms. Hicks answer questions posed to her regarding the Chesapeake issues.

And now, this morning I learn that, supposedly, once more, Chesapeake Energy and the Texas Department of Transportation has found an alternative route for the controversial pipeline.

The new route is the same route that was announced late last year, an announcement which sent Carter Avenue into celebration mode, complete with lining Carter Avenue with American flags.

TXDOT says the "new" route, running along Interstate 30, could be approved quickly, as soon as Chesapeake submits its plans for the route.

Councilwoman Hicks is quoted as saying, "The coordinated efforts by all demonstrate what we can do when we work together. The actions we have taken here are significant for other North Texas neighborhoods that are concerned about pipelines in their neighborhoods."

This latest iteration of TXDOT's pipeline policy supposedly came about due to pressure from the forementioned Hicks, plus Texas State Senator Wendy Davis and State Representative Lon Burnam.

Wendy Davis is quoted as saying that when construction starts on the I-30 pipeline, Chesapeake needs to return the right of way to the Carter Avenue property owners, saying, "Particularly, they need to back away from the condemnation against Steve Doeung. I feel like his family has suffered a lot of emotional trauma."

Well, I agree with Wendy on that. Steve Doeung and his family have been put through a Kafkaesque nightmare, complete with scary Gestapo Raids and lop-sided court hearings, where the victim is left helpless in court, defending, solo, his rights, against a powerful government/industry combine.

Is it time for Carter Avenue to bust out the flags again? I don't know. The last time the Carter Avenue flags went up, someone stealthily removed them under cover of darkness. This time, if the flags go up, I'd say it'd be a wise move to keep the flags on the home side of the sidewalk.

And. To whover it was who stole the previous flags, this time there will be 2 night vision cameras strategically located on Carter Avenue, covering the majority of the street. You may steal the flags again, but this time it will not be an Anonymous Operation.

Elsie Hotpepper Is Trying To Cure Me Of Being An Overweight Fort Worth Shut-In Who Does Not Get Out Much

Today, two people, separately and in response to separate stimuli, informed me that I'm a shut-in who does not get out much.

At first I was taken aback by this blunt rudeness, the likes of which, I am unaccustomed to being subjected.

But, then as I thought about it, I realized I was reacting badly to this information because it was true. I remember reading somewhere that the truth hurts.

I don't quite understand why it hurts so much to realize I'm a shut-in who does not get out much. I suppose it is because it's not how I see myself, til I think about it and realize I'm a shut-in who does not get out much.

Anyway, I'll have more to say about not getting out much and the full shocking extent of the high level of shut-initis, later, but first I must say, I have resolved to try and get out more and quit being so shut-in.

So, this morning I went swimming. Okay, that's no different than my usual shut-in routine. Then, really daring to do something different, I took myself outside again, escaping being shut-in, and drove to the Tandy Hills Natural Area, risking that it might still be too muddy from yesterday's downpour deluge.

But that's the new me, taking wild crazy risks.

The hiking the Tandy Hills risk paid off, as it was dry enough for hiking. Due to yesterday's deluge, the Tandy River was running high. I had to use a stepping stone to get across the turbulent torrent.

I forgot to mention, that is today's view of the Tandy River, flowing big, in the picture at the top.

I just took another anti-histamine medication due to whatever it is that is in the air that is making my eyes itch and burn. The medication seems to work.

Elsie Hotpepper is trying to get me to go out to lunch with her tomorrow, along with someone I've never met. My usual inclination, with such invitations, is to politely decline, due to such things wreak havoc with my shut-in, not getting out much, regular lifestyle.

But, since I'm trying to change, because change is good, or so I've been led to believe, I am seriously considering taking Elsie up on this lunch deal. As long as she promises to stay sober. But. I will need to put a few more hours into thinking about this before risking doing something so daring as going out for lunch.

In the meantime, despite the anti-histamine, my eyes continue to bug me bad.

An Anti-Histamine Medicated My Allergic To Texas Woes

We are back blue again this morning in my zone of North Texas. Usually, when the sky returns to ,it makes me a happy boy, but, this Thursday morning I'm feeling the Thursday blues.

Why? I don't know. I've been up since fairly early, some time past 4. I think I've been sleeping well, due to be so tired by the end of the day, due to all the extra exertion required to haul around all my newly gained heft.

You try hauling around 40 extra pounds, all day long, and see if you're not worn out by the time the sun goes away.

I really do not see how those who are carrying around a few hundred extra pounds manage it. The underlying musculature, that moves all that heft, must be quite extensive.

I have an issue. Or two. Troubling me, that I want to discuss with my therapist, Dr. L.C., but she seems to have gone missing, I'm assuming due to being operated on, yesterday, and not yet fully recovered.

The Queen of Wink is heading to San Antonio and told me I can come along. If I drive. I've only been to San Antonio once and really liked it. It's a sparkling clean looking town, unlike some towns I've seen in Texas, for instance, like the one I'm sitting in right now. It's current nickname is Dirty Ol' Town, due to being, well, dirty.

The stuff in the air that I breathe in this air polluted zone of Texas in which I reside had me in full sneezy, itchy eyed allergy mode, which I medicated with an anti-histamine yesterday to good effect. My eyes have returned to full function mode. As has the rest of me, for the most part.