Talking To The Queen Of Wink, The Tandy Hills & Other Stuff

You are looking north at the Tandy Hills trail where I lost my sunglasses on Easter and then found them a month later, right beside the trail.

It remains a mystery why it took me a month before I saw the sunglasses that were hiding in plain sight.

I called the Queen of Wink this morning. I knew she was heading out of Wink today, eventually making it to Denver. I did not know she was pretty much taking the midnight train, I mean, car, to Albuquerque.

It is a miracle. I spelled Albuquerque correct on the first try. That has never happened before.

So, I talked to the Queen of Wink til my phone went dead. I called because I knew she'd find an email I got this morning to be both bizarre and amusing. And a little sad. Since she was intimately connected to the reason it was so bizarre, amusing and sad.

Anyway, have I mentioned before that the Queen of Wink is very amusing to talk to on the phone? Some people do good phone, the Queen being one. Tootsie Tonasket does good phone talk. As does Elsie Hotpepper. My sister in Phoenix is also a very good phone talker. So is my mom.

I won't name the bad phone talkers. You know who you are.

With the Queen of Wink, and to a greater degree with Elsie Hotpepper, you also get a lilting Texas accent. The Queen turns hers off easily. I don't know if Elsie ever turns hers off.

It was 90 when I hiked the Tandy Hills. I overheated. As I overheated I pondered how it is I manage this when it is well over 100. I know I manage it, but today it did not seem possible. I think maybe mesh shorts are involved when it gets HOT. I must look for them.

Feeling Grateful For The Real Sane People Of Texas

Every once in awhile something happens that has me thinking, wow, I had no clue.

This morning I had me one of those I had no clue moments.

My #1 guilty pleasure TV show is The Real Housewives of New York City. I find this show to be highly amusing. Except for the past 2 weeks when I, along with a lot of other viewers, found it highly disturbing.

What happened was there was a moment when it became obvious, to the other housewives, that one of them had a serious mental disorder. When that moment of realization hit them, they suddenly quit arguing with the disturbed one and instead turned, sort of, sympathetic.

I had that sort of a moment of realization this morning via an email that made clear that the sender was not just, well, mean-spirited, but instead something far more disturbing.

My usual reaction would be to blog the email and make fun of its ridiculousness. But, instead my reaction was that this is just really sad. And then I found myself feeling sorry for the sad soul. I knew there was nothing I could do, or would want to do, to help, but I also knew I didn't need to make it worse by feeding the neurosis.

So, that's been my Friday, so far this morning, sitting here feeling thankful that I know a lot of sane people in Texas.

I think I'm really going to enjoy my sanatorium time on the Tandy Hills today. Before I have to be in Arlington.

Fort Worth's Strange Library Priorities

I'd planned to go to the library today. To return some books and get some new ones. And make some copies of a report I'm filing with the FBI, well, some police agency, I'm pretty sure it's probably not the FBI.

As I zipped east on I-30 I passed my neighborhood library, it being the Eastside branch, I saw only 2 cars in the parking lot, thus indicating the library was closed.

I thought maybe it'd be open later, so I checked the hours on the Fort Worth Library website to learn only 4 of Fort Worth's libraries are open today.

And all Fort Worth libraries will be closed on Friday.

As you can read above, in a clip taken from the library website, 2010 budget cuts require a reduction in operating hours and services for most city departments.

This at the same time that Fort Worth's mayor, Mike Moncrief, is pushing the Fort Worth City Council to approve a $10.7 million gift for RadioShack.

Now, I'm of the opinion that library hours are the last thing you want to be cutting back on in a city that likes to see itself as the Envy of the World.

When Lisa Simpson goes to visit her Springfield library she usually is all alone in there. My neighborhood library is not like Lisa's. When it is open there are always a lot of people in there. I'll see moms helping kids with homework. All the computer stations being used. Others who bring in their laptops to use the Wi-Fi.

Where do all those people go when the library is closed? My neighborhood library usually opens at noon. You will actually see people lined up waiting for the doors to open. Opening a library is a good thing. It should be open often. And for a lot of hours.

Maybe if Mike Moncrief donated half of his conflict of interest earnings that he makes from all the gas companies that drill in his town, that he should not be taking money from, due to that conflicts of interest thing, maybe that money could keep the libraries open more often.

My Cougar Kitty Courtesy Of Chesapeake Energy

You're looking at a cougar kitty. Earlier today I mentioned that a feline that looked like a cougar kitty visited with me while I was swimming this morning.

I said I was almost 100% what I was looking at was not an actual cougar kitty.

But, now I'm re-thinking the cougar kitty by the pool subject.

Due to getting a comment from the ubiquitous commenter who calls her/himself Anonymous.

Anonymous played to my newly discovered Paranoid Personality Disorder by telling me...

"It probably is a cougar kitty. Your fracking friends across the street drive out all kinds of wildlife every time they fire up the noise/pollution makers."

Well, I have been told, previously, that it was the noise and activity across the street, foisted on my neighborhood, courtesy of Chesapeake Energy, that had caused the influx of possums, raccoons, rats and snakes. But no one mentioned cougars. Til now.

I just hope there are no gators lurking in those woods.

Cougar Encounters With Elsie Hotpepper & Me Thinking About Leaving The Tandy Hills

Aren't the Tandy Hills looking serene today? I was in the mood for some serenity, after a disturbing morning of extreme weirdness.

I read an interesting article this morning about Paranoid Personality Disorder, focusing on a very odd person named Kelly Bensimon.

Ironically, I read that before I was blessed with a dose of Paranoid Personality Disorder.

So, I had myself some heavy duty pondering to do today whilst hiking the Tandy Hills. At over 90 degrees.

The adjustment to the HEAT seems to be progressing. Soon I'll be able to easily tolerate being out in it when it's 110. Or HOTTER.

This morning, before I blogged about the FBI, I blogged about all the alligators swimming in the lakes around here. I had alligators on my mind when I was in the pool this morning. I'm not very far from the Trinity River. My own Paranoid Personality Disorder had me worrying about alligators swimming with me this morning.

As I pondered gators, a cat walked into the pool zone. I said, "howdy kitty." This stopped it dead in its tracks. It stared at me, I stared at it.

The more I stared at the cat the more it looked like a cougar to me. A cougar kitty. We have cougars in these parts, but call them panthers. I've not seen one, but have spoken with locals who have.

I'm almost 100% certain that that was not a cougar kitty with me in the pool today. But, how can I know for sure?

A big wooded zone is right across the street from where I live. There is a lot of wildlife in there, snakes, possums, raccoons, rats, bobcats. I really don't think you have to have Paranoid Personality Disorder to worry that there might be a cougar or two living in my nearby woods.

Today Elsie Hotpepper and I are thinking of leaving the country. To go where? I have no idea.

I Filed A Report With The FBI & Other Nonsense

Well, I've had me a sort of sickening morning. The sort of sickening that would be funny if it weren't so sad and sickening.

I got an email this morning from my Anonymous Tacoma emailer with a link to Facebook.

Imagine my joy when I clicked on the link to see myself being discussed by the entities I call Fubbo, Mister Sister and Mega Nag. Discussed on Facebook.

Apparently I am stalking (or stocking) Fubbo on the Internet. And it's very creepy. And sloppy.

The FBI has been contacted by Fubbo and she has her people working on the case, including Mister Sister, who Fubbo suggests might do some IP digging.

Now, where this turns funny, and sad, is a couple months ago Fubbo showed up on Gar the Texan's blog, anonymously, at first. The Queen of Wink sent me the Anonymous comment, along with the IP address. I could tell it was Fubbo. I then said so on Gar's blog. To which Fubbo, almost immediately, commented, denying ever being Anonymous.

And yet Fubbo somehow knew she'd been exposed on some random blog, denying it was she making the Anonymous comment. Fubbo's damage control comment was pretty lame, the Queen of Wink pretty much amusingly countered Fubbo. Fubbo then deleted her comments and went away. Or so I thought.

The Queen of Wink was able to use some IP tracking thing to see where Fubbo was going, blog-wise.

I then commented that it was pretty ironic that Fubbo has said she forces herself not to read my blog and now to find out she's not only stalking mine, but also stalking the blogs of people I know in Texas. If you look at my FeedJit stats you can see Tacoma is constantly showing up on my blog.

Fubbo must have stewed about this embarrassment for a couple months and then decided to project her behavior on to me.

What profoundly disturbs me is that Mister Sister and Mega Nag are feeding into these delusions. I'd told Mister Sister that she needed to be wary of Fubbo due to the girl being a pathological liar.

It's all very perplexing to me. And sad. And just slightly funny.

My Chesapeake Energy Neighbor Has Returned

This morning, early, I started hearing what sounded like the bangs and booms of a construction project.

A few minutes ago I went outside to do some contemplating whilst sitting on the picnic table, one of my favorite contemplating spots.

I was barely into contemplating mode when I heard a bang and turned around to see that today's bangs and booms were being brought, again, courtesy of Chesapeake Energy and the Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling operation across the street from where I live.

I guess it must be time to freshly frack the well. I believe this happens several times during a well's lifespan. Or maybe this isn't fracking, maybe it's a new drilling operation. It did appear that pipe was being shoved downward, with that guy you see in the picture appearing to be directing something.

I hope this is not an around the clock operation like the initial drilling was. I suspect it will be, though, with an army of trucks delivering water, soon to follow.

Swimming In Texas With The Lake Worth Alligators

You're looking at an alligator, recently spotted on Lake Worth. Lake Worth is in Fort Worth. People swim and water ski on Lake Worth. Apparently this is the time of year when gators usually get real active.

There is more water than the norm flowing out of Lake Eagle Mountain, which flows to Lake Worth. The alligators don't like fast moving water, so they head to where it is calmer. Which, apparently, has caused many of the big boys to leave the Fort Worth Nature Preserve for the calmer waters of Lake Worth.

I have not seen an alligator in the wild since I've been in Texas. I have seen the signs in the Fort Worth Nature Preserve informing visitors of the presence of gators.

Last year a 10 foot long alligator was killed in my neighborhood when it was crossing a road on its way to or from the Trinity River.

It has been years since I've gone swimming in a Texas lake. I think the last time may have been when I was chased by a big turtle.

Calling Mom Prickly Pears Tandy Hills & Spencer Jack

I need no help identifying the new "wildflower" I saw blooming on the Tandy Hills today. What I don't know is if it is actually a wildflower. What I do know is the flower pops out of prickly pear cactus. And then turns into an edible prickly pear.

In addition to prickly pear cactus blooms, I've had me a day. I got up around 4 this morning.

Sometime after getting out of bed, but before getting into the pool, I logged in to Facebook and saw a surprising bit of news from the Queen of Wink. We need not go into details. Suffice to say I submitted a formal inquiry to the Queen and she alleviated me of my concern.

By mid-morning Elsie Hotpepper was obsessing over getting into a car with a stranger. I had trouble understanding the obsession. But did my best to alleviate Elsie of her concern.

A bit before noon I headed up to Euless. I had to get gas on the way, so I called my mom, like I always do when I get gas. Mom was being in chatty mode. So, we chatted. I learned that my little great nephew, Spencer Jack, attended my Uncle Mel's funeral. Spencer Jack is named after my dad, Jack, and my ex-wife, who's last name is Spencer. My nephew, Spencer's dad, had been told you can't go wrong naming your kid after your richest relative. I believe Spencer's namesake was also at the funeral.

Don't I have interesting family dynamics?

I talked to my mom til I got to my destination, La Hacienda Ranch, in Euless. I was meeting up with Miss de Loca for lunch.

I over ate.

On the way back here, from Euless, I called my sister in Phoenix. My sister in Phoenix is the go to girl if I want to know what's going on with my relatives. She's an accurate, coherent, rational reporter.

I got back here a bit before 3. A short time after that, with it being in the 90s, I decided I needed to overheat on the Tandy Hills. And so I did.

It is now almost 6. I'm ready for this day to be over.

Memorial Day Weekend In Texas At Rockport Festival Of Wine & Food With Alma Squillante & Havana Daydream

Alma Squillante, also known as "The Songbird of the Texas Gulf Coast," currently headquartered in Port Aransas, has partnered with a guy named Luis in a duo called Havana Daydream.

On May 30, Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend, Alma and Havana Daydream will be playing at the Rockport Festival of Wine & Food in Rockport Texas.

Havana Daydream takes the stage at 4pm.

In Alma's words, "C'mon down and join us chomping on shrimp, oysters, beer, margaritas, and grooving, sassy relaxing Havana Daydream rock!"

Who wants do drive down to the Texas Gulf Coast with me this weekend to see Alma and Havana Daydream? And to have some shrimp and beer.