A Tandy Hills Prickly Pear Cactus Did Not Give Me A Headache

I've got me a big, bad headache this last Sunday of May. And no, it is not the result of Saturday night saloon hopping with Elsie Hotpepper.

I was feeling not so good all day yesterday. Worse today. I thought going swimming would fix me. It didn't.

I thought the Tandy Hills Sanatorium would fix me. It didn't.

I think the Sanatorium made matters worse. I overheated real bad. And it's only 91. Maybe all these warnings about not going out in the Level Orange Air Pollution need to be heeded.

But, last year I had no problem with overheating. If I remember right we went to Level Red a time or two last summer without having any dire effect on me that I recall.

I remember the last time I was subjected to a surgeon's scalpel, I was forbidden to have coffee, which caused a really bad coffee withdrawal headache, which instantly went away when some drug was administered via a needle. I wish I had some of whatever was in that needle, right now.

Must eat lunch now.

The Tootsie Tonasket Memorial Day Tribute

That is Tootsie Tonasket you are looking at. Also known as Princess Thunder Rump of the Tonasket Tribe. The Tonasket Tribe is one of the few in Washington that don't have a casino.

I have known Tootsie since 2001. She emailed me way back then, confused, as people often are, by one of my webpages, with Tootsie thinking, like people often do, that I am somehow connected officially with whatever I'm webpaging.

In Tootsie's case she thought I was a Branch-Davidian, associated with the David Koresh group down by Waco. I don't recollect what exactly Tootsie asked me, but I know it was something along the line of telling me it was awful what had been done to my people.

And with that began a merry go round of funny confusion.

At first, due mostly to Tootsie's fractured English and oddball reactions and misunderstandings, I thought she might have some issue of the psychological sort. And then one day it finally dawned on me that Tootsie was playing with me.

The first time I spoke to Tootsie she seemed really downcast and sad. That might have been way back in 2003. Back then she just really exuded a lack of self confidence.

Well, one of the pleasures of knowing Tootsie Tonasket has been observing her gain confidence over the years. Tootsie has some health issues borne of childhood disease, one effect being memory lapses.

Tootsie grew up thinking she was not very smart. Well, by 2005, or thereabouts, I recollect telling Tootsie that I find her highly intelligent. And that she writes well. Because she does.

The Internet brought the world to Tootsie. Facebook reconnected her with people she'd long lost touch with. Nowadays Tootsie has all sorts of people letting her know how special she is. And she found a long lost sister.

When I talk to Tootsie now, that hangdog girl is long gone. She sounds upbeat and laughs a lot. Tootsie has a very good sense of humor. Another really admirable thing about Tootsie Tonasket is she has not a single mean bone in her body. She only knows how to be nice.

Tootsie has sent me all sorts of things over the years. My favorite may be a blue denim shirt.

Tootsie is an excellent cook. Her pies are legendary in Tonasket and surrounding environs. Tootsie introduced Thai food to Tonasket with her Coconut Chicken Soup. I sent her the recipe.

Every year at Tonasket Days, Tootsie sings, signaling the end of the show. And with that, this blogging is over.

I'm A Hot Mess Butchering Chickens In Texas

You're looking at a sign telling you about the Tandy Hills. The wildflowers being in bloom indicates I took this picture previous to today.

I did not feel up to doing my usual aerobic thing today. Hence no hiking or walking anywhere. Consequently I am now suffering from endorphin withdrawal.

I did go swimming this morning for a long time. I somehow am able to swim without it being all that aerobic.

After I was finished with the swimming is when Saturday started to go awry.

I wanted to oven fry a chicken. That involved cutting up the bird. I'd not done that type surgery since some time in August of 2008. It did not go well. I ended up with a lot of very strange pieces of chicken. It turned out okay, in the end, though, sort of.

By the time it was time to consume the oven fried chicken I was not feeling all that well. I usually feel quite well, so feeling not so well is unsettling to me.

After lunch I went to the library, which has re-opened for one day. I returned some books, got some new ones, but the main purpose was to make copies of police reports. I think I mentioned police reports and the FBI previously.

I was befuddled by the complex copy machine and had to ask for assistance. I told the librarian I was too stupid to figure out the complex copy machine, could you be so kind as to help me.

It turned out to be fairly simple once I was shown how to make it work.

The temperature is in the 90s again today. Once more with the National Weather Service issuing one of its Level Orange Air Pollution Watch Alerts. So, I'm sitting here looking out my window, watching the air pollution.

This morning whilst swimming there was a slight petroleum like smell in the air, as if I was out in West Texas, in Odessa or Wink.

Speaking of Wink, I've not heard from the Queen of Wink. I assume she made it to Albuquerque, as planned, and then on to Denver, where she has likely taken possession of her new car and is heading back to Wink, with Princess Annie helping navigate.

I heard from Elsie Hotpepper this morning. Elsie mentioned doing some saloon hopping. I am currently in no condition to do any saloon hopping, even though that sounds like a really fine time.

I think maybe I am having some sort of imbalance, like my electrolytes are out of whack, or something. Because I keep feeling the need to drink a lot of water. To the point I think I'm starting to bloat up, like a sponge.

Yes. I'm a HOT mess.

I Am A Phone Book Reading Gringo In Texas

A new phone book arrived on my doorstep this week. There are few things I enjoy reading more than a good phone book.

This morning I was looking at the restaurant menus in the phone book.

The menu for Dos Gringos Tex-Mex Grill & Cantina had an interesting bit of "information" that did not seem quite right to me.

As in....

"Did you know that gringo is a word that was born in the Texas Mexican Border disputes? The Texas Soldiers wore green coats as part of their uniform. As they patrolled along the Rio Grande River there were exchanges across the river between the Texas Troops and Mexican Troops. The Mexicans would shout to the Texans "Green Coats Go Home". Later, the phrase was shortened to Gringos! Just a little bit of trivia from your friends at Dos Gringos."

Well, it was those Mexicans shouting, in English, "Green Coats Go Home" that seemed to make this bit of trivia a bit unlikely.

So, I Googled "Gringo" to learn, via Wikipedia, that gringo was used in Spain long before it crossed the Atlantic. Gringo is derived from "griego", which is the Spanish word for a Greek person.

Apparently it is true that gringo was first heard by Anglo ears when used by Mexicans as an epithet during the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War. From that point on the word gringo took on a special meaning in the relationship between Mexico and America.

Now it's time for this gringo to go do something else besides read the phone book.

Watching Level Orange Air Pollution In Fort Worth

You are looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth through today's filter of a Level Orange Air Pollution Watch.

I really don't know what we are supposed to watch for when the National Weather Service issues an Air Pollution Watch.

The past couple days the annoying WeatherBug program, that I really need to get rid of, has gone into its annoying chirp warning mode. I have my WeatherBug settings set to alert me to only the most dire of weather emergencies. Makes no difference. The chirp warning mode goes off over anything.

Like a Level Orange Air Pollution Watch.

I did not notice my eyes burning when I was out in the Level Orange. I didn't seem to have any trouble breathing the dirty air. I remember when I was a kid, the first time in Los Angeles, we were all thrilled to see the famous smog we'd heard so much about. And traffic jams. Neither of which existed, at that point in time, in Washington.

I remember going to Universal Studios and the air was so bad my eyes stung as if lemon juice was being squirted at me. Southern California has cleaned up its air, a lot, since then. I remember it was not until the late 1980s that I first saw the mountain range to the east, in Los Angeles, looking like the Cascades look, when you are in the Puget Sound zone.

I wonder if the Level Orange Air Pollution is what causes my bouts of feeling dizzy? I did have a little of that today when I overheated out in the 90 degree swelter.

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.