Happy Father's Day With My Dad & Paisano Pete

Father's Day is Sunday.

That's my dad in the picture. This morning I was hunting for a picture I knew I had of my nephews in the pool at Excalibur in Las Vegas, when I came across this picture of my dad.

When my mom and dad retired they took off in their RV for a Roadtrip all over America and parts of Canada, like New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

At the tail end of mom and dad's long Roadtrip I met up with them in Las Vegas, where my mom loaded me down with a box of Christmas presents I was somehow supposed to schlep back to Washington on the plane. However, UPS handled that chore.

In the picture my dad is in Texas, in Fort Stockton, standing in front of Paisano Pete, Pete being the World's Largest Roadrunner.

Yesterday, or the day before, I suggested to Gar the Texan that he take a long solo Roadtrip, rather than one more sterile cruise. Gar the Texan said the idea of a Roadtrip made him anxious. This struck me as very sad.

I have a lot of things I am grateful for, due to my dad. Number 1 may be my love of a Roadtrip. My dad made all our family vacations totally stress-free.

I'll give you an example. The first Roadtrip to California and Disneyland. My siblings and I were looking forward to this like you would not believe. I think us kids being so gungho made mom and dad happy.

We were barely 30 miles into the trip when our trailer had a serious malfunction. An axle had broken. My dad calmly took it apart. We then drove into Everett, found a mechanic to fix it. A couple hours later we were back on the road, with mom making us potato rolls with ham and cheese.

Mom and dad made the little mishap just part of the adventure.

Later that same trip, our station wagon had another woe. This time it happened in Hollywood. The repair took several hours. Me and my brother were in heaven as we took off to explore Hollywood.

Years later I was to have a clutch go out, in Hollywood. I'd long ago learned, from my dad, not to get upset, that's it's just part of the fun.

I have never had any anxiety about driving in traffic or in a new town. I remember when we made our way into the Los Angeles zone for the first time, I paid attention to my dad driving, my mom helping with directions, checking a map.

About 5 years after this first family trip to Los Angeles and Disneyland, I drove myself there for the first time, in my now antique 65 Fastback Mustang. It did not even cross my mind to be anxious about driving in Los Angeles or worry about getting lost.

This is thanks to my dad.

I've known others who were not so blessed in the parental unit department. Who, when a little calamity occurs, it causes them to get all wigged out. Like, I remember a sudden flat in Death Valley, 5 miles from our Stovepipe Wells destination. Two of the members of my traveling party got totally wigged out and turned into major drama queens. Over a flat tire.

While I was thinking to myself, this is cool, a flat in Death Valley. What's the worst that happens? We walk to Stovepipe Wells and call for help. What actually happened is the flat was easily replaced with the spare, with the flat easily fixed the next day in Bishop, California, which turned out to be a really fun place to stay awhile.

Another thing about my dad. I have never, ever, absolutely never seen my dad lose his temper. Ever.

This is why I have such an aversion to people losing their temper. It seems like such a sign of weakness and stupidity to me.

Anyone who knows me has never seen me lose my temper. Something may aggravate me, but I do not deal with it by acting overtly angry to someone. There are far better, effective ways to deal with that type stress.

One thing I know for sure, if all the world was as blessed as me in the dad department, this would be a far far better world.

Happy Father's Day, dad.

Another HOT Fort Worth Friday With Betty Jo Bouvier Burning & Soul Food

That's the clear blue sky view out my computer room window, this Friday morning in the Fort. Worth, that is.

Currently, at 9am, it is 83 with a Heat Index of 88, heading to a high of 98. In other words, it is HOT. And gonna get HOTTER.

I went swimming for a long long time this morning, shortly after the sun arrived to light up the place.

The remodeling my patio project ran into a snag yesterday which required replacing a long support post. Yesterday afternoon the construction noise became so noisy I hauled my laptop over to Miss Puerto Rico's for some peace and quiet.

Last night I received disturbing photo documentation from the Wild Woman of Woolley, Betty Jo Bouvier, of her latest pyromaniacal accident. This is not the first incident where Betty Jo has caused a burn pile to go explosive, doing extensive damage to her usually well-managed hair.

As you can see, this time the fire explosion sort of turned half of Betty Jo's hairstyle into a Princess Leia look. Maybe Betty Jo can somehow give the other side the same treatment and achieve a balanced look.

I think maybe it is time for Betty Jo to re-consider this whole Wild Woman of Woolley thing. It seems too dangerous to me.

Change of subject from Betty Jo Bouvier's latest hair debacle.

Lately I have been channeling my inner African-American and making soul food. I'm doing so again today. Oven-fried chicken legs, mashed sweet potatoes and diced celery sauteed in butter.

Lunch is around 1. Don't be late.

Yet One More HOT Day Hitting The Trails In Texas

I did not overheat hiking the Tandy Hills Trails, today, like I did yesterday. Today I remembered to take a picture. I feel compelled to document, via photos, my Tandy Hills Hiking.

We are looking north, in the picture, on a flat section of trail. As you can see it is not very smoggy today. We have not been getting those dire Level Orange Pollution Watch warnings lately.

When I got back here and checked my email I saw that Elsie Hotpepper wanted me to go out for lunch with her. I'm guessing Elsie is trying to make up for that horrendous Tuesday night debacle with the Hotpepper Peptomobile.

HOT temperatures really stifle my appetite. This must be why every summer I lose weight without trying to lose weight. The melting process has definitely begun. If I shrink into the 170s again I'll try and force myself to eat more.

I'm sort of jealous of all the people I see who seem to have absolutely no trouble putting on extra pounds. Then again, I have seen, up close and personal, the virtual garbage dump of bad stuff an obese person shoves in their mouth to maintain their ever bigger size, and I really don't want to go that route.

I guess I'll just have to learn to live with being perpetually skinny.

Another HOT June Thursday Morning In Texas

As you can see, in the Thursday morning view from my computer room window, there is not a cloud in the sky.

And, at barely past 9 in the morning, it is already 84, heading towards a predicted high of 98, with the Heat Index making it feel like it is over 100.

If I had Audio-Vision, right now you'd be hearing an awful lot of banging and sawing. My patio balcony is getting changed from solid wood to a wrought iron-type railing.

I think I'll like the change, but I'm not liking the noise.

Yesterday I did not blog about hiking on the Tandy Hills, even though I did. Hike. I made it to the hills a little before 3. It was HOT. Too HOT. I got so HOT I forgot to take a picture documenting yesterday's HOT hiking.

I was on the HOT hills for almost an hour and a half. I don't think I was able to drink enough water to keep up with what was oozing out of me. The end result had me feeling really good, but a bit, well, loopy.

By the time I made it back to my vehicle all I could think of was the walk-in cooler at Town Talk. So, I made my wobbly way to that cooler. After spending too much time in the cooler, I exited to find boxes of sweet potatoes for 29 cents a pound. So, I got a lot of sweet potatoes.

Lunch today is mashed sweet potatoes and BBQed pork chops. Promptly at one. Or not. Don't be late.

The Fort Worth City Council RadioShack Prostitution Debacle

You are standing on the Trinity Trail, next to the Trinity River, looking west under Fort Worth's Main Street Bridge at RadioShack's defunct corporate headquarters.

Eight years ago Fort Worth's City Council approved a RadioShack incentive package worth up to $96 million over a 30 year period. This generosity was supposed to help RadioShack afford its new headquarters and to keep the company in Fort Worth.

Yesterday, Fort Worth's City Council approved an additional $10.7 million in tax rebates, to keep RadioShack in town.

RadioShack had been threatening to relocate and claimed it was exploring offers from other towns.

Yeah, right. That is believable.

What other town would want RadioShack, if it required prostituting itself to acquire the failing company as a hometown business?

In an unusual development, 3 of the 9 City Council members, Kathleen Hicks, Jungus Jordan and W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman, voted against the Ruling Oligarchy and against the RadioShack tax rebate.

What with all RadioShack has cost Fort Worth, I do not understand why Fort Worth does not ardently encourage the company to hightail it out of town. Because of RadioShack we lost those big, free parking lots that made going to downtown Fort Worth so nice and easy. And we lost the world's shortest subway, also free to use, to take you from those parking lots to the heart of downtown Fort Worth.

And what did Fort Worth get in return? Short version. Yet one more massive, embarrassing boondoggle. And in the end, even with the help from Fort Worth, Radio Shack could not afford its new headquarters. The building is now, primarily, a campus for Tarrant County College.

And this boondoggle is now being rewarded with $10.7 million in tax rebates.

Hasn't RadioShack done enough damage to Fort Worth?

Why the desperation to keep this extremely poorly performing company in town?

The only other urban area I have lived in is the Seattle metropolitan area. The Seattle area is home to many large corporations. I do not recollect Fort Worth style prostitution being practiced in the Seattle metropolitan area to service various corporations.

The Microsoft campus in Redmond makes the RadioShack headquarters look tiny. I don't recollect Microsoft blackmailing Redmond for any concessions. Maybe this occurred but did not cross my radar screen.

Costco is headquartered in Kirkland. I don't recollect Costco having any RadioShack style hissy fits to get tax breaks.

Amazon is located in Seattle. In a fairly large building. I don't recollect Amazon threatening to leave if Seattle did not do its bidding.

Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago. I don't recollect this move being the result of Seattle saying no to some Boeing demand. The planes remain being built, for the most part, in the Seattle area.

So, I really think Fort Worth needs to grow up and quit prostituting itself anytime a business deigns to consider Fort Worth its home. The Cabela's con debacle comes to mind. Would it not be refreshing if the Fort Worth Star-Telegram investigated how other towns reacted to Cabela's concession demands? It might be eye opening for the locals.

Bottom line, I think the Fort Worth City Council needs to reconsider this latest extension of one of its worst boondoggles. Retract the rebate and advise RadioShack to be careful not to let the door slam it on its butt on its way out of town.

RadioShack has done enough damage to Fort Worth.

Saloon Hopping With Elsie Hotpepper To Billy Miner's Saloon In Fort Worth

Last night I was really looking forward to Elsie Hotpepper picking me up in the Elsie Hotpepper Peptomobile and going to downtown Fort Worth to Billy Miner's Saloon.

I have previously gone to a burger joint with Elsie Hotpepper, in non-saloon hopping mode, to the Love Shack in the Fort Worth Stockyards. We were a bit disappointed in the Love Shack's Dirty Love Burger. It did not seem to live up to the hype.

The last time I was really impressed with a burger, was in Phoenix, on February 22, 2004. An In & Out double cheeseburger. Even though I was already plenty full from having spent 2 hours at a Happy Hour, and, even with me due to get on a plane, I had myself 2 In & Out double cheeseburgers. This made for the most explosively bloated plane ride ever.

So, it was with eager anticipation I anticipated a Billy Miner's Saloon Cheeseburger. This anticipation was made even more acute due to the fact that well-known local burger gourmet, Gar the Texan, had given the Billy Miner's Saloon Cheeseburger a rare 5 stars.

Cut to the cheese, I'd give the Billy Miner's Saloon Cheeseburger 4 stars. Not quite to In & Out 5 star worthiness. But close.

Now, you may be wondering who Billy Miner is or was.

Well.

Unlike most large towns, Fort Worth embraces its criminal past. Maybe this type embracing is part of the reason why Fort Worth, collectively, seems to have little problem embracing its criminal present, in the form of those, like the town's mayor, Mike Moncrief, a modern era Sundance Kid who does his robbing in much more sophisticated ways than using a gun to hold up a train.

Both the Sundance Kid and Billy Miner liked to rob trains. Fort Worth named its downtown collection of parking lots after the Sundance Kid, calling the parking lots "Sundance Square."

I believe this is the only downtown square in America named after a criminal.

Like the Sundance Kid, the legend of Billy Miner is that he was usually fairly non-violent in his criminal pursuits. During Billy's life of crime he spent 36 years in prison. He escaped from 5 of his prison homes.

Pinkerton agents were always after the Sundance Kid. Same with Billy Miner. Billy was chased all over America, while robbing trains and stage coaches. Billy was a suspect up in Canada, in British Columbia, in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Illinois and Michigan.

Obviously Billy Miner was very eclectic in the states and provinces he chose to work in.

Billy died at 71 years old, on September 2, 1913 in a Milledgeville, Georgia jail.

I can not help but notice that neither Texas, or Fort Worth, is listed among the locations where Billy Miner practiced his craft.

Regardless, even though Billy Miner may never have consumed a Cheeseburger in Fort Worth, or robbed a Texas train, he still is the sort of criminal we like to honor as a genuine folk hero, here in Fort Worth.

Wednesday Morning Texas Blues

As you can see in the view from my computer room window we are having a very blue Monday here in Fort Worth. Just a few little wisps of white in a sky of blue.

It is barely 9 in the morning and already in the 80s. So, no windows are opening today. The A/C is already cycling off and on.

I suspect it is going to be very HOT today.

Yesterday you may remember me mentioning that Elsie Hotpepper was taking me to Billy Miner's Saloon in downtown Fort Worth in her Elsie Hotpepper Peptomobile.

Well. That did not happen. I was very disappointed to find myself having to fend for myself to find my way to downtown Fort Worth and a cheeseburger.

I had myself a real fine time in the pool this morning. Perfect conditions. I will not be aerobicizing to get my endorphin fix on the Tandy Hills today in the noon time frame. If I get my hill hiking endorphin fix it will have to be later in the afternoon. I hope endorphin withdrawal does not kick in with its attendant grumpy irritability.

I hate it when I get grumpy and irritable.

The Queen Of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio

I knew the Queen of Wink is extremely talented. I also knew the Queen of Wink is extremely limber, able to contort herself into yoga positions I could never dream of managing.

Being so flexible has all sorts of practical uses as one goes about ones daily routines. Or so I would think.

It seems West Texas is a hotbed of retro. We have that melodrama in Midland called Summer Mummers, that is straight out of the Vaudeville era. Or before.

And then there is the aging rock band that calls itself Hotflash and may be leading West Texas into being the world's latest hot new music scene. When Seattle was the world's hot music scene it gave the world Grunge. If West Texas becomes the world's hot music scene I suspect it will give the world Sludge.

And then we have the Queen of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio (aka the Ross Sisters), channeling Betty Grable's 1940's, mixing in some 60's Wild Child-ness, combined with some modern era girl on girl on girl action.

I have seen the Queen of Wink remain steady, in that position you see her in in the above picture, for 20 minutes, effortlessly. It's amazing.

Check your West Texas club listings to see where the Queen of Wink & The West Texas Yoga Trio are appearing if you'd like to catch their act live. If that is not possible you can listen to the girls sing "Solid Potato Salad" and watch them do their yoga contortions in the YouTube video below...

Hiking & Heading To Downtown Fort Worth In Elsie Hotpepper's Peptomobile

You are looking west towards the stunning skyline of downtown Fort Worth skyscrapers, all 4 of them, this Tuesday in June, around noon.

The temperature was a pleasant 86 when I hit the Tandy Hills Natural Area Sanatorium, with the humidity having the Heat Index make it feel like 92.

A breeze counteracted the humidity, somewhat. It was good to get an endorphin fix today after yesterday's withdrawal.

Speaking of downtown Fort Worth. In a few hours Elsie Hotpepper should arrive in my neighborhood to pick me up in the Elsie Peptomobile to head west to Billy Miner's Saloon for a cheeseburger.

I think, in addition to the cheeseburger, there will be some people seeking ways to stage a revolution against the Fort Worth Oligarchy and the Good Ol' Boy & Girl Network that has foisted the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle on the Fort Worth public without a vote on the issue.

And maybe learn a thing or two about fighting back against wanton eminent domain abuse, such as what is practiced in this, the Eminent Domain Abuse Capital of the Civilized World, Tarrant County, Texas.

That garish pink of Elsie Hotpepper's Peptomobile may seem a bit extreme, but it comes in real handy when it comes time to find your car in a busy parking lot. It sort of stands out. Just like Elsie Hotpepper.

Another Texas Sinkhole, This Time In Weatherford

Early this morning a sinkhole popped open in Weatherford. Weatherford is about 25 miles west of Fort Worth.

Several things are memorable, to me, about Weatherford.

First off, on my first visit to Texas I got the worst case of food poisoning I'd ever suffered, courtesy of a tainted burger from a cafe on the Parker County Courthouse square.

Weatherford is memorable as the burial site of Oliver Loving, drug back to Weatherford for burial by his best friend, Charles Goodnight, in an incident made famous, in fictional form, in Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.

And Weatherford is memorable to me due to being the location of the Parker County Peach Festival, one of the best I've been to, with this year's festival fast approaching on Saturday, July 10.

This morning Weatherford woke up to a problem that needs a fix before the Peach Festival opens. A big sinkhole opened up by the intersection of Highway 180 and Sante Fe Drive, right on the path of people making their way to the Parker County Peach Festival.

Several roads have been closed.

The sinkhole is currently 10 feet deep and 30 feet across.

I am very wary of bringing up the subject of another Texas sinkhole. The last time this subject came up it was in regards to the Wink Sinkhole. That turned into a raging debate between Gar the Texan and the Queen of Wink as to the source of the Wink Sinkhole water.

I do not know if the Weatherford Sinkhole is going to be equally controversial. If it grows as big as the Wink Sinkholes, Weatherford will be facing one seriously HUGE problem.