The Dawning Of A Cold Dark Friday In Texas With Respiratory Malfunction

I am looking out the window at the dark morning of the second Friday of the last month of 2010.

My bout of WBS (Why Bother Syndrome) seems to have abated, replaced by a bout of NIS (No Imagination Syndrome) that has me feeling like there is a big vacuum where my brain used to be.

Whatever it is in the air that has me having an allergic reaction continues to vex me, irritating my eyes, clogging my nasal passages.

I am looking at the computer screen right now through the filter of a watery haze.

Very unpleasant.

Still Suffering From Why Bother Syndrome Even After Tandy Hill Hiking & Looking At Downtown Fort Worth

This morning I mentioned that I was over come, again, with a bad case of "Why Bother Syndrome."

I can not say my case of WBS has gotten better as I have shuffled through today.

I have no idea what is ailing me. I suspect it is an allergy. It is not a cold. But, I'm stuffed up and have this weird slight difficulty breathing.

I'd blame my breathing woe on the recent reappearance of my Chesapeake neighbor and whatever it was they were doing to their gas well. But, that would be irrational. They are gone now.

I went to the Tandy Hills thinking some semi-fresh air might help. I had no trouble breathing going up the hills, which was my concern going in. If it weren't for needing to use a nasal spray to keep my nasal system working I'd think I was being a hypochondriac.

After MLK read my lament about suffering from a bout of WBS she prescribed a visit to downtown Fort Worth to give her a virtual visit to her old hometown, suggesting something weird/good/interesting might happen. Well, it is true that I don't think I have ever been in downtown Fort Worth when I did not see at least one weird thing.

But, sadly, the closest I could get to downtown Fort Worth today was looking at the stunning skyline of downtown Fort Worth from the Tandy Hills. So, MLK, that picture at the top is the best I could do for you today.

MLK's situation is the opposite of mine. I was exiled from Washington to Texas. MLK was exiled from Texas to Washington. MLK's specific location of exile is Tacoma. I know of one or two real serious nutjobs who live in Tacoma. MLK is not one of them.

I don't know when MLK was last in downtown Fort Worth.

It has changed drastically, and not in a good way, since I moved here, with the now defunct Radio Shack corporate headquarter's destruction of the huge, free parking lots and free subway that took you easily to the heart of downtown.

Fort Worth is now like downtown Seattle, well, not quite as bad as Seattle, but it is no longer easy to find free parking in the downtown Fort Worth zone. That last time I was there I paid, I think, 6 bucks to park in one of the Bass parking lots known as Sundance Square, for a couple hours.

The last time I parked in downtown Seattle, August 7, 2008, I paid, I think, $25 to park all day on a lot in Pioneer Square. Pioneer Square is not a collection of parking lots. Pioneer Square is an actual square, unlike Sundance Square, where there is no square, just parking lots. Where a square should be.

I think maybe I should go saloon hopping with Elsie Hotpepper. That might break me out of my current bad case of WBS.

Why Bother When You Are Behind Bars?

As you can see, I am being very negative this second Wednesday of the last month of 2010, December 9, trapped behind the bars of my patio prison cell.

December is almost a third gone.

It seems like yesterday I was saying November was a third gone.

Tomorrow it will seem like yesterday I was saying December was almost a third gone.

Anyway.

I have been consumed, of late, with an overarching feeling of "Why Bother." I have suffered bouts of "Why Bother Syndrome" in the past. Usually the feeling fairly quickly passes.

This time "Why Bother Syndrome" seems to be lingering.

The lingering "Why Bother Syndrome" is likely exacerbated by endorphin withdrawal, due to yesterday's absence of any aerobic activity, which now has me thinking why bother with any aerobic activity.

Why bother with anything? What's the point? Nothing matters.....

Is George's Specialty Foods Back In Operation After Successfully Battling Chesapeake Energy?

Well. I saw this morning via an ad in FW Weekly that George's Specialty Foods is back after being closed to deal with some eminent domain abuse issues brought to George's Specialty Foods courtesy of one of the world's biggest abusers of eminent domain, Chesapeake Energy

I do not know what the outcome was, or if there was an outcome, in this particular eminent domain abuse case.

If this particular case of eminent domain abuse was covered in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, I missed it.

I'm guessing that in Star-Telegram world it is not newsworthy when a local business closes in order to defend itself against having its property taken so a pipeline can be run through their property carrying non-odorized natural gas.

Can someone tell me what the outcome was regarding this particular case of eminent domain abuse? Or what the current status is?

Walking A Wal-Mart Parking Lot With #23, Oregon Christmas Trees & OC Burgers

I had a half hour to kill. I was in Hurst, after having been to North Richland Hills. I forgot that I was supposed to look at a big pipe today in North Richland Hills. Or was it Haltom City? I hate my age-related memory woes.

So, with a half hour to kill, and after having gotten what I wanted to get from ALDI, I went across the street to the Wal-Mart Supercenter.  After I got garlic powder and peanut butter I decided to walk around the Wal-Mart parking lot and enjoy the brisk refreshing temperature and see if I could find anything of interest to look at. Or something odd.

Sadly the tour of the Wal-Mart parking lot rendered not a lot of oddness. But, there was the vehicle you see above. All its windows, except the front windshield, had a message on them. Apparently a football team named the Chargers won a football game. Which evidently had these people wanting to insist that their window viewers have a Happy Christmas.

Now, what amused me is that the football player is #23. So, on dad's driver's side window a square box is drawn in to frame dad's head, with the message saying, "#23's DAD." And behind dad is seated #23's Brother. On the other side we had #23's MOM and #23's Sister. #23's DOG Cajo sits in the back.

Next on my tour of the Wal-Mart parking lot I came to Wal-Mart's puny display of 5 Christmas Trees. Priced ranging from $30 to $60. And, just like the Christmas Trees at my neighborhood Kroger, these trees came from the Pacific Northwest. Kroger's were from Washington, Wal-Marts from Oregon. Noble Mountain Tree Farm based in Salem, Oregon, to be precise.

Why does Texas not supply Texans their Christmas trees? I've seen plenty of pine trees growing in the Piney Woods Region of Texas.

A few months ago, to some small fanfare, a California based franchise named OC Burgers opened in Hurst, adjacent to the Wal-Mart parking lot. OC Burgers did not last long. I noticed it closed last week. Most of the OC has been stripped away, except for the drive-thru menu.

I assume OC stands for Orange County. I've no idea why OC Burger failed. The burgers, as depicted on the menu, look tasty, except for the California Avocado Burger and the Jalapeño Burger.

This week In-N-Out Burger, also based in California, let it be known that they are opening an In-N-Out in Hurst, also on Precinct Line Road, just a couple blocks south of the now dead Hurst OC Burger.

I hope the OC bad burger outcome in Hurst does not bode ill for In-N-Out Burger.

There you have it, my very eventful, exciting walk around the Hurst Wal-Mart parking lot.

FW Stinks On Kathleen Hicks & Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief''s Political Calculations

I've been getting some good blog comments lately. Some times the comments are to bloggings from months, or even years ago.

Or the good blog comment might be to a blogging that was blogged on the very day it was commented on, such as one I got this afternoon from FW Stinks.

I do not know if FW is a man or a woman. What I do know is Mr./Ms. Stinks has rather strong opinions about about the shenanigans of Fort Worth's city officials, such as Fort Worth's esteemed by few mayor, Mike Moncrief, and District 8 City Councilwoman, Kathleen Hicks, currently somewhere in Europe spending some of Fort Worth's abundant budget surplus.

Below is what FW Stinks had to say...........

Very interesting observations, historical facts, and questions Mr. Durango. This situation could just be coincidence = not likely with this mayor and his crew. 

A theory based on past history and pattern is that this was a cynical ploy involving political calculations. Remember elections are just around the bend for the mayor and Ms. Hicks. She serves as some kind of member of big bother big sister version for cities, mainly FW and European cities. So this may be the official city business for which she's deployed, during a crucial vote on a major issue for the city. Not only are travel related expenses much higher during this busy holiday period, but then to be absent while knowing ahead of time that there will very likely be a tie vote (an unusual thing for this group) is awfully fishy. Going with the calculated politically-motivated theory, this scenario benefits both the mayor and the councilwoman. 

With a strong challenger already in place (see FW Weekly, forget the S-T for real news), the mayor wants to be able to point to this "difficult decision" and his decisive and courageous tie-breaking vote THAT SHOW HIS RESPECT FOR THE CITIZENS WISHES AND FOR RESPONSIBLE USE OF TAX MONEY. 

After a rough two years, mostly from her mistake in taking the side of the bullying gas corporation Chesapeake in a very high profile and intense battle of wills between this corporate Goliath and a sickly immigrant man (who won, by gosh!!), the council rep. needed no more "political damage or liability" going into the May 2011 election. Not really known for courageous votes or strong leadership, this conveniently timed trip gives her that political cover.

So either the mayor has felt that she has gotten over her punishment from him last year, and deserves his "protection" now, for not getting that CHK pipeline down Carter Ave. in the form of a blindside straight out of "Survivor" in which he publicly stripped (and embarrassed her and her supporters) away her precious title as mayor pro temp without the usual courtesy of letting her know in advance OR she has not not gotten over that public humiliation and took the trip in order to force him to be the deciding vote and pay whatever political price for his decision.

Or, once again, it's all just a perfect set of coincidences. I'd like to feed you some fish from the Trinity River if you bite on that explanation. 

What Is Kathleen Hicks Doing In Europe While Fort Worth Loses Its Streetcar?

Last night Fort Worth's City Council voted to stop studying whether or not it made sense for Fort Worth to build a little 6 mile round trip streetcar system, made up of 3 streetcars, carrying around 2,000 people a day.

I was astonished to learn this morning that $821,000 was spent on the now aborted study.

That is a lot of money. Who got that money, I could not help but wonder? They could have paid me $500 and I could have told whoever needed to know that the Fort Wort Steetcar was not a viable idea at this point in time.

How much did Fort Worth spend studying the obviously flawed Santa Fe Rail Market Boondoggle before that long defunct project actually went ahead to its fruitless fruition? For $500 I would also have gladly told whoever needed to know that the Santa Fe Rail Market was a seriously flawed idea based on erroneous misconceptions.

The thing that really caught my eye in this morning's news about last night's Fort Worth City Council streetcar vote, was that Mayor Mike Moncrief had to break a 3/3 tie due to District 8 Councilwoman, Kathleen Hicks being out of the country.

In Europe. On City of Fort Worth business.

I think I live in Ms. Hicks' district.

What in this impossibly strange world could Kathleen Hicks be doing in Europe that is somehow City of Fort Worth business. Who is paying for this junket in this city that can't keep its libraries and swimming pools open?

Is Kathleen Hicks over in Europe studying European Public Markets, getting ready for a Part II of the Santa Fe Rail Market Boondoggle? Remember how that particular boondoggle was supposedly modeled after public markets in Europe and Seattle's Pike Place Market. Yet somehow what Fort Worth ended up with bore no resemblance to anything in Seattle. Or Europe.

Maybe Kathleen Hicks is over in Europe studying how it is that no European city has an embarrassing eyesore across the street from its courthouse, like Fort Worth's Heritage Park, with Heritage Park being one of the few unique things that used to be a good embellishment to downtown Fort Worth, but is now a boarded up, rundown mess overlooking the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

In Hollywood you can go on a bus tour of the scenes of various Hollywood areas of notoriety and scandal. I wonder if any tourist dollars could be made by taking tourists on bus tours of Fort Worth's various boondoggles? Maybe Molly the Trolley could be used in this endeavor.

Itchy Eyes & Fire From Faucets In Texas

Does it look 4 degrees above freezing looking out my window this morning of the 2nd Wednesday of the last month of 2010?

It looks cold out there to me.

Something in the air is making my eyes scratchy. Maybe this is due to the furnace running.

I'm going to put a match to water coming out of my faucet this morning to see if it lights up. I learned this morning that this is happening in Texas, with the state agency in charge of checked out such dangers instead choosing to attack the EPA due to it being a federal agency which the Texas agency feels has no business minding the business of Texas.

The EPA took a look at the homes in question and deemed them in danger of exploding.

I need to walk away from the computer now and find eyedrops to stop this incessant blinking.

The Mysterious Unknown Past Of Fort Worth's Tandy Hills

That is not the Emerald City of Oz in the distance, reached via Yellow Brick Road through the Enchanted Forest in the foreground.

No, instead of an Emerald City, that is the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, also known as Dirty Ol' Town, by some.  And that is the Tandy Hills Forest, with no Yellow Brick Road.

But there is a Sanitary Sewer Line Access Road, also known as Tandy Highway.

I parked in a new location on the top of Mount Tandy today. I did not want to go to my usual top of the mountain location because there were too many pickup trucks and people working on the Fort Worth Space Needle.

The route I walked into the Tandy Hills Natural Area today was via the faint remains of a vehicle entry that terminates at a gate that must be circumvented to enter the Natural Area. The area outside this gate has been used as a very unnatural dumping zone.

I got past the broken tile and giant chunks of cement and headed down the mountain. Eventually the trail came to a creek bed. This creek bed had two very large cements culverts exposed.

Apparently, at one point in time this was a road, with culverts allowing the creek to pass without washing out the road.

Last week I was on the Tandy Hills and a couple of Hill newbies asked me who made all the trails. I confessed that I had no idea. I've never been able to get an answer to that question.

What used to be on the Tandy Hills? You see signs of civilizations past. A cement slab here, a fallen picket fence there, a rusted out hulk of a car, or two, large pipes, cables and other signs of past human activity.

Anyway. in addition to unsolved mysteries, I am ready for warm weather to return.

A Cold December 7 Pearl Harbor Day In Texas

It is the morning of the first Tuesday of the last month of 2010.

In a few hours, 69 years ago, on December 7, Japan did a very dumb thing which eventually brought utter destruction to Japan, occupation by America, democracy and baseball.

When Franklin Roosevelt made his war declaration address to Congress he opined that December 7 was a day that would live in infamy.

The infamy seems to have faded. Although there was mention made of Pearl Harbor veterans in the various online newspapers I looked at this morning.

Pearl Harbor day dawned barely above freezing in Texas this morning. It looks cold out there, looking out the window.

I'm ready to go to Hawaii for some tropical delights, like warm water and air. And mangoes. And a visit to Pearl Harbor.