I Was Not Up A Creek Without A Paddle Tonight At The Stagecoach Ballroom In Fort Worth

I made it safely back from the world premiere of "Up a Creek" at the Stagecoach Ballroom.

I really did not know what to expect to see in tonight's movie premiere.

I knew, sort of, what the subject matter was, that being promoting an adult version of improving the Trinity River and its tributaries and actually doing something about the flooding problem, other than building the world's best artificial wakeboard lake.

And stopping the bizarre Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

The movie starred a young lady from Haltom City named Layla Caraway. It tells the story of how it came to be that Ms. Caraway is so passionately fighting the bizarre political power structure that runs roughshod over Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

Or as one of the talking heads in the movie said, "Fort Worth, the eminent domain abuse capital of Texas."

No. I was not that talking head.

I must say, Don Woodard is a Fort Worth treasure. His letters to the editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram are great. But that man and his one-liners are even better. Clyde Picht is another Fort Worth Treasure.

There are a lot of Fort Worth treasures.

Unfortunately the current system of conducting business, in what is known as the Fort Worth Way, sort of stops Fort Worth's treasures from turning Fort Worth into the treasure it could be, rather than the poorly run company town it is.

Tonight, before the movie, while I hid in the dark, observing the crowd, a young lady approached me and asked if I was Durango. This type thing always makes me nervous, shy guy that I be. I said my name is not Durango. The young lady insisted that it was. And so I agreed. And then I learned it was she who emailed me today about something about Montana. It is from that email I know this was Georgia S. I met tonight.

I also met "Tarrant Liberty Guy" who had commented on my blogging earlier today about tonight's movie premiere, saying "Hope to see you and Ms. Hotpepper tonight!"

Well, Tarrant Liberty Guy saw me, but I don't know, for sure, if he saw Ms. Hotpepper.

"Up a Creek" will soon be available for viewing online. I'll  direct you to that when it is ready to be viewed.

In the meantime, I've got myself a problem with a video of J.D. Granger, who was not at tonight's TRIP meeting movie premiere.

Ironic, because it is J.D. who is sort of up a creek. With no clue he is missing a paddle or two.

Don't Litter At Tonight's Fort Worth World Premiere Of TRIP's Up A Creek Movie Documentary

I am not absolutely certain, but I think trash and litter in the Trinity River may be part of what is covered in TRIP's "Up a Creek: the Movie."

I went swimming (not in a creek) this morning, even though it was only 40 degrees. The water was warmer. I did not stay in the water long enough to induce a case of the shivering trembles.

I went to Oakland Lake Park at noon to walk around Fosdic Lake today.

I've long been amazed at these ugly green litter barrels that litter Oakland Lake Park, along with these worn paper messages stickered on the barrels, saying "Don't Litter - Put It in the Can! Keep Fort Worth Beautiful."

Well.

You'd need to click on the picture to enlarge it, but, ironically, there is litter on the ground between the two litter barrels you see in the picture. There is a lot of litter in Oakland Lake Park. A lot of the litter floats in Fosdic Lake. I suspect this type litter is some of what ends up in the Trinity River when it goes in to flood mode.

At least we now know it is all the litter that is what is keeping Fort Worth from being beautiful.

I suspect if you go to the Stagecoach Ballroom tonight you may learn more about the bad stuff that goes in to and gets done to the Trinity River by its many abusers.

The Stagecoach Ballroom is located at 2516 E. Belknap, aka 377, in Fort Worth, just a short distance northeast of The Smoke Pit, with The Smoke Pit being my favorite place to get BBQ, whilst served by scantily clad servers.

The Red Carpet for the movie premiere starts at 6:30, with "Up a Creek" screening at 7:00. To fortify yourself, for viewing the movie documentary, adult beverages will be available. I'll be in the VIP area signing autographs with Elsie Hotpepper. Or not. I've not decided yet.

Below is map that should help you find your way to the Stagecoach Ballroom....

Up Late On The Last Wednesday Of March Thinking About Spending Time On The Texas Death Row

I was up late last night, thus up late this Wednesday morning of the next to last day of March of 2011.

Looking out one of my viewing portals on the world one can guess from the steamy windows that it is cold out there.

40 degrees.

To swim or not to swim?

Yesterday morning I was obsessed with the woe of having to take care of my vehicular transport problem.

Everything about fixing that woe went well.

And then when I took off to drive, starting the vehicle was startling. The new starter starts the engine like an explosion. I don't think I'd realized how tired the old starter had become.

In non-vehicle news of the morning, I was surprised to learn this morning that someone in Texas is calling for a 2 year moratorium on executing killers in Texas. A man who was up close and personal to the Clarence Bradley travesty is leading the moratorium effort.

Two decades ago Clarence Bradley was released after spending 10 years on the Texas death row for a murder he did not commit.

I can't imagine how cranky it would make me to spend time on death row when I knew I'd done nothing wrong.

Elsie Hotpepper Got Me To Thinking About The Real Fine Times I Used To Have In My 65 Ford Mustang Fastback

That is a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback you're looking at in the picture. My first car was a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback.

Mine is not the one in the picture, but that one looks close to mine, color-wise.

I just got called and told my current mode of vehicular transport has been repaired and is being delivered.

Back when I had my first car I worked on it myself.

I hated working on a car.

I fixed all sorts of things on my old Mustang. New shocks, fuel pump, carburetor, I forget what all. I'd replace the spark plugs. On my current vehicle it is not possible for me to change the spark plugs. I don't think it has a carburetor. I used to change the oil myself on my old Mustang. I have no idea how to do that with my current vehicle.

Elsie Hotpepper brought to mind, a few minutes ago, my history of car troubles with my old Mustang. It would over heat. The spark plugs would get fouled. I got stuck on Lombard Street in San Francisco with the clutch slipping. That same clutch, on that same trip, totally went out in Hollywood, late at night, after having watched the live taping of a TV show at Paramount Studios.

Oddly enough, to get that Mustang clutch fixed all those years ago cost almost the same as today's starter repair, both slightly over $200.

Another fun, unplanned stop, in my old Mustang was when it overheated on the Oakland Bay Bridge.

It amazes me now, looking back on it, that I went on so many roadtrips in that unreliable car. It took me to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, numerous times to Los Angeles and Disneyland, up to Canada, down to Mexico.

I put a lot of miles on my old Mustang by the time it died.

The Queen of Wink's son is lobbying hard to get an old 65 Mustang from his dad. I told the Queen of Wink I did not think this was a very good idea. It'd be a 46 year old car. Where would you find parts? How much would they cost if you could find them? Then again, if you fixed an old 65 Mustang up to its original glory, they are worth a fortune now.

After my old Mustang no longer ran a guy saw it sitting in a forlorn pasture, gathering moss, in rural Skagit County. This guy paid me $12,000 for that long dead car that I'd only paid $1050 for my senior year in high school.

About a year after selling the old Mustang the guy who bought it showed up at where I was living in Bellingham, showing off my restored old Mustang. I have no idea now how this guy knew where I lived. I shall have to ponder that one.

A short time later I learned that the rear end of my old Mustang had come undone, causing my old Mustang to be totaled. No one was injured.

When my old Mustang was running good, it was the funnest car I've ever had. I had myself some real fine times in that car, real fine times.

Well, enough of that. I've just been informed my newly restored current vehicular transport has arrived.

Riding A Fort Worth Bus To Meet A Towing Truck & Talk To My Mom About My Aunt In Israel

I've had myself another fun day traveling the streets of Fort Worth.

I hopped aboard the #21 Fort Worth bus a little before 10 this morning to transit back to my disabled vehicular transport.

Fort Worth's buses are rather barebone and stark with a very fun, wild ride that reminds me of something you might get on board in a theme park.

I exited the bus at Barnett and Oakland and walked to my stalled transport. I was hoping for a miracle, that it would now start.

It didn't.

So, I called AAA. I was told it would take 35 to 40 minutes for help to arrive. Instead it was less than 10 minutes.

Then it was off to the repair place. And then back here where I await the diagnoses.

It was foggy this morning, then the fog turned into a light rain. I got a little wet out in it.

When I got back to my homebase zone I went over to Miss Puerto Rico's to take a picture of her foggy balcony view.

It is being a stereotypical Pacific Northwest winter day today in my area of North Texas.

I suspect enough rain has fallen today that March of 2011 will not set a record for the least rain recorded in North Texas.

I called my mom and dad whilst waiting for a bus today. I was surprised to learn my Aunt Judy is currently over in Israel. Somehow this does not seem to be a good time to be being a tourist in the Middle East.

My mom told me they are having a heat wave in Phoenix. I told my mom we are not having a heat wave in Fort Worth.

I'm in the mood for a heat wave.

Up Early The Last Tuesday Of March Thinking About Exploding Tankers, Melting Bridges, Texas Boondoggle Referendums & The Paradise Center Scandal

I am up way too early this last Tuesday of March of 2011. Looking outside from one of my viewing portals I can see no stars or moons.

I suspect a heavy layer of clouds are lining the sky, because thunderstorms and rain are in the forecast for today.

I learned this morning that yesterday's tanker truck explosion on I-30, a couple miles to my west, caused the steel beams in the freeway bridge over Sycamore Creek to melt.

The westbound lanes of I-30 between Beach Street and Riverside Drive will be reduced from 4 lanes to 2, for months, while the Texas Department of Transportation makes emergency repairs.

Meanwhile up in Seattle, in other transportation related news, a group called Protect Seattle Now has managed to get over 27,000 signatures on a petition to put a referendum on the August ballot which will have voters voting on whether to go ahead with a multi-billion dollar tunnel project. Or not. 16,000 signatures are required to put a referendum to a vote.

Which has me wondering.

How come I don't read anything in the Fort Wort Star-Telegram along the lines of a group called Protect the Trinity Now has gathered over 27,000 signatures on a petition to put a referendum on the August ballot which will have voters voting for the first time on whether or not they approve of proceeding with the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle?

Maybe TRIP (Trinity River Improvement Project) has a petition in the works that I've not heard about.

Right now I am petitioning for the sun to arrive to provide illumination for my morning swim.

While I wait for the sun to arrive I have an incredible amount of fresh incoming Paradise Center Scandal material to digest. Including a pair of videos.

Today I Was Stranded On The Tandy Hills Causing Me To Walk To My Home Base

Well. I have had me a day. And it's not even 5 yet.

Monday started off fine, going swimming with the air heated to about 46, with the water a lot warmer than 46.

Then around noon I headed to the Tandy Hills.

Interstate 30, westbound, was still backed up due to the explosion earlier today of a tanker truck that was hit by a car going the wrong way on the freeway.

I just learned from Cat's Paw that the drunk driver of the car that hit the tanker survived.

This had the freeway closed at Beach Street. The Beach Street freeway exit is what you are looking at in the picture, in a zoomed view from the Tandy Hills.

If I had planned to go to Town Talk today I would have changed that plan due to Town Talk being on Beach Street.

When I was done with my hill hiking I got back in my vehicular transport to find that it would not start. I flipped open my phone to call for help to find my phone dead.

After a few minutes of pondering what to do, the only option I could think of was to walk the 4 miles to my home base. So, that is what I did.

Walking the mean streets of this town is a real eye opener. Does Fort Worth have the fewest miles of sidewalk in any major America city? It is real annoying to have to walk on the street. Or like you see above, the skinny sidewalk ends, turning into a dirt path. I remember walking all over Tacoma. I never saw any street without a sidewalk. With the sidewalks being of the wide variety.

In the above picture I am looking back towards the sidewalk's end you saw in the previous picture. What I'm trying to show in the above picture is the astonishing amount of litter.

I also saw one of my favorite Texas wildflowers for the first time this year. I believe these are called Evening Primroses, but I am not sure about that. We had a little bit of rain yesterday. I think that may have prompted the appearance.

The first time I saw these pink wildflowers was when I came to Fort Worth in May of 1998 to see if it was remotely possible that I would want to move here. Barely east of Amarillo I started seeing these delicate looking pink flowers along the road. After about 100 miles of seeing them I had to stop and check them out up close.

I have made arrangements to have my vehicular transport towed to a fix-it place. This will take place tomorrow. I hope.

The Last Monday Of March With Exploding Tankers & Heart Attack Grills In Dallas

In the picture we are looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at a dark, cold last Monday of March of 2011.

It is only 47 degrees out there.

It did not warm up enough yesterday to dry my swimming suit, which I just retrieved from the aforementioned patio.

Some time past midnight a driver went the wrong way on Interstate 30, a couple miles to the west of my location, slamming in to a tanker truck, which exploded. Both drivers were killed.

I heard nothing.

I learned this morning, in what little of the Dallas Morning New online that I can read without being a subscriber, that Dallas is getting a Heart Attack Grill

The headline, "New Heart Attack Grill in Dallas’ West End sure to give some folks heartburn" caught me eye.

I clicked on the link and was able to read the following before getting the "Get Subscriber Content access to read this story" message...

"At the Heart Attack Grill, scantily clad “nurses” will serve high-fat offerings like milkshakes rich in butterfat and quadruple-decker burgers topped with cheese and bacon. Owner Jon Basso, who founded the restaurant in Chandler,..."

I believe the word that would have come after Chandler, had I been allowed to read the article, would have been Arizona.

Chandler is where my sister lives. I must remember to ask if she and my favorite brother-in-law have been to the Heart Attack Grill. I suspect the answer will be in the affirmative. My favorite brother-in-law is a burger lover.

The Heart Attack Grill has a website where the former Court TV reporter, Terry Moran, will tell you all about the health hazards involved in eating at the Heart Attack Grill and you will see some of the scantily clad burger serving nurses.

Yesterday I said that due to the slightly cold temperatures I would likely not go swimming this morning. But, I've changed my mind and have decided to go see if I can cause myself a bad  case of the shivering trembles.

Talk to you later.

A Dark Dreary Raining Last Sunday Of March In North Texas

In the picture you are looking at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth, looking west from the Tandy Hills, today around noon.

As you can see it is a bit overcast. An extremely light slight drizzle dripped on me while I did my hill hiking today.

And now, coming up on 3 in the afternoon, the first big drops of rain I've seen this month are falling. Currently not in copious amounts. I don't know if this rain is hitting the official measuring station at D/FW Airport. Or if it will add up to enough to bring the total above the current record low for North Texas, set back in March of 1926.

I just heard a big BOOM of thunder. That's the first thunder boom I've heard in a long time.

It is now raining hard enough that it will quickly accumulate more than .1 of an inch, and then go on to break the .2 record low.

It has not gotten above 50 today. Right now it is colder than when I went swimming this morning. At that point in time the water was warmer than the air.

I don't see myself swimming tomorrow morning. And if this rain keeps up there will be no hill hiking tomorrow either.

Which means by about 2 in the afternoon I will be being cranky from extreme endorphin withdrawal.

Okay, we are now in downpour mode. But there have been no more thunder booms.

Have I ever mentioned I really like a good storm?

It has now let up. That was a rainstorm of very short duration. And the only thunderstorm I remember that had only one boom.

Up With The Sun On The Last Sunday Of March Thinking About Being In A Dallas Jail

I stepped outside to take a picture of the outside view at about the same time the sun started to arrive on this last Sunday of March of 2011.

Now that the sun has done its daily illuminating duty I can see we are under a bit of a cloud cover.

I do not believe any rain has fallen, so we are still on course for a record breaking lack of rain for a March in North Texas.

Rain is in the forecast for the next several days. It won't take much, only .01 to tie the 1926 March rain total.

I think I have previously mentioned that the Dallas Morning News online has gotten very annoying. Not satisfied with generating revenue via ads, the DMN online now only gives limited access, unless you pay a monthly fee.

This morning on the Dallas Morning News this headline caught my eye...

"Three years since being declared innocent, mans waits for ruling to set him free"

I clicked on the link and was able to read this....

"Three years have passed since State District Judge Rick Magnis found that Ben Spencer was innocent of a March 1987 deadly robbery in West Dallas. But Spencer, 46, still sits behind bars because the Court of Criminal Appeals hasn’t ruled on the judge’s recommendation that his conviction and life sentence...."

Before I came to this....

"Get Subscriber Content access to read this story."

I would think that the Dallas Morning News webstats are likely way down, which likely has led to a big drop in their online ad revenue.

I think it is time to go swimming now.