Facebook Is Ruining My High School Class Reunion In June

I have a high school class reunion coming up next month.

I have not been all that enamored of the idea of going to the bother of going north for this event.

I did not know why I was not all that enamored of going north for this event until this morning, courtesy of an article in the Seattle P-I.

Facebook is destroying reunions around the world.

In the past couple years, thanks to Facebook, I have had more contact with people I went to high school with, than I have since I graduated from high school. A long, long time ago.

People used to go to reunions to catch up on old friends, find out how they'd been, what they'd done, where they lived, how many reproductions they'd reproduced.

Now, thanks to Facebook, a lot of people get a lot of "status" updates, daily, from a lot of people they knew long ago.

In other words, Facebook is like an ongoing, perpetual reunion.

Thanks to Facebook, regarding people in my high school class, I know where people live, who they are currently married to or not married to, details of ongoing divorce sagas, who currently has cancer, or has had cancer or has died from cancer, who is in re-hab, who is out of re-hab, who needs to get into re-hab.

Thanks to Facebook, I know what people I went to high school with barbecued for dinner yesterday, what they watched on TV last night, where they went on vacation, where they are going on vacation, who they are going on vacation with.

Thanks to Facebook, I know how well some people have held up over the years. And how hard the years have been on others, this information due to seeing photos of Facebook faces.

Thanks to Facebook I've already had a reunion, in person, with someone from my high school class, meeting up with me for lunch, when she was passing through Texas on the way back to Washington, last September.

That actually was a very pleasant reunion. Mexican food was involved. And no one was consuming adult beverages.

I remember at the last high school reunion I attended in person there seemed to be way too much consumption of adult beverages. I remember at one point someone who had consumed too much, physically lifting me off the ground when my name was mentioned during one of my classmate's comedy routine. I do not like my physical self being randomly assaulted.

The last reunion I attended in person was July 27, 2002. In Lynden, Washington. The biggest family reunion in my family's history. I'd helped bring it about. To my ever lasting regret. I was only up there for a week. It was a long week.

If I go to the bother of going to this, upcoming in June, high school class reunion, I have a fear that after I go to all that bother, I get to the reunion to find only about 40 people, seeing many of the people I'd already seen on Facebook. Then, sometime in hour two I start feeling regrets that I'd gone to this bother. And that by hour 3 I start looking to escape.

Or, maybe I'd have myself a real fine time. I am not good at predicting these type things and tend towards making pessimistic assumptions.

The Dawn Of Another Day In May Worrying About Debt Ceilings & The End Of The World In 4 Days

You would not know it by looking through the bars of my patio prison cell, early this morning, that the 17th day of May has dawned with a clear blue sky, heated to 3 degrees shy of 70.

I had myself another restless night of tossing and turning. And for the first time in my nightmare world I entered a TV show.

Last night I found myself on The Real Housewives of New York City. Where Ramona and I were told we had to change our hair color from blonde to brown in order to stop that battle between the blondes and the brunettes.

I refused to go along with the dye job and left the show.

This morning I was surprised to read in the Seattle P-I that the University District Link of the light rail system had its groundbreaking yesterday. This project is already employing over 2,000 workers. And it costs around $2 billion. The Seattle waterfront viaduct replacement tunnel is also underway, with a cost of around $4 billion. And I believe the project to replace the 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington is also underway, or scheduled to be. If I remember right that project is also in the multi-billion dollar range.

Which has me wondering where all this money is coming from? Just yesterday I learned due to Washington's budget woes the state is going to start charging a fee to enter state parks and other state park land. To raise a measly $64 million every two years.

When I read that the Seattle light rail link to the University District is already employing over 2,000 I wondered how many workers the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is employing currently. I don't believe I have ever read a number.

I tire of reading about all the various budget woes. And that the federal government has reached its debt limit, with the eminent collapse of the American economy, followed by the world economy, with the end of the world scheduled for May 21. I read that on a billboard on my way back from the Tandy Hills yesterday.

It is time to go swimming and think about what I'm going to do on May 21.

Betsy Price & Kay Granger In Louis Tussaud's Palace Of Wax In Grand Prairie

Someone Anonymous sent me the picture of the two wax figures you see in the photo.

Anonymous claimed this is a new installation at Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax in the Ripley's Believe It or Not complex in Grand Prairie.

The wax figure on the left, holding what appears to be an adult beverage, is Fort Worth's soon to be new mayor, Betsy Price.

The wax figure standing next to Betsy is the Queen of the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy, Kay Granger.

Kay Granger is Fort Worth's Congresswoman.

It was Kay Granger who asked Betsy Price to be Fort Worth's next mayor. Betsy Price supports one of Kay Granger's pet pork barrell projects, the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. It is important to Kay Granger to continue to have a mayor of Fort Worth who supports her pet pork barrell projects.

The TRVB project is particularly important to Kay Granger because she had her ne'er do well son, J.D., installed as the manager of the project, even though J.D. had no experience overseeing a giant public works project that involved building the world's premiere wakeboarding lake, taking down perfectly good levees, buidling bridges, laying streetcar lines, abusing eminent domain, digging an un-needed flood diversion channel and building a little pond, affectionately known locally as the Kay Granger Puddle.

Does the Louis Tussaud Palace of Wax have a wax figure of Fort Worth's current mayor, Mike Moncrief? Are all these wax figures in a room called "Scary Looking Local Politicians?"

I've not been to Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax or the Grand Prairie Ripley's Believe it or Not. I don't know if seeing Betsy Price and Kay Granger, rendered in wax form, is enough of a draw to cause me to make my first visit.

The Short Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Pondering The Rut He Is In

The sun directly overhead at noon made for a Short Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man, which I am stepping on in the picture.

Today I realized the extent of the rut in which I've fallen.

Ever since I discovered, about 4 years ago, the Tandy Hills trails, less than 4 miles from my abode, it became my default hiking location.

Even after the discovery of the Tandy Hills I used to go to locations like Rockledge Park in Grapevine to hike along Lake Grapevine. Or Bob Jones Park in Southlake. Or Cedar Hills State Park in south Dallas. Or Dinosaur Valley State Park down by Glen Rose.

Or even drive as far as Waco to hike or bike around Cameron Park. Or all the way down to Austin to head west to climb up Enchanted Rock.

But then going to other locations began to taper off. I did go to Bob Jones Park in Southlake on New Year's Day, or maybe it was the day before New Year's Day.

It is 25 miles from my current location to Cedar Hills State Park. 50 miles roundtrip. I don't remember at what point I decided it was ridiculous to drive 50 miles to go on a hike.

I can not remember the last time I went to Dinosaur Valley State Park. I think it was the time I remember getting gas in Glen Rose for $1.50 a gallon and calling my mom to tell her I got gas and how much it cost.

I don't know what I'm going to do to get out of this Tandy Hills rut. I really don't feel like burning 3 or 4 gallons of gas and an hour of time, driving just to go to Cedar Hills State Park just to hike their many miles of very nice trails.

Not when the Tandy Hills is pretty much in my backyard. Maybe I will take up bowling to get me out of my rut.

Up Early In The Dark With The Thin Man Thinking About The Seattle Sonics Beating The Dallas Mavericks

The Shadow of the Skinny Dipping Thin Man stepped out into the darkness to retreive his swimming suit well before the arrival of the sun on this 16th day of May.

It seems like just yesterday I complained it was already the 16th of April and that time was flying to fast, rapidly aging me.

The cold temperatures, in mid-May continue to be a bit bizarre. It is only 53 in the outer world in my vicinity right now. Heading to a high today of 73.

Last night was too cold to have my bedroom window open. Is this portending for a record breaking cold summer in North Texas?

As anyone who knows me knows, I am a real rabid sports fanatic. So, I am switching the subject from the weather to sports.

I did not realize the Seattle Supersonics, now known as the Oklahoma Thunder, were in the NBA playoffs. I remember decades ago when the Sonics won the championship for their one and only time before Aubrey McClendon stole the Soncis from Seattle and moved them inland to Oklahoma City.

Yesterday the former Sonics won Game 7 against Memphis, in a game played in Oklahoma City, which had the OKC Thunders fans on their feet chanting, "We want Dallas! We want Dallas!"

So, now the Dallas Mavericks and the former Seattle Sonics are playing best of 7 to see who wins the Western Conference finals of the NBA championship tournament.

Even though I am a rabid sports fan, I won't be watching.

And right now the sun has lit up the place enough that I think it is time for my morning swim.

Tandy Falls Is Almost Dried Up After Yesterday's Futile Fort Worth City-Wide Vote

In the picture you are looking at an aerial view of the currently trickling Tandy Falls, today around noon.

Today I decided that the next time we get rain in downpour mode I am going to go to the Tandy Hills with an umbrella, wearing shoes that I don't care if they get covered with mud, and hike in to Tandy Falls to see what it looks like in flash flood mode.

It was another unusually cool day for May today, in the 60s, which made for pleasant hiking. Due to my Vitamin D deficiency I hike with as much skin exposed as possible. I think I mentioned yesterday I am rather pale compared to how tanned I am, usually, by this point in time.

I have heard from a couple of political pundits regarding yesterday's Fort Worth election.

Steve A opined, "If I lived in Fort Worth, I'd sooner crawl over broken glass than vote for Lane. I think if he becomes mayor, you'll soon be missing Mike..."

While Gail Galtex said, "I like Jim and his cowboy hat now. On a positive note, the anti-establishment got 29% of the vote. Jim Lane should figure out how to reach this group and may get them by default anyway."

I'm thinking it is real odd that Texas has elections where all you vote for is the mayor and your city council person. Elections cost a lot of money to hold. Fort Worth is supposedly low on money. How much was wasted on this most recent exercise in futility?

Why not just automatically install as mayor the Oligarchy's pick? How much money did Cathy Hirt and Dan Barrett spend in their futile effort? Jim Lane's effort is not yet futile. He is the FWRO's #2 choice.

It is time to quit thinking about these serious matters and go have lunch.

A Sunny May Sunday The Day After The Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy Wins Again

The 15th day of May has dawned both sunny and Sunday. It is a chilly 50 degrees out in outdoor world. Same as yesterday's morning.

The chilly 50, yesterday, made the pool feel as if the water was heated. I suspect that will also be the case this morning.

Well. We have had part one of our election here in Fort Worth. Part two is on June 18.

I can not tell you how shocked I am that the Fort Worth Ruling Oligarchy's picks won.

Betsy Price got 43.3% of the vote. Jim Lane got 26.3%. Cathy Hirt trailed at 21.4%. While Dan Barrett trailed even further at 8.3%.

The number of registered voters voting was up from the 6% who voted to re-elect Fort Worth's current corrupt mayor, Mike Moncrief, with 70% of the vote.

This election a whopping 33,860 registered voters voted, out of a total of 326,623 registered Fort Worth voters.

I am really no good at all when it comes to math, but it appears to my rudimentary math skills that over 10% of Fort Worth's registered voters bothered to vote. A massive increase of 4% over the 6% who bothered to re-elect the aforementioned corrupt Mike Moncrief.

So, congratulations to Kay Granger's and the FWRO's pick for mayor, Betsy Price.

I guess I'll be voting for Jim Lane now. If I bother to vote. Which is sort of unlikely.

The Tandy Hills Have Already Dried Out From This Week's Deluge

I figured the trails of the Tandy Hills would be muddy in places today, due to the heavy rains of Wednesday and Thursday.

But, no mud stuck to me today.

Absolutely perfect temperature. 65 degrees, with a good wind blowing.

I don't know if the Fort Worth water boys finished their sanitary sewer project. I do know that the bridge they so carefully engineered over Tandy Creek has washed out again.

But this time it is not a complete washout. I think each time the bridge gets rebuilt it gets rebuilt a bit better than the previous one.

I saw no humans on the Tandy Hills today. I thought maybe the Tandy Hills Wildflower Extravaganza might still be happening by the time I hit the hills. But, I don't think it was.

Steve A had an amusing blog post today titled "Cold Dark Winter - North Texas Version" about how our weather in North Texas, this year, has us paler and deficient in Vitamin D, as compared to a year ago. Complete with photo documentation.

I remember when I flew up to Washington in April of 2006 I was already suntanned and had to endure comments about my suntannedness. If I flew up to Washington, right now, I don't think I'd hear any comments about my suntannedness.

First off, because I am not very tanned, second off, because I would stay way from those types who make comments about ones level of suntannedness.

Anyway, I must go get in some lounge time around the pool now and work on my suntan.

All I found to get at Town Talk today was a lot of roma tomatoes and sharp cheese. I could have gotten a talking tulip for a buck. But I really so no good use for a talking tulip.

I Did Not Wait In A Long Line Today To Vote For Fort Worth's Mayor & My City Council Person

As you might guess, from all the signs, you are looking at my voting place, the East Regional Library.

Yes. I voted.

On my way to the Tandy Hills, which have already dried out from the rains of Wednesday and Thursday.

There were a lot of cars in the parking, which had me fearing a long line that would have me regretting not early voting.

I parked next to a pickup plastered with Cathy Hirt for Mayor signs with a guy campaigning for Cathy Hirt sitting on the tailgate. The vehicle on the other side of my vehicle was a Lupe Arriola for City Council campaigner. I told both the Cathy guy and the Lupe guy I was heading inside to get in line to vote for their girls.

They thanked me.

I was soon to have my fear of a long line disappear. There was no line. There was no one voting til I walked in.

Every time I vote, the method is different. I always end up being a little confused. We had trouble finding my name on the list of registered voters. I guess way too many Joneses made it confusing. As we were looking for my name, another voter arrived. An old lady.

Finally we found my name. I signed in. I was directed to go to the ballot man, where I picked a ballot from a table. Then I was directed to a voting booth. I was looking at the blank sheet of paper, likely looking perplexed, so the ballot man told me to turn to ballot over.

I don't ever remember voting for something in Washington where there are only two things on the ballot. This may be why today's election will have such a low turnout. And be one of the methods Fort Worth's Ruling Oligarchy retains control.

So, it did not take long to vote. My fellow voter, the old lady, was talking to me from her voting booth, telling me she did not know who to vote for for City Council. I told her I did not think I was suppose to make a suggestion.

Then as I walked past her, to stick my ballot in the machine that reads it, I said to her, "vote Lupe."

Oh no, she said, I voted for the wrong one. Then she actually asked ballot man if she could do it over. He said yes. She then walked over to ballot man and as she got another ballot actually asked him who she should vote for. He told her he can not make suggestions.

It was bizarre. Why was this lady bothering to vote, I could not help but wonder?

And then later I was thinking to myself that voters should have to pass some sort of Voter's Test in order to get your Voter's License. I think we'd have much better outcomes in elections. And change the voting age. Instead make the age when you can first apply for your Voter's License to be something like 12 years old.

I suspect I probably would have been able to pass the Voter's Test at 12 years old. That would have given me 6 more years of voting.

Almost The Middle Of May Thinking About The Super Bowl XLV Debacle In North Texas

We are already almost at mid May. I am really getting tired of how fast time flies. Really tired of it. I feel like I'm on the fast track to being elderly.

The second Saturday of May has dawned pleasantly cool at 50 degrees, with no clouds in the sky, as near as I can tell from my limited view through the bars of my patio prison cell.

Google's Blogger has still not totally recovered from its recent debacle. My missing posts have been restored. But the missing comments are still missing.

Speaking of debacles.

Remember the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Debacle? Snow and ice wreaked havoc. Then Jerry Jones' greed wreaked more havoc, irrationally trying for an attendance record, cramming extra seats into the Cowboy stadium that weren't ready by game time.

Remember how the Super Bowl was going to be a HUGE economic boom for North Texas?

Well, now, just a few months after the Super Bowl Debacle, towns in the D/FW Metroplex are seeking money from the State of Texas to cover costs caused by the Super Bowl Debacle.

Arlington is asking for $2.7 million from a special state fund, to cover costs related to the Super Bowl Debacle.

Fort Worth is asking for $2.3 million. Fort Worth's propaganda meisters, pre Super Bowl Debacle, were in heavy duty super puffery mode due to a cable network, ESPN, hosting its Super Bowl broadcasts from a downtown Fort Worth parking lot.

Unfortunately, the broadcasts from the downtown Fort Worth parking lots turned a bit icy and did not end up making downtown Fort Worth the envy of the nation.

And now Fort Worth wants money from the State of Texas to compensate for its foolhardiness.

Changing the subject to other important matters. I must remember to vote today.

I must also remember to go swimming, which I think I will do right now.