The 2nd Saturday Of June Dawns Blue In Texas

It is the morning of the 11th day of June. Saturday. Already a third of June is gone.

It is 78 degrees, currently. I have my computer room window open wide. I do not remember using this cooling method in June, previously, in Texas.

Where have all the melodically tweeting birds gone? All I am hearing right now is annoying squawking that sounds like a bird in distress.

Yesterday I said I'd been told someone talking to a camera was J.D. Granger's wife, Shanna. This morning someone anonymous told me that J.D.'s wife is not named Shanna and the person talking to the camera was Shelby Lyon.

Yet one more mystery seeking a solution.

While waiting for that solution, I am going swimming.

I Am Not On The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Payroll

I think that is J.D. Granger's wife talking to a camera with a lot of inner tubes floating in the Trinity River behind her.

At least that's what I was told when I asked who she was.

"JD's wife, Shanna," was the reply to my question.

I was on the pedestrian bridge over the Trinity, looking down on the scene of floaters and this interview below me.

There were a lot of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle people in blue "I DELIVER FOR THE RIVER" t-shirts standing around behind the cameraman.

When the TRVB people in blue saw me being a cameraman taking pictures and video of the cameraman, several of them looked at me with what Hawaiians call stink eye.

I was in disguise. There's no way they could have suspected I was that guy who is not a big Trinity River Vision Boondoggle supporter. I doubt any of them would even know I am not a big TRVB supporter. I only have a couple of people who read my blog.

One of the few people who read my blog read this morning's blogging about last night's Rockin' the River party and said, "Me thinks they have added you to the payroll?"

How rude.

I'm an honest guy. I described what I saw last night the way I saw it. I did not see a lot to criticize or make fun of. Except for the idea of getting in that murky, green river.

Yes, I did wonder how much this "free" event cost.

How much did each of those 600 inner tubes cost? They were big tubes. Then there was the old yellow school bus that served as a shuttle taking lazy people, and their coolers, the short distance from the parking lot to the float zone.

I thought Rockin' the River looked like fun.

Except for being in that river.

I'm thinking of going to the next Rockin' of the River with my kayak and float among the floaters. But staying dry whilst doing so.

The Arrival Of Barnett Shale Seismic Testing In The Mount Tandy Neighorhood

It was a degree or two under 90 when I hit the Tandy Hills today around noon. A good, strong wind was blowing. I did not overheat.

In the picture I am standing on top of what I call Big Lizard Ridge, looking east at the top of Mount Tandy, also known as Broadcast Hill.

That is the Tandy Tower on the left, also known as the Fort Worth Space Needle.

I am parked between the Fort Worth Space Needle and the shorter needle to its right.

Broadcast Hill is so called because it is the location of the D/FW zone's NBC broadcast studio. It was recently made known that the D/FW zone's NBC broadcast studio is leaving Broadcast Hill and moving to a more central location.

A couple days ago Barnett Shale seismic testing wires have appeared all over my neighborhood.

Today I was surprised to see Barnett Shale seismic testing wires strung all over the Broadcast Hill neighborhood.

I believe Chesapeake Energy owns the land between the NBC broadcast studio and the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

Is the real reason NBC is leaving Broadcast Hill because Chesapeake Energy is planning to put up a drilling tower by all the other towers on Broadcast Hill?

I can pretty much guarantee that if Chesapeake Energy tries to do such a thing there will be some loud broadcasting of a different sort from Broadcast Hill.

Rockin' The Trinity River With Pictures & Video

I did not know what to expect when I went to Rockin' the River on Thursday.

Few floaters? Lots of floaters? Public drunkenness? Rowdy people?

Well.

There was quite a large number of people floating on a variety of devices, with the majority on plus-sized innertubes.

I saw little alcohol being consumed. No public drunkenness. No rowdy people.

All in all it seemed to be a very wholesome affair with a lot of people seeming to be having a lot of fun.

The only unwholesome part of the enterprise was that they were floating in the Trinity River. Which looks pleasantly blue in the pictures, but looked green and very murky to my eyes.

There was a designated area to enter the river. Sand had been installed so you could enter the Trinity River with no actual contact with the Trinity Riverbed.

The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle loves its signage. The Rockin' the River event had a lot of signs. Signs directed you to the free parking lot. A sign hanging from the Henderson Street bridge. A big sign by the old power plant by the Main Street bridge. The sign you see at the top with the "River Rules." Signs all over the place, including 3 or 4 versions of the sign/poster you see above telling us what the Trinity River means to our children.

This group of floaters was clustered near the Panther Island Pavilion, up against a rope that had been strung across the West Fork as it joined the Clear Fork of the Trinity River.

When a TV news helicopter, I think it was Channel 5, flew over, the floaters were told to do some splashing for the camera. I did not get the camera turned on til the splashing was almost over.

I previously said I have not been to any event in Texas where I saw so few obese people as I did at Rockin' the River. I know something like Rockin' the River's demographic sort of selects for a young, healthy crowd that is different than I see when I waddle through my local Wal-Mart.

I thought the Rockin' the River event was quite a well done operation. There were multiple food vendors, including the Yum Yum Truck. The sound system was very good. As was the music, both in radio mode and when it went live.

If only the River that was Rockin' was of the sort that you can stick your feet in the water and actually see your feet, where you don't have to worry about water getting splashed in your eyes.

Anyway, from what I saw last night, I think all us skeptics may have to get used to the idea that there are people willing to get wet in the Trinity River. And that they will continue to do so.

I somehow have trouble taking good video. For Rockin' the River the wind presented a problem, but, even with my videographer shortcomings, the YouTube video below will give you a good idea of what Rockin' the River was like...

Up Early The 10th Day Of June Thinking About Dallas Winning The NBA Championship

Looking out my bedroom window this morning, with a third of June already gone, I am feeling relieved that a new day has dawned with me free of any rash type event affecting my delicate epidermal zone due to having attended last night's Rockin' the River event.

I saw no mention made of the Trinity River floaters in this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I did see a very big headline that told me that the Dallas Mavericks are possibly about to win their first NBA championship.

Professional basketball is the only professional sport that I've ever had any tolerance for watching. There was a period of time when I would go to the Seattle Coliseum to watch the Seattle Supersonics play basketball, including going to many playoff games.

And then one year the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA championship. After so many years of being in the playoffs and not making it to the end, finally doing so seemed so anti-climatic. After the Sonics won the championship I sort of lost interest. I never attended a game in the expanded Coliseum, renamed Key Arena.

I did not pay much attention to Seattle's professional sports teams for a long time, not until one year, in the 1990s, when the Seattle Mariners had most everyone in the Pacific Northwest watching baseball. You could not escape it. I attended one of those games, that year, when the Mariners were making a run for the World Series.

The game was in the now long gone Kingdome. I was in the McDonald's luxury suite. This was to be the one and only time I have actually enjoyed watching a baseball game.

Unfortunately, I will not be in the McDonald's luxury suite in the American Airlines Arena watching the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA championship. I likely will not be watching this on TV either.

But, I am going swimming right now.

Rockin' The River Looked Like A Lot Of Fun Except For That Unfortunate River

Well.

I am back from Rockin' the River.

I took a lot of pictures and video.

I have no idea why the Trinity River looks so nice and blue in the picture. In person it looked green.

I'll do a more long winded blogging about Rockin' the River after I make a YouTube video of it.

Short version impression of what I saw tonight. If this Rockin' the River event took place in a crystal clear, pollution-free water environment I would have wanted to jump on a tube and play in the river. It looked fun. The music was real good. Very funny country music courtesy of 95.9, the Ranch, til the live music started around 6.

I also have this to say, til I say more later, and that is that Rockin' the River had the highest percentage of skinny good-lookers I have ever seen at any event in Texas. I felt like I was back in Washington.

Except for the murky water.

Giant Wildflower Found On The Tandy Hills With The Queen Of Wink Found Safe Via New Orleans While Traffic Stops On I-30

I am fairly certain this thing I found blowing in the wind on the Tandy Hills today is not some sort of giant mutant wildflower.

It is currently 94. It was one degree below 90 when I hiked the hills today. Very humid. And windy.

The attempts to find the missing Queen of Wink amped up this morning, with the search reaching as far as New Orleans.

By around 2 this afternoon the New Orleans connection bore fruit with the Queen of Wink letting me know she has not been the victim of a crazed serial killer.

The Queen of Wink says her phone did not log my call, or she would have called me back. But, I left a voice mail message. And then we still have the mystery of what caused the Queen of Wink to disappear from Facebook.

I would suspect that someone has hacked the Queen of Wink's Internet accounts, except for the fact that the writing style is totally in the Queen of Wink style. And, as we recently learned from CatsPaw/CowsHoof, writing style is as strong an identifier as fingerprints.

As I drove to the Tandy Hills I saw the westbound lanes of Interstate 30 were in total traffic jam mode. This had drivers trying to get off the freeway, to the frontage road, driving over grass and into the waiting embrace of a multitude of Fort Worth cops.

I do not know why, when there is a traffic jam like this, those ubiquitous electronic freeway signs that usually say "click it or ticket it's the law" are not spewing a message like "I-30 westbound lanes closed ahead, seek alternative route."

Because there are plenty of ways to get around this and easily continue west. The traffic was jammed almost all the way back to the 820/30 mixmaster. A warning sign could have easily directed traffic on to 820, then 121 to continue west.

Coming out of Town Talk today and heading east on Randol Mill Road I was appalled to see about a mile of vehicles backed up, waiting to turn on to Beach Street. These would have been drivers who scurried off the freeway at Oakland Avenue, where I saw the cops in full ticket mode, trying to continue west via the next road that does so to the north, no knowing how backed up that road can get.

So, I guess when I head to downtown Fort Worth around 5, to do me some Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tubing, I will take 121 to downtown, not 30.

Are there restroom facilities on shore for the Rockin' the River event, I can't help but wonder? With 600 people floating while drinking a lot of beer, well, you get the picture.

I can now see where this Happy Hour Inner Tube floating is going to be adding some fresh pollution to the already polluted river.

Come Join Me Today Rockin' The River Live On The Trinity With Lifeguards & No Guns

It seems like I've been waiting forever for this day to arrive. That day being the first Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Happy Hour Inner Tube Float of the year.

Now with music. Starting at 6pm today loud music is going to be rocking the Trinity River floaters. The floating starts at 4pm and lasts til 8:30pm.

If you are concerned that some of the inner tube floaters might be packing heat in addition to alcoholic adult beverages you will be relieved to know that the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float webpage advises floaters to "DO NOT BRING" firearms or weapons.

What other weapon might someone bring other than a firearm? A knife? I suppose some maniac might go poking holes in inner tubes with a knife if knives were allowed. Where would you pack heat or a knife in a swimming suit?

Another relief is the fact that there will be lifeguards ready to come to the rescue in case a cluster of water moccasins decide to join the fun, or an alligator gar, or some snapping turtles, or an alligator or some other totally unanticipated river danger.

Anyway, I gleaned from the official TRV Boondoggle "Tube the Trinity - Rockin' the River Summer Music Tubing Series" webpage the details of today's big event and copied them below....

Admission:

• This is a completely FREE event every 2nd & 4th Thursday in June, July & August!
• The first 600 attendees will receive a FREE tube!
• Do you have your own tube??  Bring it!
• Receive your Rockin’ the River wristband at the Sign In Tent!  Attendees will be required to sign a waiver and receive a wristband prior to entering the river.

Time:

• 4:00pm – 8:30pm
• Live Concerts begin at 6:00pm

Location:

• Panther Island Pavilion in Trinity Uptown

Parking:

• Free parking at the "Old Tandy Center"

What to bring:

• BYOB & Coolers – NO GLASS OR STYROFOAM ALLOWED
• River Shoes
• Sunscreen
• Beach Towel
• Lawn Chair
• Blanket
• Water tight container for your keys, phone, etc. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST OR WET ITEMS.

DO NOT BRING:

• Glass or Styrofoam containers
• Firearms
• Fireworks
• Weapons
• Noise Makers

MORE INFO:

To access FREE parking at the "Old Tandy Center" lot: From Henderson Street, turn west on Belknap and merge right onto Forest Park Boulevard. Take the immediate right on Purcey Street and proceed to the parking lot.

Hop on the school bus shuttle that will take you and your cooler to the Sign In Tent FOR FREE!

Check in at the Sign In Tent to sign your waiver and receive a Rockin’ The River wristband.  YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE RIVER WITHOUT A WRISTBAND.

This event includes loud music and alcohol.  Please use discretion in bringing young children.  Children under 12 years of age will be required to wear a life vest at all times while in the water.  Free life vests are available for use, but must be returned at the end of the event.

Lifeguards will be on duty, however all attendees enter the river at your own risk. Pets must remain on a leash at all times.

There Is No Knife In My Back This Morning Stopping Me From Today's Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float Boondoggle

Looking skyward through the bars of my patio prison cell it appears the 9th day of June is going to be yet one more clear blue sky HOT day in Texas.

I am happy to be starting the 9th day of June without the knife in my back that was sticking me with pain the past couple days.

June is already almost a third gone, once more vexing me with the feeling that time is accelerating.

Today I am very excited to be going on the first Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Trinity River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float, along with 600 other floaters.

I was confused as to where the inner tubing was taking place after it was moved from Trinity Park, due to restrictions on liquor consumption, to something called Panther Pavilion.

Gail Galtex, aka GG, alleviated me of my Panther Pavilion confusion. Apparently the inner tubing is going to take place at the (destined to be destroyed by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle) confluence of the West and Clear forks of the Trinity River.

The Queen of Wink remains missing.

I think I will go swimming now, not in the Trinity River, which is nearby and apparently swimmable, but in a swimming pool with clear water and no alligator gar or water moccasins.

Swimming Took The Knife Out Of My Scapula So Now I Can Head West Of The Pecos To Search For The Missing Queen Of Wink

I am pleased to report that the knife that has been stuck in my scapula, for the last day, has been removed.

I'd scheduled an appointment for this afternoon with my therapist, Dr. L.C., to see if she could remove the knife.

I have canceled that appointment.

I think a long walk down the Tandy Highway, followed by some HOT hill hiking was the final cure for the knife in my scapula, with going swimming this morning starting the cure.

Changing the subject from the knife in my back.

Gar the Texan is more concerned about the missing Queen of Wink than I am. Gar the Texan is also from Wink, but never town royalty.

In the days of the Wild West in Texas, the Pecos River demarcated the line between civilization and the frontier. When you crossed the Pecos River and continued west you were in lawless territory.

A common phrase in West Texas, back in the days of the Wild West, was to "Pecos" someone, which meant to kill someone and then dump the body in the Pecos River.

I don't know how close Wink is to the Pecos River.

If the Queen of Wink does not show up by Friday the current plan is to take off Saturday morning in the Gar-Mobile and head west to the lawless territory of West Texas to try and find the missing Queen of Wink.

I took my antique camcorder down to the pool with me this morning to document my return to water.

This camcorder was bought in 2002, which truly does make it an antique in electronics years.

I thought I remembered being able to extract better photos from the video.

Maybe I've got some setting set wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. For awhile I did not realize I had the focus settings set to manual, rather than automatic. It took me awhile to figure out that was causing the image to not be sharp.

I just realized I don't think I checked the settings this morning. To the camcorder I must go now. I'll be right back....

The camcorder settings are/were correct.

I can use my non-antique new digital camera to take video. However, that involves sticking the camera on a tripod and getting the clips into Windows Movie Maker, which is not as simple as it is with the camcorder.

I got a Facebook message a few minutes ago from one of my Tacoma Informants informing me she needs to call me. Emergency. What fresh hell is this going to be? Maybe she has some information about the missing Queen of Wink.