Taking It Easy In The Shady Jungle Of Village Creek Natural Historic Area Thinking About Mike Moncrief's Legacy Of Greed & Deception

Today is my therapist prescribed Day of Taking it Easy. Days of Taking it Easy are timed to coincide with when my pool is being treated and not swimmable.

I decided to escape confinement by going to the Village Creek Natural Historic Area, again, to be one, again, with the spirits of all the Indians who were murdered here.

That and enjoy a nice walk in a shaded jungle of green, blocked from the blistering rays of the relentless sun which is currently in heavy duty wilting mode.

With no incoming rain it will not be long before North Texas turns from its nice shade of green to a pleasant shade of brown. Brown is my favorite color, so I am okay with seeing brown everywhere I go.

I just a long email from Don Young with the subject being "Mike Moncrief's Legacy of Greed & Deception." I wonder if now that Fort Worth is finally rid of its corrupt mayor if the FBI, currently busy in Dallas, might turn some federal racketeering attention on Fort Worth?

I suspect not.

Instead of worrying about Fort Worth racketeering, I am going to have lunch now.

Half The Country Is Baking In A Monster Heat Wave With My Pool & Fort Worth's Public Pools Closed

Half the country is sweltering in Heavy Duty Heat Wave mode, with day after day temperatures over 100, with some areas feeling like it is in the 120 degree range, due to the humidity.

In a long MSNBC article about the Heat Wave, titled "Feels like 120: Half of US set to swelter again" mention was made of the Dallas-Fort Worth area's HEAT.

Mention was also made regarding the fact that Fort Worth has closed all its public swimming pools. Along with information I was unaware of, that being that four Fort Worth YMCA pools are allowing Fort Worth residents to swim for 2 hours a day, without needing to be a YMCA member.

Below is the excerpt of the part of the MSNBC Heat Wave article that pertained to Dallas/Fort Worth....

Dallas recorded its 10th-straight day of 100-degree weather Monday. The city hit 100 for nearly three straight weeks as recently as 2006, and the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory Monday afternoon for the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the first time since June 18. The advisory will remain in effect until Wednesday night.

In 1980, the Dallas-Fort Worth area endured 42 days in a row of 100-degree-and-over heat.

Little chance of rain

Triple-digit highs are expected through the weekend in Dallas, and there is little chance of rain to cool things down.

On Monday, 87-year-old R.F. Lanham was taking the heat in stride as he picked weeds in his shaded front yard in Dallas. "I've seen a lot of hot summers," he said.

As 40-year-old Sally Smith loaded two of her children into her minivan as she left a spin class at a Dallas YMCA, she said that even though she had lived in Texas for 18 years, the hot weather was hard to get used to.

"You feel like your skin is baking," the Michigan native said.

In Fort Worth, all of the city's pools are closed because of budget cuts. Through a partnership with the YMCA, Fort Worth residents can swim at four of its pools for two hours a day without a membership.

My swimming pool is not usable today. A YMCA is less than 2 miles from my location. I know it has a pool. I do not know if it is one of the four Fort Worth YMCAs opening its pool to the public.

Up Early The Second Tuesday Of July Thinking About Shocking The Trinity River & Betsy Price

I was up before the sun on this second Tuesday of July, but I did not look out my primary viewing portal on the world til the sun began lighting up the outdoor world.

I will not be visiting that blue oasis you see through the window this morning. The pool got its weekly shock treatment Monday afternoon. When the temperatures are over 100, day after day, the pool needs help to stay crystal clear.

I wonder if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle has plans to shock the Trinity River prior to Thursday's third Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hour Float of the summer?

Speaking of Rockin' the River, why was Thursday, a school/workweek night, picked as the day for  Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats? Rather than Friday or Saturday?

I read this morning that Texas lost 358 million gallons of water from the state's lakes in June. That sounds like an awful lot of water. The drought is currently being one of the worst in Texas history.

Continuing with the water, Rockin' the River theme, I got a very odd comment from the Ubiquitous Anonymous yesterday to a blogging a few days ago about Rockin' the River....

Though I understand your political stance, please refrain from commenting gars, gators and snakes do not belong in our ecosystem. They do. They won't hurt you. Treat them with respect to ensure others do. They are part of the food chain. Your disdain for such creatures is an attitude found in the very same people you purport to disagree with (yes, end, with a preposition). For all your meanderings, you steadfastly refuse to learn and appreciate the basic naturalism inherent in your outings. This disturbs my greatly. We do not live in a Pacific Northwest ecosystem .

I feel real bad about disturbing Anonymous greatly, but I don't recollect ever suggesting gars, gators and snakes do not belong in our ecosystem. I may have suggested, sort of, that inner tubers don't belong in a river where gars, gators and snakes try and make a living.

Also, I was not aware I have a political stance. I was aware that in my current location in Texas we do not live in a Pacific Northwest ecosystem.

On a non-water note, today Fort Worth is celebrating the installation of a new mayor, with Betsy Price replacing Mike Moncrief. I have a good feeling that Betsy Price is going to be a much better mayor than her predecessor. Eternal optimist that I be.

Today is my weekly take it easy day. This should have me cranky from endorphin withdrawal by about 10 this morning.

Tandy Hills Hiking & Other Miscellaneous Top Texas Blog Aggravations

As you can see, I was back in the Tandy Hills Jungle today, but I was not rendered a HOT mess, due to the temperature not being over 100.

For weeks now there was been a hardy purple wildflower, on a long stem, still coloring up the Tandy Hills. But, today the hardy purple wildflowers were in full wilt mode.

I don't do that phone texting thing. I mean, I do not send text messages. I do get them. But, unless I am near my phone when one of those text messages comes in, I do not know of its existence.

This morning I was near my phone when it made the text message noise. It was a message trying to sell me something. But then I saw that on June 26 my oldest nephew text messaged me saying he was disappointed I did not come to his restaurant in Anacortes that weekend. For some reason there were a few people in Washington who thought I was in state. When I wasn't.

This afternoon I discovered a fresh annoyance that is aggravating me. A website called Texas Top Blogs is taking the content from my blog, without permission.

Go to texastopblogs.com/Durango%20Texas/ and you'll see what is aggravating me.

This website claims you have to submit your blog and ask to be on Texas Top Blogs. I have never submitted my blog to this website.

The Texas Top Blog, in its FAQ, says this...

You will also need to place our banner prominently on your blog, in an original dimension and with link to our site. The banner should appear on all pages of your blog, not only at home page or only at internal pages. The placement of the banner on your blog is periodically checked. If a later check reveals that our banner was removed, your blog will not resubmitted to our site ever again.

They provide code for the referenced banner. I do not have this banner on my blog. So, by the criteria stated, they should remove my blog, which I have never submitted to this Texas Top Blogs website. It is rather galling that they demand a link back to their website, when there are no links back to my blog from their website.

I saw Texas Sharon's Blue Daze blog is also on the Texas Top Blogs website.

Am I not understanding something here? Am I wrong to find this aggravating and annoying?

The Second Monday Of July In Texas Thinking About Dead Horses And The Hotpepper & Jones TV Show

The second Monday of July is starting off chilled to a relatively cool 79 degrees. Heading to a scheduled high of 103.

That blue oasis I see through the bars of my patio prison cell is looking particularly inviting this morning.

I learned this morning that I likely will be heading to Paradise this coming Thursday.

The last time I was at Paradise was August 11 of 2008. That time Paradise was in Mount Rainier National Park.

In the incoming email this morning there was an amusing comment from a cow telling me she was a dead horse who no longer needs to be beaten.  I don't think that is a dead horse's call to make.

Another amusing comment was made in reference to myself and Elsie Hotpepper renting machine guns for an upcoming caper. The Anonymous commenter said, "Hotpepper & Jones sounds like a bad 1970s TV cop show."

I think it should be Jones & Hotpepper.

I think I'll go swimming now and ponder my upcoming Hotpepper caper.

Visiting Fort Worth's Magnolia Motor Lounge With Tequilla For Ta-Tas, Boobles & Dipsticks

The ad is from this week's Fort Worth Weekly. The Magnolia Motor Lounge is a watering hole on the west side of downtown Fort Worth. I have driven by the Magnolia Motor Lounge a time or two, but I have never stopped.

According to the ad this coming week the Magnolia Motor Lounge is presenting Tequila for Ta-Tas.

Apparently Tequila for Ta-Tas is a Breast Cancer Fundraiser benefiting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Music at the fundraiser will be provided by The Boobles & Poo Live Crew.

Magnolia Motor Lounge has a good website that amused me. For example, in the "About Us" section there are the following two paragraphs...

Magnolia Motor Lounge is not the Public Library, it’s a privately owned bar and restaurant and as such we enforce a very strict “No Whining” policy. We’re sorry if you’re easily offended by a Cool Vibe, Cold Beer, and throngs of screaming fans, but if you feel the need to be in total control over your environment, then you really need to stay at home.

Additionally, at Magnolia Motor Lounge the customer is “NOT” always right. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, especially if you break something, attempt to break something, are thinking about breaking something, or just being a jerk. We work hard to keep our little “Motor Lounge” an idiot-free zone at all times. So be warned, if you’re acting like an idiot, we’ll be glad to let you know right before we throw you out.

The Magnolia Motor Lounge menu is car-themed. The appetizer section is called Tune-ups. Among the Tune-ups is one called Dipsticks. Dipsticks are chicken-fried smoked applewood bacon with spicy Magnolia sauce. O-Rings are Shiner Bock Beer battered onion rings. Hubcaps are chicken or beef quesadillas. Garage Fries are a pile of fresh fries covered with that spicy Magnolia sauce, grilled jalapenos & onions, topped with pieces of the aforementioned chicken-fried bacon & sour cream.

The Hot Dog section of the menu is called Hot Rods. Among the Hot Rod choices is a Junk Yard Dog, which is a battered deep-fried hot dog with mustard, topped with Texas chili, grilled jalapenos & onions.

The Burger section on the Magnolia Motor Lounge menu is called Precision Burgers with Fries. I'm not getting the car connection with Precision. Of the Precision Burgers the MAGNOLIA CUSTOM (aka the kitchen sink) looks tasty with an Angus beef patty, mushrooms, pepper jack cheese, more of that aforementioned chicken-fried bacon, plus country ham & a fried egg.

Methinks I'll go to the Magnolia Motor Lounge this coming Wednesday, July 13, for the Tequila for Ta-Tas fundraiser where I can donate $5 to the Susan G Komen Foundation and have myself some Dipsticks, Garage Fries and a MAGNOLIA CUSTOM Precision Burger. It will likely require copious amounts of beer to wash that all down.

Sunday Walking With The Ghosts & Cicadas Along Village Creek In Arlington

I was not in the mood to get superheated today via my daily aerobic endorphin stimulating activity. That means no Tandy Hills.

So, I decided to go to Village Creek Natural Historic Area to walk in the shade among the ghosts of the many Indians murdered in this location, a location which was once one of the biggest Indian villages in America.

Til the Texans came to town and used a primitive version of eminent domain abuse to evict the land's rightful owners.

I saw the bird you see in the picture, intensely scouting for fish in Village Creek, below the spillway of the first dam/bridge across the creek.

Is this bird a Blue Egret? It looks like an Egret. But I have only seen White Egrets. This bird was not at all skittish. He or she did not seem at all bothered by me being there.

The cicadas seem to be being particularly noisy this year. I am hearing them right now, in the trees I see through my computer room window.

The cicadas have been being very noisy on the Tandy Hills, of late. I don't recollect such a loud cicada cacophony on the Tandy Hills in years past. .

In years past I have heard the cicadas make a racket with their mating rituals at Veterans Park.

And in the  Village Creek Natural Historic Area.

Today the Village Creek cicada population was being particularly busy. That is a cicada corpse in the picture. I saw several cicada corpses today. A cicada is a very big bug.

Elsie Hotpepper & I Have Found A Place To Rent Machine Guns For Our Upcoming Caper

A couple days ago Elsie Hotpepper and I were planning an upcoming caper and were wondering where we might be able to rent ourselves some machine guns.

And then this morning, in a very fortuitous stroke of luck, I flipped over the latest ink edition of dfw.com to find a full page ad on the back cover for a gun store called Lone Star Guns Gallery & Gear.

This store has machine guns for rent! With an introductory price of only $65 an hour. Which includes 100 rounds of ammo.

Elsie and I estimate we'll need around 200 rounds of ammo for our caper. Which should take about 2 hours. So, 2 machine guns for 2 hours will only cost us $260.

Elsie is going to sign up for Lone Star's "Ladies Only" Pistol League. The Pistol League meets every Thursday from 6pm til 8pm.

Lone Star also has an indoor shooting range where we can practice shooting the machine guns prior to our caper.

I wonder if we will need some sort of special permit to carry the machine guns?

The Second Sunday Of July Has Dawned Uneventful In Texas

Looking closely through the bars of my patio prison cell, at the ground level blue oasis, this second Sunday of July, I can see it is yet one more clear blue sky morning in Texas.

Heated to 82 degrees, heading to a predicted high, today, of 101.

With today being the 10th of July. almost a third of the new month has already passed.

It will quickly be August. A month where Elsie Hotpepper and I share birthdays within a 48 hour time frame.

This year's joint Elsie-Durango Birthday Party is at Six Flags Over Texas. Of course, you are all invited.

I think I will go swimming now and do some party planning in my head.

Words Of Wisdom About Growing Big From Tacoma's Fubbo The Hut

In the picture you are looking at the Tacoma entity known as Fubbo the Hut.

Fubbo the Hut is sort of the parakeet in the mine that should have warned Washington it was heading towards its current status as the most obese state on the west coast.

Washington has had a HUGE obesity increase since 1995, mirrored by Fubbo the Hut's personal increase from an estimated 250 pounds to a heft level some now estimate as high as 3 times the 1995 poundage.

When I last saw Fubbo the Hut, in 2008, her voluminous adipose tissue had totally consumed her neck, raising her shoulders to under her chin, as you can clearly see in the picture. Due to no longer having a neck, Fubbo the Hut was no longer able to turn her head. The entire enormous body had to be rotated in order to look left or right.

This would seem to be creating a bit of a hazard when operating a motor vehicle.

A couple days ago one of my Tacoma Informants, I call her Purty Gurl, emailed me a link to Fubbo the Hut's latest blog post, telling me I would find the irony amusing. I find Fubbo the Hut's blog posts to be painful to look at, let alone read. But, I clicked on the link anyway.

This is what I found.....

Some things I know for sure.

What ever you pay attention to grows, for better or worse.

The only thing I am the best at is being myself.

2nd Saturdayz makes me feel very proud.

I am lucky.   I am lucky.    I am lucky.

Oy.

That is Jewish for Good Gawd where do I start?

What ever you pay attention to grows? Fubbo the Hut pays a lot of attention to food. So, I can see where there is some truth to this observation.

The only thing one is best at is being their self? Uh. Yes, I can see where this is true. There is no one on the planet as good at being Fubbo the Hut as Fubbo the Hut. With her idiotic knack for stating the obvious.

2nd Saturdayz makes Fubbo the Hut feel very proud.

Near as I can tell, 2nd Saturdayz is a flea market. This is one of the sadder things I have read today. A flea market making someone feel very proud.

And then Fubbo repeats the phrase "I am lucky" three times.

Why is she lucky? Very perplexing.

Is she lucky because she is the best at being herself? Is Fubbo lucky due to paying attention to food and thus growing to being one of the biggest people in Washington? Is Fubbo the Hut lucky because of a flea market?

Very very perplexing. I can see why my Tacoma Informant found this particular Fubbo the Hut spewing to be amusing. And ironic. And really dumb.