Walking With The Ghosts Of Village Creek Talking To Miss Puerto Rico About The Bad Experience Of Flying Home On Spirit Airlines

The Village Creek Bayou On Sunday November 13, 2011

Miss Puerto Rico called whilst I was walking today with the Native American ghosts who live among the giant oaks of Village Creek Natural Historical Area in Arlington.

This was the first I'd spoken with Miss Puerto Rico since her return to her home island. She was calling from her hometown, Coamo's Super Wal-Mart.

Miss Puerto Rico flew Spirit Airlines home this time. She says she will never fly on Spirit Airlines ever again.

Miss Puerto Rico does not check in any luggage, ever since American Airlines lost her luggage a couple years ago. She keeps most of what she needs, when home, at her parent's house in Coamo. All she takes with her on the plane is one small bag and her portable DVD player. Spirit Airlines charged $38 to carry those two items onboard.

I find this hard to believe, but that's what Miss PR told me.

The next outrage was there were no complimentary drinks or snacks after being airborne. Spirit Airlines charged Miss Puerto Rico $3 for a Diet Coke. Same price for water or coffee. And you could not pay with cash. You had to use a credit card.

I find it hard to believe that airlines are not required to provide hydration to its customers. The inside of a plane can be very dehydrating.

The last time I was in the sky. by the time I got to Albuquerque. I'd had several refills of my glass of Coke. My throat was burning bad. And then on the next leg, to Seattle, the nice Southwest Airlines stewardess took pity on my parchedness and gave me a whole can of Coke.

Changing the subject from Miss Puerto Rico and Spirit Airlines to my favorite subject.

The temperature.

It is currently 82 degrees in the outer world, at my location, in the middle of this Sunday afternoon. My windows are open. I may go swimming again. This morning's swim went well, with no shivering after effects.

The 2nd Sunday Of November In Texas Pondering The Temperature & The Origins Of Life

Looking through the bars of my patio prison cell at an outer world currently heated to 31 degrees above freezing at my location on this parched part of the planet I see yet one more clear blue sky sunny Sunday in Texas.

The 2nd Sunday of the next to last month of 2011.

At day 13 we are already half way through what was recently a new month.

Changing the subject from my favorite subject to the Universe.

Last night I was tossing and turning and then found myself laying wide awake pondering how a long ago big bang spewed inanimate matter all over the Universe, with eventually one piece of that matter turning into the Earth, revolving around the sun, with conditions on the Earth somehow conducive to producing massive amounts of water.

And then somehow, due to the presence of water and an atmosphere something magical happened that caused living cells to emerge. And then somehow those living cells magically turned into a huge variety of flora and fauna.

Including giant dinosaurs.

And then the giant dinosaurs went bye bye, followed by the even more magical arrival of what eventually became known as human beings.

All the organisms that magically appeared over the passage of time are mind bogglingly complex.

The gradual evolution of inanimate matter into a HUMONGOUS multitude of living things really doesn't seem like a sensible explanation for all that is living that inhabits the Earth.

And that is what kept me awake, wondering how in the world all that inhabits the world actually came to exist.

Very perplexing.

And now it is time to go swimming. I hope not to have too bad of a shivering after swimming effect.

The Afternoon View From Miss Puerto Rico's Balcony Of The West Wall Of Fort Chesapeake

Saturday Afternoon Look At Fort Chesapeake

This morning for my requisite first thing in the morning blogging, rather than use a picture of the current view from one of my viewing portals on the world, I used a picture taken last night of the dark view of the West Wall of Fort Chesapeake from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

And now it is late in the afternoon of the 2nd Saturday of the next to last month of 2011, so I'm showing you what the daytime view of the West Wall of Fort Chesapeake looks like from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

We are looking east in the picture, towards Dallas, which is now blocked from view, by Aubrey McClendon and his cohorts in mayhem.

The daylight view of the West Wall of Fort Chesapeake looks sort of like the wall of a Medieval castle. Not that I've ever seen the wall of a Medieval castle, it's what I imagine such a wall would look like.

Changing the subject from Chesapeake Eyesores to my favorite subject.

The temperature.

Currently it is 74 degrees in the outer world at my location in this parched part of the planet. The temperature currently at my former location in a not parched part of the planet, the Skagit Valley of Washington, is 41 degrees. And it is raining.

A 73 Degree Day In November With The Tandy Hills Not Teeming With Texas Hikers

Fall Color On The Tandy Hills

It was another perfect conditions day on the Tandy Hills today.

Even though there are still some wildflowers coloring up the hills, the primary coloring this time of year is being provided by leaves that are no longer green.

Perfect conditions and yet I saw only one other human on this humongous natural area that is at the center of a city of over 700,000 mostly over weight people.

Appalling.

If you were able to plop the Tandy Hills down in the center of Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles or Vancouver, B.C., you'd find those plopped down hills teeming with humans on a beautiful 73 degree day in November, like we are currently enjoying at my location on this parched part of the planet.

This morning I stayed in the pool long enough to cause my first shivering reaction of this colder part of the year. I find out of control shivering to be an interesting phenomenon.

Shivering is a perfectly natural reaction to getting cold. The shivering/twitching is Mother Nature's way of vibrating the muscles, warming the cold core. But it sure was a challenge trying to type til the shaking subsided.

I must go feed a cat now.

The Morning Of The 2nd Saturday Of November Pondering Tearing Down The Walls Of Fort Chesapeake

The Western Wall Of Fort Chesapeake

No, that is not the view from one of my viewing portals on the outer world on this 2nd Saturday morning of the next to last month of 2011.

What you are looking at in the picture is the walls of Fort Chesapeake as viewed last night from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

Why is such a thing allowed? Eyesore is too polite a word for it.

If a homeowner decided to put a fence that tall around his house I think, even in Fort Worth, city ordinance enforcers would issue some sort of citation insisting the wall come down.

Mr. McClendon, tear down this wall. I want my view east restored.

Changing the subject from Fort Chesapeake to the temperature.

It is currently heated to 52 degrees in the outer world in my vicinity, shortly after the sun has arrived to begin its daily heating duties.

I think another hike on the Tandy Hills is in my future today. But, before that happens I am going for a morning swim in a pool that will be warmer than it was yesterday morning.

An Eye Witness To J.D. Granger Landscaping His Yard

Twice today a blogging from way back on October 27 has come back to haunt me.

The first haunting was Bud Kennedy confirming, via Twitter, that he did, indeed, skid into the Trinity River, way back in 1971.

That October 27 blogging was generated due to incoming info from my favorite tipster named Beale.

Most of Beale's tipstering in that particular instance of tipstering had to do with alleged similarities between Trinity River Vision/Tarrant Regional Water District buildings and landscaping and J.D. Granger's remodeling and landscaping at his house.

In response to what Beale had to say I said, among other things...

Today Beale is telling me that the similarities between the J.D. house and the TRWD Annex near Northside Drive are even more striking than the resemblance to Tim Love's Woodshed. What can we conclude from this? I really don't know.

Well, clearly what was being insinuated was that some nefarious shenanigans had occurred. The evidence seemed rather slim, to me.

And then today I heard, via a comment to the October 27 blogging, from J.D. Granger's neighbor, who watched as J.D. landscaped and remodeled.

Below is the comment from J.D.'s neighbor....

Brad Reid has left a new comment on your post "Who Thinks The Texas State Attorney General Should...": 

Just to set a few things straight, I just sold my home next door to J.D.'s home last May (I built it in 2004/5) and J.D. and his wife bought the old home there several years later at an auction. The Grangers then remodeled the home using a remodeler whom had done a lot of work for various folks at the D.A.'s office, as I recall, where J.D. once worked. Anyway, the extensive work done at Granger's home was done years before this Trinity River facility was built . . . and by a different contractor. 

Second, I personally watched J.D. landscape his yard, and actually made the recommendation as to the sort of landscaping ornamental grass to employ (Miscanthus Sinensis) in his landscape, other plants too, and I know he bought it from a retail establishment, and planted it himself. I saw him. If someone is suggesting that he received the plants and the landscaping for free, they'd be very wrong. 

Finally, I never saw ANY evidence that J.D. used any labor directed from the river project, any materials, plants, etc. On the contrary, what I saw was a dude who spent countless hours terracing his own backyward . . . often with a friend. You can dislike J.D., that's okay, but he was one heck of a good neighbor, so was Martha, with great kids.

My take! Brad Reid

Methinks Brad makes a compelling case.

And then after reading Brad's comment someone calling him or herself Who? commented...

Who? has left a new comment on your post "Confirmed By Bud Kennedy: A Woman Rescued Him Afte...":

The same Brad Reid from the Trinity River Advisory committee? The same one that owns a local contracting business??

I have no idea what Who? is implying.

Mourning The Colorful Dying Trees On The Tandy Hills While Thinking About What A Lucky Guy I Am

I don't know if we've had the first freeze of the year in this parched part of the planet. I know it has gotten close to freezing. I also know that the deciduous trees on the Tandy Hills are currently putting on a colorful display of colorful leaves.

That burnt orange tree you see in the picture is not burnt orange due to cold temperatures. It is burnt orange due to being murdered by the current drought.

There are a lot of dead trees on the Tandy Hills.

Speaking of which, I was back on the now totally dry Tandy Hills today for the most pleasant hill hiking I've done in a long time. Perfect conditions.

Today, the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium had me pondering what a lucky guy I am.

Yesterday, in Wal-Mart, I entered the store at the same time as a young woman in wheel chair. The young woman in the wheelchair had some sort of affliction which had her legs being very very short. She was being pushed by a person who was obviously her friend. The young lady in the wheelchair was laughing, smiling, talking, like she was having the most fun in the world. I watched as the young lady in the wheelchair affected others seeing her. It was like she was putting a smile on everyone's face.

Accompanied by a Salvation Army guy right outside the entry, tooting loudly on a saxaphone.

I'm sort of embarrassed that I've been whining about my aches and pains lately.

Instead of counting my blessings.

Like being able to hike the hills of a Texas prairie. Like being able to go swimming this morning. Like being able to type like a maniac right now.

Drastically changing the subject to my nephews, niece and grand nephew.

My favorite poodles in the world, Blue & Max, have a blog, appropriately called The Blue & Max Blog. Blue & Max chronicle the adventures of David, Theo & Ruby. And then there is my grand nephew Spencer Jack's blog. Currently there are a lot of cute pictures on Spencer Jack's blog of Spencer in his Halloween costume.

Til recently you had to be invited to be able to see Spencer Jack's blog. But now everyone can visit the blog of one of the cutest kids on the planet.

I think today I may be breaking my record for most blog posts on a single day. And this is not the only blog I've been busy on today. In addition to being busy on my Eyes on Texas website.

Confirmed By Bud Kennedy: A Woman Rescued Him After He Skidded A Car Into The Trinity River

Bud Kennedy (@budkennedy)
 has sent you a direct message on Twitter

Way back on October 27 I blogged in a blogging titled "Who Thinks The Texas State Attorney General Should Look Into TRWD/TRVA Business Practices, Woodsheds & J.D. Granger?"

This blogging was prompted due to info emailed to me from my favorite tipster named Beale.

One piece of that Beale info was in regards to my favorite Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer, Bud Kennedy. Beale claimed that while Bud Kennedy may not have participated in J.D. Granger's Trinity River Vision Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats, Bud Kennedy had spent time in the Trinity River.

Regarding Bud Kennedy being in the Trinity River I wrote...

I was unable to confirm this via Google searching, but Beale says that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy has actually been in the Trinity River. Not on one of J.D. Granger's Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hour Floats, but by other means.

Beale says a few years ago Bud Kennedy was driving on an icy road, lost control and ended up in the Trinity River. His girlfriend, at the time, a woman who must have had superhuman strength, somehow managed to pull super hefty Bud Kennedy from his car and get him safely to dry land.

Well.

As you can read in the Twitter message above, this morning Bud Kennedy direct messaged me on Twitter.

The direct message said....

That story on the blog is true--I skidded a Dart off the river on Dec. 21, 1971. Allison Kerr saved me, Heights teachers told kids for years.

So, there you go you Doubting Thomases who questioned the veracity of Beale's tipstering.

The State Tree Of Texas Is A Heritage Pecan In Fort Worth's Quanah Parker Park

Heritage Pecan Tree in
Quanah Parker Park

I am no Audubon when it comes to knowing the identity of trees. I can tell a Douglas Fir from a Cedar from a Pine tree. But, if a tree is huge and deciduous my tendency is to assume it is a big Oak tree.

For years I've made note of some humongous trees in Quanah Parker Park. Because these trees are HUGE and have leaves that fall off in the Fall, I assumed they where big Oak trees.

I assumed wrong.

Within the past month, or so, many informational type signs have been added alongside the paved trail in Quanah Parker Park.

I read a Quanah Parker Park informational sign yesterday that I'd not read before.

Via that informational sign I learned that the big tree I thought was a HUGE Oak tree was actually a HUGE Pecan tree.

In part the informational sign said...

Shade & Food For Man & Animals

The Pecan tree was declared the state tree of Texas in 1919. This Pecan tree (the one in the picture) was designated a Heritage Tree in April 2009 by the City of Fort Worth Forestry Section. Favored by people for its flavorful nuts, cool summer shade and long life span, it is also good for animals. Many animals eat the nuts, including deer, turkey and Fox Squirrels.

Yesterday when I learned this tree was sprouting pecans I thought back to when I used to roller blade in Quanah Parker Park, with there being times of the year when I'd avoid blading on the trail that goes by that particular big tree, due to all the hard objects littering the pavement, creating a road hazard for blade wheels.

It never crossed my mind that I was avoiding edible nuts.

This Morning We Learn The Real Reason Swimming Is Banned In Fort Worth's Fosdic Lake In Oakland Lake Park

This morning I got an interesting email from a former resident of East Fort Worth regarding swimming in the lake now known as Fosdic Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

I did not remember that I'd made a webpage about Oakland Lake Park on my Eyes on Texas website, until this morning's feedback email on the subject reminded me.

When I made the webpage about Oakland Lake Park I was still calling the lake Oakland Lake, likely because signs naming that body of water, Fosdic Lake had not yet appeared.

In this morning's email we learn what may be the real reason swimming is banned in Fosdic Lake. That and we also learn how the cool oak trees that line Oakland Boulevard and Martel Avenue came to be....

You were wondering on your blog / photo page of Oakland Park about the toxic lake.  

I grew up in East Fort Worth and we never believed the lake was toxic. 

But what I do remember happening is this:

Back in the late 1970s,  teenagers from south of Lancaster Avenue were venturing up to Oakland Hills park to use it as a swimming pool, because there were no other nearby ponds deep and clean enough to swim in and there were no public pools (and of course no private ones either) in the area south of Lancaster in those days. The park quickly (in a matter of weeks) became an attractive location for petty criminals from outside the local neighborhood, with the sudden onset of muggings and violent crime in a park where there had been no crime at all prior to the lake becoming an impromptu swimming hole.

If I remember right, a man was killed by muggers while visiting the park with his wife / girlfriend at about the same time. For some reason, I think he was a policeman.

So the local community convinced the city to put up the toxic water signs and swimming in the pond almost immediately stopped, and the non-local resident users of the park went elsewhere. 

That's at least how I recall it.

Wes Taylor
Former East Fort Worth Resident

PS.......my great great grandpa planted all of those huge oaks along Oakland Blvd and adjacent streets.