The Gates Of Fort Chesapeake Are Still Open But Attended By Vigilant Humans

The gates of my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake were still open today in the noon time frame.

However, the gates are now open with humans inside the Fort.

With a trailer moved in, along with at least 4 outhouses, lighting and a white pickup or two.

Due to wetness falling from the sky above I did my walking today in Wal-Mart and Target. I don't see how Target stays in business. In Wal-Mart I have myself a fine time playing dodge humans, in Target there are very few humans to dodge.

On the way back to my abode, from my shop walk through Wal-Mart and Target, my route takes me through my neighborhood Albertson's parking lot. That is when I saw the gates of Fort Chesapeake were open, but with new things added.

I pulled over on the Albertson's parking lot to take a picture through the water drops on my sideview window.

I only took two photos.

See the guy in a white hardhat standing by the trailer door?

When I stopped my vehicle, parallel to Boca Raton Boulevard, clearly aiming at the open gate of Fort Chesapeake, that guy in the white hard hat started walking towards me.

I finished my picture taking, then took a right turn to head on home. As I pulled out of the Albertson's parking lot the guy in the white hat was looking towards me and my vehicle and writing feverishly on a notepad.

Was he writing down my license number, I paranoiacally wondered? But, then again, was I really being all that paranoid? It is not like I have not had a few encounters with guys in white  pickups guarding pipelines sucking water from the Trinity River.

The fracking begins tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be interesting.

Pondering Fort Worth's Rail-Free Rise To World Class City Status With Litter, Eyesores & Dirt Paths

Northside Drive I-35 Exit To The Fort Worth Stockyards

In the picture you are looking at the northbound exit to Northside Drive from Interstate 35W. This is the  freeway exit that leads to the Fort Worth Stockyards.

Please make note of the fact that this freeway exit is not landscaped and is littered. We will come back to this later.

The cover story in the most recent edition of Fort Worth Weekly is titled "A Tale of Two Rail Systems." With the subtitle being "Tarrant and Dallas took different public transit routes. Guess who is ahead?"

A Dallas attorney, Walt Humann, is extensively quoted in this story, because the story is about public transit in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and attorney Humann is credited with the founding of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit).

In the article Walt Humann is quoted as saying...

“But if you are going to be a world-class city, you have to have a great mass- transit system, I think Fort Worth is at a point right now where that issue is gaining more importance. One way that big cities solve the transportation problem is to add different mass-transit options. That’s what world-class cities do. Fort Worth needs to start thinking of itself as a world-class city, because in many ways it already is.”

Can you guess the part of the above quote that had me perplexed? If you guessed it was the part that indicated that in many ways Fort Worth is already a world-class city, you guessed right.

I was baffled. I could not think of a single way in which Fort Worth is a world-class city. Is one of the ways the fact of having that extremely tacky looking Cowtown Wakeboard Park, that is part of the ongoing Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, which Boondoggle Leader, J.D. Granger, says is the World's Premiere Urban Wakeboard Park?

I thought to myself that I don't actually know what makes for a world-class city, so I turned to Google.

The Wikipedia article on this important subject says in part, "A world-class city is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade."

The Urban Dictionary article on this important subject says in part, "A world-class city is a major international destination. Most often it's a major, international political, cultural or commercial center. Includes cities of all sizes and not just the world's largest."

In the Wikipedia list of world-class cities the only town in Texas on the list is Austin. The list is broken down from Alpha towns at the top, like #1 New York City, to Beta towns, and then Gamma towns, of which Austin is one.

Apparently a world-class city comes to be one by being an important political, cultural or commercial center.

Well, Fort Worth does have a Cultural District. I don't know if any other world-class cities name the location of their town's museums as the town's "Cultural District."

Commercial center? Let's see. American Airlines is based in Fort Worth. And bankrupt.

Radio Shack is based in Fort Worth. But had to sell its new corporate headquarters in downtown Fort Worth, a corporate headquarters that was built by abusing eminent domain, taking acres of free parking and closing the world's shortest free subway, which was Fort Worth's only light rail.

Tarrant County College is now located in the defunct former Radio Shack headquarters, because of TCC's own building boondoggle in downtown Fort Worth that ran amok, cost-wise.

Pier One Imports is based in Fort Worth. Pier One Imports built a very nice new corporate headquarters, that Pier One Imports could not afford. So, Chesapeake Energy bought the Pier One Imports corporate headquarters for building space from which to run their shadow government of Fort Worth.

I know the locals take great pride in their collection of museums in the Cultural District. I had never heard of these museums until I moved to Texas. I recently bought the Lonely Planet travel guide to Texas. In the Lonely Planet Texas travel guide one section lists the Top 10 museums to see in Texas. The only one in Fort Worth, on the list, is the National Cowgirl Museum.

I don't think Fort Worth has any particular political influence on the nation or world that is of the world-class city sort. The town is run by an oligarchy, good ol' boy network type system of local government, that does not even allow its citizens to vote on public works projects, like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle.

Fort Worth is the only city in America with a population over 500,000 without a department store in its downtown. There is also no grocery store in downtown Fort Worth. On the busiest shopping day of the year, that being the day after Thanksgiving, downtown Fort Worth is a ghost town.

I really don't think a town can be a world-class city with no downtown department stores or grocery stores.

I have never seen a big city with so many streets without sidewalks, as Fort Worth, with so many of its residents walking on dirt paths worn into the ground beside the streets. I really think world-class cities are likely big on having sidewalks.

Would a world-class city allow a park in its downtown, like Heritage Park, to become a closed, chain-link fence surrounded eyesore?

Fort Worth has more holes poked into its ground, by Natural Gas Drillers, than any other city in the world. Maybe this is what Mr. Humann means to be one of the ways Fort Worth is a world-class city.

Maybe someone could ask Dallas attorney, Walt Humann, in what ways he believes Fort Worth is a world-class city and help alleviate me of my bafflement.

Regarding being a world-class city, let's go back to that picture at the top of the freeway exit which leads to Fort Worth's top tourist attraction, the Fort Worth Stockyards.

A world-class city would landscape and keep litter free the exits to its top tourist attraction.

The two little towns in the valley I lived in in Washington, through which the I-5 freeway passes, landscape their freeway exits, those towns being Mount Vernon and Burlington, combined population around 40,000.

Fort Worth does not need to go all the way to Washington to see how grown up cities beautify their towns. Just go visit Grapevine. Or North Richland Hills. Both towns have done real good jobs of landscaping their main roads. And using native plants to do so.

Fort Worth's shabby freeway exits are a shameful thing.

For another example, for Fort Worth, look at what Arlington's done with the new bridges and freeway exits to the Six Flags-Ballpark in Arlington-Cowboys Stadium Entertainment District. It is quite impressive, the landscaping, the pedestrian crossings over the new bridges, the murals.

Maybe the City of Fort Worth should stop ticketing and fining Don Young for growing a native plant Xeriscaped yard, and instead enlist Mr. Young's help in designing some sensible, water-free landscaping for Fort Worth's eyesore freeway exits.

It just occurred to me. There is something called a Citizen's Arrest, where a citizen can arrest someone they see doing a bad thing. Is there such a thing as a Citizen's Citation? If the city can ticket and fine Don Young for growing native prairie grass, could Don Young serve Betsy Price with a citation for allowing the freeway exits to the Fort Worth Stockyards to be a weedy, littered mess?

I think a $500 fine would be apropos for Betsy, along with, maybe, 50 hours of community service. Picking up litter, perhaps.

I'm done now. For now.

The 2nd Monday Of 2012 Is Dripping In Texas With Butternut Squash

You can not tell by looking at the photo of the view through the bars of my patio prison cell that the sky is dripping on this second Monday morning of 2012.

The sky began dripping soon after the sun left for the day, Sunday night. The dripping continued its soothing rhythm, all night long. Well, more accurately, every time I woke up I heard rain hitting the window.

At no point did the rain come down at a copious volume of the sort I call a Classic Texas Downpour.

Instead the dripping seemed to be of the slow motion sort that plagues the Puget Sound zone of Western Washington for about 9 months of the year.

Changing the subject from rain to squash.

When I was a kid there were not many food items that I had a distaste for. One of the few was Squash. I did not like anything about it. How it tasted, how it smelled. And its texture.

Years ago, during one of my periods of extreme obesity, I went on the Atkins Diet. One of the recipes on the Atkins Diet had you making spaghetti using Spaghetti Squash for the noodles. I never tried  Spaghetti Squash  whilst on the Atkins Diet due to my Squash aversion.

Well.

Last week I found  Spaghetti Squash  at Town Talk. Bought one, Googled for cooking instructions, cooked it and was amazed how much like spaghetti the stuff that came out of the gourd was. Spaghetti Squash  is not too flavorful, thus a good combo with spaghetti sauce.

On Saturday, at Town Talk I got a Butternut Squash and an Acorn Squash. Yesterday I cooked the Butternut Squash. This one turned out to be similar to the Squash of my younger years that my mom would insist at least a bite of which needed to be consumed.

Well.

I now, in my almost elderly years, have discovered Butternut Squash is real tasty. I must return to Town Talk and get myself a Squash supply.

In the meantime, I am not going swimming.

Listening To Bird Jazz With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts & Finding The Gate To Fort Chesapeake Still Open

A very cloudy sky made for a not very blue Village Creek Blue Bayou today.

Today I think there were more vehicles parked in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area's parking lot than I've ever seen before.

Apparently walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek is growing popular with the locals.

I can understand why walking with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Village Creek is growing popular with the locals.

It is very relaxing.

Today the walk with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts was both very relaxing and very quiet. The only sound was the symphony of chirping birds tweeting the bird version of improvisational jazz.

After I was done listening to bird jazz I drove to the ALDI Food Market in Pantego to get some food. Like a big spiral cut ham.

Upon arrival back in my home zone I saw that the gates of Fort Chesapeake are still open.

Fort Chesapeake's Gate Was Wide Open So I Walked Inside

Water Flowing Past The Open Gate Of
Fort Chesapeake

I mentioned earlier that last night I saw an odd thing at my neighborhood Chesapeake Energy Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Site that I call Fort Chesapeake.

That odd thing was the gate to the pad site was wide open.

I thought maybe Chesapeake had someone staying on the site 24 hours a day. I told myself I'd find out in the morning.

Well.

The gate was still wide open this morning. I did not want to walk into the drill pad site until I checked to see if there was any sign of life inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake.

Looking Inside Fort Chesapeake From The
Loop 820 Vantage Point

So, I walked to the side of the site that faces the Loop 820 freeway. No wall blocks the view from this side.

As you can see via the view from the wall-less east side of the pad site, there is no sign of human activity inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake.

An unsecured Fort Chesapeake gas drilling site with a well at its center. An unprotected well.

After determining that Fort Chesapeake was unguarded I walked back to the open gate.

In the above photo I am standing where the gate should be. As you can see, some of our precious, dwindling supply of Trinity River water is leaking from the pipes. This seemed odd to me, because the pipes are not fully installed, near as I could tell. And the fracking is not yet happening, as you can see on the sign below.

The sign says "Frac Job Will Begin 1-10-12". That is tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what volume of leaking occurs when the fracking happens. Now that we know when the fracking starts, let's continue our look inside the open gate.

I only walked inside the walls of Fort Chesapeake for a few feet. I felt way too exposed to too many eyes. That bump in the middle of the picture, to the right of the red train car looking box, is the point where the ground has been poked into which the fracking water will be injected. It is currently totally unsecured. I could have easily walked up to it and turned a valve, if there was a valve to be turned.

Above is a view of the leaky pipes, west of Fort Chesapeake, heading north towards the Trinity River. How is permission granted to run 3 pipes across some of which I do not believe is land owned by Chesapeake Energy? That is a storage unit business on the right, Havenwood Apartments on the left.

Up Late The 2nd Sunday Of 2012 After Saturday Night's Republican Debate

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the outer world you might guess I got up after the sun on this second Sunday of the New Year.

Your guess would be correct.

The sky appears to be bluer than yestermorning's gray, cloud-covered sky.

I was not at a location with television viewing capability until about a half hour in to last night's Republican Debate.

On my way back to a location with television viewing capability, that being my abode, I saw some oddness at my neighborhood Fort Chesapeake. It was dark at that point in time, so I did not think I could document the oddness with photos. I will walk to Fort Chesapeake this morning, with the hope that the oddness will be available for photo documenting.

Regarding last night's Republican Debate. Methinks there have been way too many Republican Debates this election cycle. To me the debates have seemed to spiraled down to being somewhat farcical.

The most strangely farcical moment last night came from a bizarre, nonsensical question from George Stephanopoulos, asking something about contraception. The question was asked of Mitt Romney, who was just as perplexed as the viewers about the question. Even after Romney made it clear that Stephanopoulos' question made no sense, Stephanopoulos proceeded with pressing for an answer to his nonsensical question.

Ron Paul seemed to loop into loopyland more than normal last night. I like Ron Paul. But, he has articulation problems at times.

Rick Perry continues to embarrass me. And himself.

Rick Santorum bugs me. I'm not quite sure why.

It was an improvement to be rid of Michelle Bachmann.

I wish I could say I am going swimming now.

Reservations About The Tandy Hills Manly Men Wild Women Hike & Elsie Hotpepper's Baby Talk

The Stunning Skyline Of Beautiful Downtown Fort Worth
On The Cloudy 1st Saturday Of The new Year

As you may be able to tell from the non-blue sky, it is a cloudy day in North Texas.

Today's view of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth is from the far northeast corner of the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

I hiked to the far northeast corner of the Tandy Hills today because I wanted to see what the Fort Worth Water Crews have been up to the past couple days.

I made it to the Tandy Hills well after the Manly Men and Wild Women had finished their yellow ribbon guided hike.

I did not go on the Manly Men Wild Women Hike because I'd sent in my RSVP ASAP as directed, but my reservation had not been confirmed by hiking time and I just did not feel right about showing up without a confirmed reservation.

Okay, the real reason I did not go hiking with the legion of Manly Men and Wild Women is I learned on the first Manly Men Wild Women Hike that I am unable to keep up with the fast pace set by the leader of the Manly Men, Godfather Don.

My hiking on the Tandy Hills is done real slow, at a very relaxing speed. Like a turtle. Those high speed Manly Men and Wild Women quickly leave me running out of breath and hyperventilating.

Changing the subject from Manly Men to Elsie Hotpepper and having a baby.

I just got email from Elsie Hotpepper asking me if I'm not talking to her because her talk about having a baby gave me nightmares. I was not even aware I was not talking to Elsie Hotpepper, let alone not doing so because of all the Elsie Hotpepper baby talk.

Changing the subject from Elsie Hotpepper and having a baby, back to the Tandy Hills.

I underestimated my clothing needs needed for hiking today. A t-shirt was not shirt enough. Very chilly. Eventually I was able to warm up. To do so I had to accelerate slightly faster than my usual turtle pace.

The work the Fort Worth Water Crew has done to the "road" that heads east from the Tandy Highway is interesting. Previously that "road" had a section where a creek had eroded a big ditch/gully that was a slight challenge to cross.

The ditch/gully has now been basically dammed.

Rain is predicted to fall on this parched part of the planet this coming week. It will be interesting to see how long the new "bridges" on the Tandy "roads" last before they are washed out again.

Betty Jo Bouvier Takes Me On The Last Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

Last night, for the first time since the Great Recession, I watched what I think is the best movie made about the Great Depression, that being The Grapes of Wrath.

The Grapes of Wrath is the movie version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath novel. It is the best movie adaptation of a book that I have ever read and seen.

Watching The Grapes of Wrath always gets to me.

There is one scene where Ma Joad is deciding what to take from their home in the Dust Bowl to California. At one point Ma Joad picks up a souvenir from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The wistful, melancholy look that glows from Ma Joad's face as she looks at that souvenir, as she thinks back to a better time, a fun time, decades earlier, well that melancholy look on Ma Joad's face had me being a melancholy baby.

I was still being a melancholy baby when I got email from Betty Jo Bouvier this morning. That email contained the story of a cab driver and a passenger. Reading that story had me feeling even more melancholy. I Googled "cab ride old lady" to find that this story has been around awhile, with various titles. The version Betty Jo sent me is titled "The Last Cab Ride." On a website called Zen Moments the story is called "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget."

Below is the version of the story Betty Jo sent me. Be warned. Reading this may temporarily turn you into a melancholy baby....

The Last Cab Ride 

I arrived at the address and honked the horn.  After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly.

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice.. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said.'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift?  What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware - beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

At the bottom of this great story was a request to forward this - I deleted that request because if you have read to this point, you won't have to be asked to pass it along you just will.

Thank you, my friend.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance....

The First Saturday Of 2012 In Texas With A Record Breaking Drought In 2011

You can not tell it by looking at the picture of the view from my primary viewing portal on the outer world that I got up after the arrival of the sun on this first Saturday of the first month of the new year of 2012.

There appears to be some cloud action in the sky. I do not believe there is any prediction for today for rain to rain down up the throngs on the Tandy Hills partaking in the Manly Men Wild Women Hike.

It is currently only 44 degrees in the outer world at my location. By the time of the Manly Men Wild Women Hike, a couple hours from now, the temperature should be a pleasant hiking temperature.

Continuing with my favorite subject, the weather.

The National Weather Service has made it official. 2011 was the driest year ever in Texas.

And the second hottest.

The average rainfall on this parched part of the planet, for 2011, was only 14.88 inches. If I remember correctly 10 inches, or less, a year qualifies your parched part of the planet to be designated a desert.

The temperature average for 2011 was 67.2 degrees. In 1921 the average temperature was 67.5 degrees, so 1921 remains the hottest year in Texas.

The current 24 hour temperature average at my location has been above 50 degrees. I may try to go swimming this morning. I dipped my hand in the pool yesterday morning and decided against getting any wetter. We'll see if my hand feels warmer this morning.

Chasing Dump Trucks On The Tandy Hills While Losing 2 Pounds In Preparation For Tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike

A Diesel Spewing Dump Truck On The Tandy Hills Today

I am not much of a fan of breathing in diesel fumes whilst I am experiencing nature in any of my favorite natural areas that I frequent.

As long as the weather holds I will be visiting the Tandy Hills Natural Area every day as part of my program to reduce my HWG (Hideous Weight Gain).

Information Literature made available from the weight loss experts at the Friends of the Tandy Hills Natural Area promises a 2 pound weight loss from 1.5 hours of Tandy Hills exposure.

The diesel fumes that perfumed the Tandy Hills air today were brought by two of the dump trucks you see in the picture, and that small Caterpillar bulldozer I mentioned yesterday.

The City of Fort Worth Water Crews have quite a project underway, with those big dump trucks going where I would not have thought it possible for them to go. But the bulldozer smoothed the way and added gravel where needed. Whatever it is the Water Crews are doing, they are doing it on the trail that heads east from the trail that leads to the top of Mount Tandy, from the north side.

Giant Tandy Tire Tomb

The Yellow Ribbons that Godfather Don scolded me for removing yesterday, were in place today, ready for tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike. In addition to scolding me Godfather Don told me there would be no Wild Women for me. What a strict Godfather.

The new bridges across the Tandy Creeks have had a smooth top layer added to the big boulders that you see in the picture of the Giant Tandy Tire Tomb.

This seems, to me, to be a very disrespectful burial of the infamous Giant Tandy Tire.

Speaking of tomorrow's Manly Men Wild Women Hike.

In the latest Informational Literature, sent this morning, I see one must RSVP to Godfather Don ASAP, via the Godfather's email address.

I have not seen a confirmation of my RSVP, so I don't know what the status is, currently, of my Manly Man Hiking.

From the Manly Men Wild Women Informational Literature.....

There's nothing complicated about it. Just show up at Tandy Hills Natural Area, the coolest green space in the inner city, and enjoy the great out-of-doors. Our goal is to hike border-to border-to-border-to-border, tracing the steel cable that defines the 160 acre boundary.

Your rewards include but are not restricted to:

1) You will lose at least 2 pounds. (They don't call it Tandy HILLS for nothing!)

2) See sections of the park known only to a few hawks and a couple of unicorns. 

3) Celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the coolest park in Fort Worth. 

4) Get in shape for the upcoming Brush Bash

Who: Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area

What: Manly Men & Wild Women Hike. All ages welcome. Leashed dogs welcome. 

When: Saturday, January 7, 2012, 10:00 am (allow 1.5 hours for hike)

Where: Tandy Hills Natural Area, 3400 View Street. Meet at the Prairie Fest entrance.

Why: For the fun and glory of it and to prepare yourself for the upcoming Brush Bash.

Bring: Water, camera, hiking boots, hat, walking stick.