Fort Worth's Nurse Martha Dancing The Ragtime Cowboy Joe Blues

In the above video that is Nurse Martha on the right.

Nurse Martha runs a giant Living Care Center on Randol Mill Road, a few blocks west of my abode.

Nurse Martha has long been a World Class Hula Hooper. And now, apparently, Nurse Martha is branching out into Walker Dance Routines.

I knew Nurse Martha was good at choreography, due to her years as a cheerleader for one of those universities in Kansas whose teams regularly gets into bowl games and those college basketball tournaments that so many people seem to pay attention to.

It was not I who was the videographer for this particular Nurse Martha performance, If I had been the videographer I would have zoomed in for some closeups.

In addition to being a dancer, Nurse Martha is one of the most accomplished gourmet cooks whose cooking efforts it has been my pleasure to sample.

The most memorable Thanksgiving since I've been in Texas comes to mind.

I'd never experienced tossed dinner rolls before that particular Nurse Martha Thanksgiving.

A Tale Of Three Town's Temperatures

I was on my way to Wal-Mart, not to get gas, but to get milk, and, even though there was no gas involved, I called my mom.

I'd not called for a few weeks, so my mom answered the phone with "Howdy Stranger."

I was being a bit overheated waiting for the vehicular A/C to cool me down. My mom asked what our temperature was.

I told my mom it was currently 107, because that was what I'd just heard on the radio.

My mom matched my 107 and said it was HOTTER in Phoenix, well, Sun Lakes, which is a suburb of Phoenix.

When I got back to my abode and checked my computer based temperature monitoring device I saw that that device was indicating the radio was correct regarding the Fort Worth temperature.

But, when I checked my mom's Phoenix temperature, via my computer based temperature monitoring device I saw that Phoenix was actually way chillier than Fort Worth, at only 104 degrees.

Now looking at this temperature data for both towns I see a problem. The temperature in F-Town is 107, with a wind speed of 5 mph and a humidity of 20% making it still really feel like 107. Meanwhile Phoenix, with a temperature of 104, also has a wind speed of 5 mph and also a humidity of 20%, yet really feels HOTTER than Fort Worth, at 108 degrees.

So, my mom was right, after all, it is hotter in her AZ zone. But, how is it that in Phoenix having a lower temperature than Fort Worth, with the same wind speed and humidity as Fort Worth, somehow feels hotter than Fort Worth? This is very perplexing.

Meanwhile, up in Tacoma, where my nephews David and Theo live, along with my niece, Ruby and their caretaker poodles, Blue and  Max, it is a very chilly 73 degrees, with a wind speed of 8 mph and a balmy humidity of 47% making it really feel like 78.

Pedaling The Gateway Park Mountain Bike Trail Buzzed By A Copter Before Finding Strawberries

Since it was not quite yet 100 degrees, I decided it'd be cooling to ride my bike on the Gateway Park Mountain Bike Trail on my way to Town Talk.

That being the part of the trail before one gets to the roller coaster twisting and turning part. And then pedaling on the paved trail.

I discovered a new area of mountain bike trail that shares trail with the disc golfers. This trail, with two disc golf holes, runs beside a pond covered with green scum for part of the distance,

I can not imagine many disc golfers willing to try to hit the holes that are by the pond covered with green scum, lest they lose their disc in the pond. I had some concerns for myself pedaling beside a green scum covered pond, what with the recent warnings to avoid stagnant ponds that are potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus.

But, the only mosquito like critter I saw today was the thing you see in the picture that looks as if it is trying to push over a Gateway Park light pole.

For some reason a helicopter was buzzing all over the Tandy Hills and Gateway Park and points further to the west. Maybe the helicopter was looking for the latest Gateway Park snake bite victim.

The last time I was at Town Talk I got a case of the best peaches I've had in years. Today I got a case of strawberries. I've not tasted them yet. They are Driscoll's Strawberries from California. I have occasionally had  a semi-good Driscoll's Strawberry.

Now if these had been Ole & Sven's Strawberries, from the Skagit Valley, well, I would know they'd be real good even before my first taste.

Who Is Testing The Rockin' The Trinity River Water Where The Happy Hour Inner Tubers Float?

I was looking at the Party Pics section of DFW.com ink edition's photos of the latest Trinity River Vision Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Float and thought to myself that this sure looks fun, and surely must be the biggest number of bikinis on display in one concentrated location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

I also thought to myself that I wish I was able to believe that the Trinity River was not way too polluted to go floating in, so I could feel all right about joining in in the regularly scheduled Thursday floating fun.

Last year, on September 22, 2011, to be precise, WFAA Channel 8 had a story titled Questions about Trinity River water quality.

To find out if the Trinity River water quality was safe to float in, WFAA hired an independent water tester to test the water where the TRV happy hour inner tube floaters float and also the water in the Cowtown Wakepark pond where wakeboarders get wet.

Somehow the Wakepark pond tested safe. The Rockin' the River area did not test safe.

Part of the WFAA article...

One of two samples at the tubing area was enough to make you sick. The sample found 387 E. coli organisms per 100 milliliters of river water. That's well above what the Environmental Protection Agency recommends as acceptable for a single sample.

An environmental scientist at the University of North Texas, Dr. Joon-hak Lee, said more samples are needed at all sampling locations to protect the public.

In response to last year's WFAA Trinity River dirty water expose, the project manager for the Trinity River Vision Authority, Woody Frossard, said the Trinity River Water District was going to start testing the tubing and wakeboard pond areas regularly, starting last fall.

Has this been done? Has the TRWD been doing testing? If so, what are the results? Does the floating public not have the right to know the results of any testing a public agency does on the water in this controversial river?

Thunder Claps Over F-Town With The Power Restored For Now

Around 5 this afternoon I left my domicile and was surprised to see a wall of clouds to the north, with lightning striking.

I did not know this was in the forecast.

A short time later I was back in my abode, with suddenly a strong wind blowing. A short time later the power went out.

When the power came back on I emailed my sister in Tacoma, who earlier had told me lightning was striking T-Town, to tell her that lightning was now striking F-Town.

I am suddenly struck, not by lightning, but by how appropriate it is to refer to Fort Worth as F-Town.

And now, barely after 6 in the afternoon, the SEVERE THUNDERSTORM, warned about in the above warning, has arrived.

Thunder is clapping to the left of me, to the right of me, and above me.

Rain is falling in copious amounts. But not quite, so far, in Biblical proportions. I need not angst about getting my ark ready for an immediate sailing.

Yet.

Australia's JB Buckingham's Frack Finding Tour Of Fort Worth & Beyond

Interesting incoming from the always interesting Don Young...

It's not every day that an Australian State Senator from New South Wales pops into Fort Worth for a visit. Senator Jeremy Buckingham, and his esteemed 8-person entourage are on a Frack-finding tour of the USA. They dropped by FWCanDo HQ last Monday seeking an unvarnished tour of Dirty Ol' Town, TX.

I was honored to be their "Virgil" on a whistle-stop, Don-te's Inferno Tour of devastation in the newly-industrialized city of Fort Worth. We visited several of the most offensive gas wells in FW including one in Gary Hogan's backyard. Other north Texas stops included Dish, Texas where they met with former mayor, Calvin Tillman.

Jeremy is a member of the Australian Green Party which enjoys more mainstream support and power than Greens in the USA. In addition to Texas, he and his entourage are touring Colorado, Wyoming, Pennsylvania and New York to investigate the impacts of fracking in their fight to ban the practice in coal seam and shale gas mining in AU.

Others on the tour include, Drew Hutton of Lock the Gate Alliance and Peter and Kim Martin of Southern Highlands Coal Action Group. The group will wrap up their tour at the Stop the Frack Attack in Washington D.C. on July 28. Their passion and commitment to protecting public health and the environment from fracking is admirable. Their willingness to travel to the US in that effort is inspiring.

Check out pics, videos and commentary of JB's USA Frack Finding Tour.

Looking Over My Handlebars At Scorched Quanah Parker Park Earth Heated To Over 100 Degrees With No Irritated Eyes

Once again I am copying my favorite Fort Worth blog, Hometown by Handlebar, by taking a look at something over my handlebars.

In today's look over my handlebars I am closer to my actual hometown, due to being in the town I am currently aboding in, Fort Worth, west of my previous looks over my handlebars, in Arlington.

What you are seeing my handlebars pointing towards is the remains of a fire in Quanah Parker Park.

I was peacefully pedaling against the wind when I began to notice a not unpleasant burned smell. Soon I came upon the remains of a wildfire that had scorched a 10 foot wide swatch about 100 feet long along the Quanah Parker Park paved trail.

I've no clue what lit this Quanah Parker Park wildfire. Lightning strike? Arson?

When Mother Nature sets something on fire, with a lightning strike, is that considered arson?

I really think the bad behavior of Mother Nature besmirches all the Good Mothers in the world.

I think Mother Nature maybe should be renamed Naughty Nature, for those times when Nature does a bad deed, like earthquakes, tsunamis, thunderstorms, volcano eruptions, floods and the births of creatures like Hitler and Fubbo the Butt.

Things like wildflowers and a gentle summer rain should be attributed to Mother Nature.

We have now gone over the 100 degree mark according to my computer based temperature monitoring device. The 32% humidity is making it really feel like 108.

Even though we are over 100 we are currently not suffering with an Air Quality Alert.

And I am not currently suffering with irritated eyes.

My Litany Of Texas Woes Now Includes A Black Irritated Eye

That is my left Eye in Texas that is staring at you in the picture.

Both my Eyes in Texas have been irritating me the past 24 hours, with the left one irritating me the most.

Is anyone else, who is exposing their eyes to the polluted air in this Dallas/Fort Worth zone of North Texas, experiencing any eye woes?

Yesterday, after I got back to my abode from riding my bike at River Legacy Park, my eyes, particularly the left one, felt as if they'd been in a sandstorm.

A lot of dripping drops of Artificial Tears and Redness Reliever eventually abated the irritation, a bit, by late afternoon yesterday.

As you can see, via the picture, my suffering left eye has really taken a beating from all the eye rubbing, to the point that it almost looks as if I have a black eye.

I don't remember the last time I was such  hot mess, literally, with the outer world at my location supposed to heat today to a HOT 103 degrees.

An hour in the pool, real early today, was very pleasant. At that point in time my eyes were not irritating me, too much. The eye irritation has accelerated since then.

Wedgewood Massacre Afghan Veteran Glen Bucy Attacked By Frivolous Ridiculous Idiotic Lawsuit

A couple days ago, in response to one of my many personal problems with Texas, my sister, the lawyer, said to me, "OMG, how long will you subject yourself to the jurisdiction of such a crazy place????"

A few minutes ago I got an email telling me, basically, to check out, via Facebook, what the jurisdiction of this crazy place is doing to Glen Bucy, candidate for Constable in Arlington, Texas.

Below is what I was appalled to read on Facebook....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Frivolous Lawsuit Filed by Former Constable Candidate Tim Hotchkin Against Glen Bucy For the amount of $322,000

Glen Bucy, survivor of the Wedgwood Baptist Church Shooting, U.S. Army - Afghanistan Combat Veteran , and Candidate for Constable Precinct 6 was served paperwork pertaining to a lawsuit filed by Tim Hotchkin (former Candidate for Constable). The lawsuit stated "During the campaign, Glen Bucy distributed by hand and U.S. mail a push card flyer comparing himself to his opponents." The suit alleges that the Push card included a number of false statements and omissions. The lawsuit also falsely alleges that Bucy created a fictitious FaceBook account in order to post the aforementioned "Push Card" material.

Bucy said "Look at the timing of this Lawsuit, it is nothing more than a direct attack on my character. Early voting will start in less than a week and I believe this is a coordinated attack in order demean my moral and ethical character to win an election to political office. Mr. Hotchkin is a known supporter of Jon Siegel and has given his full support and endorsement to him as well. I did in-fact distribute a comparative mailer before the primary election, however, all information pertaining to that mailer derived directly from the appropriate sources which include: Voting history provided by Tarrant County Elections, Hours of Police Training provided by TCLEOSE, and Employment history directly from the Constable that fired Mr. Hotchkin." The fact that the card states Mr. Hotchkin is a Private Security Officer Vs. Private Security Investigator is irrelevant and to my knowledge there isn't a difference between the two. However, in the same paragraph on the mailer I mention that he is a Reserve Officer with 8 years experience. "

In the race for Constable of Precinct 6, Glen Bucy is the only candidate who is actually a full-time Police Officer. The fact that the lawsuit calls for damages exceeding $322,000 is based on the assumption that Mr. Hotchkins would have won the election if this mailer would not have been distributed. That fact is that the mailer in question was actually delivered the day after the election due to unseen delays having the piece mailed. There is no basis for damages as all information was factual and voters received the piece after Mr. Hotchkin had already lost the election having received only 17.38% of the vote. The lawsuit therefore is nothing more than a smear tactic used late in the election in an attempt to discredit Mr. Bucy.

Today Mountain Biking In River Legacy Park I Did Not Get Snakebit

I'm copying my favorite Fort Worth blog again today, that being Hometown by Handlebar.

But, once again, my handlebars are nowhere near my hometown. My handlebars are, once again, in Arlington, about 2,000 miles from my old hometown.

What you really can not tell via looking at the picture of my handlebars is that they are on one of the mountain bike trails in River Legacy Park. I'm at a junction in the trail, with a green arrow pointing the way.

The River Legacy Mountain Bike Trail has expanded a lot over the years, with many loops added, and bypasses. The trails have become a bit of a maze.

There are sections of the trail which I do not enter on two wheels, with names like "Fun Town." A name like "Fun Town" makes you think it'd be really fun to ride on. And likely it is, if you are a teenager or in your 20s and impervious to flying over your handlebars.

There are two very extreme sections of the River Legacy Park Mountain Bike Trails. I am drawing a blank on the name of the one that is not "Fun Town." I have neither biked nor walked "Fun Town." I have tried to bike the other extreme section and quickly gave up. I have managed to walk the non "Fun Town" extreme section and managed to get lost. It is a very confusing maze of trails. Steep ups and downs. And water features that you really do not want to end up in.

Speaking of mountain bike trails, which is what I'm doing right now, I heard from someone named Anonymous about getting snakebit whilst walking the Gateway Park Mountain Bike Trail yesterday....

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Walking The Gateway Park Mountain Bike Trail Finding Tasty California Peaches": 

You're a lucky man!! I just read in the Startle Gram that there was person bitten by a snake near Gateway Park yesterday!! Could have been you! 

I missed the article about the snake bite in this morning's Startle Gram, also known as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. When I found the article, after reading the comment from Anonymous, I found there was very very little information in the article. I don't even know if the few words amounts to enough words to qualify as an article.

Suffice to say someone reported someone got bit by a snake and after awhile that person was found somewhere near Gateway Park.

I don't believe I have ever seen a snake in Gateway Park.

I have seen many snakes in River Legacy Park. I've had to stop on the mountain bike trail and wait for a big bull snake to move out of my way. I've been stopped by a big snake on the paved trail, stretching clear across the trail. I've been warned about a swarm of copperheads ahead on the mountain bike trail, which I never saw.