The Calm Before The Storm Of The Second Friday Of September

You are looking at my mid morning balcony view of the swimming pool and stormy sky on this 2nd Friday of September, Day 14.

It is only 63 degrees right now in the outer world at my location. The predicted high for today is only 76, with lightning strikes and possible rain also predicted.

So far I've seen no lightning striking or rain dripping.

I had myself an allergic meltdown last night. This morning that seems like ancient history.

I think the wind that has moved in with this cold front has cleared the nasty allergens out of the air. I hope the nasty allergens remain cleared out of the air. I do not like nasty allergens in the air that I breathe.

Speaking of nasty things in the air.

That Chesapeake Energy gas pipeline that I mentioned a few weeks ago, after I got a notice from Chesapeake kindly informing me they would be sticking a pipe in the ground in my neighborhood, is now underway. The operation was a bit noisy yesterday. No noise today.

I have my windows open to let in the cool breeze. The only noise I am hearing through the open windows is the sound of vehicular traffic, every once in awhile. Very peaceful. I think this may be the calm before the storm.

Almost Getting Wet From Rain At The Village Creek Bayou While Not Having A Camp Bowie Bingo Hot Dog

In the picture you are looking south across the east end of the viewing platform that overlooks the sometimes blue bayou in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

When I left my waterproof shelter, a half hour before noon, I'd just heard a voice on the radio say that rain was falling in Tarrant County, with up to a couple inches of wet stuff possible.

I was not long into my walk with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts when I felt a little moisture hitting a spot of exposed epidermis.

By the time I got to the sometimes blue bayou, multiple drops began falling, with ever increasing velocity. I decided to fast walk back to the waterproofness of my vehicular transport. However, by the time I got to waterproofness, the dripping had ceased.

And now, coming up on 3 in the afternoon, it appears the clouds have thinned, the sun is back shining. And I have not seen 2 inches of rain. Maybe it is still to come.

Changing the subject from non-existent rain to something else.

Yesterday evening, when I drove to West Fort Worth, my intention was to check out the new Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, which I did, then go to TCU, which I did, then go to Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo, which I did not.

I did not get out of TCU til it was almost 9 o'clock. Too late to head further west to Camp Bowie Bingo. I think I am destined, somehow, to never get to have a Camp Bowie Bingo hot dog.

A Walk Across The Trinity River On The Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge

Yesterday in the early evening, prior to going to TCU (Texas Christian University, for you non locals) I went to Trinity Park to check out the newly opened for business Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge.

In the picture you are looking at the new pedestrian bridge, that thin shallow arch of white, below the 7th Street vehicular bridge.

From a distance the new bridge looks good. Up close, not so much.

The landscaping around the new bridge is a work in progress. The bridge itself appears to be a finished product, albeit a bit perplexing.

I could not figure out why the rails between the top rail and the bridge deck were so crooked, rather than paralleling the top rail. This made the bridge look, well, sloppy.

And why is a plastic pipe laying on the left side of the bridge deck? It appears to serve no purpose. Why is there an orange traffic cone at the top of the bridge? You can barely see this, in the picture, at the top right of the bridge deck.

Above you are looking at what the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge leads to, across the Trinity River from Trinity Park. Is this what is meant when someone says, of a bridge, that it is a bridge to nowhere?

As for Trinity Park. I was really liking Trinity Park yesterday. There were a lot of people engaging in a lot of activities. It is a busy park, and very well kept by the City of Fort Worth park people responsible for the park's upkeep. Unlike Oakland Lake Park, in east Fort Worth, the grass in Trinity Park is mowed, and is actually grass, not weeds gone wild.

David Does The Puyallup On His Birthday At The Western Washington State Fair

David Driving at The Puyallup

My nephew, David, Did the Puyallup on his birthday, yesterday, 9/11. I learned David Did the Puyallup, on his birthday, when I called my mom yesterday afternoon. David Doing the Puyallup was confirmed this morning when I saw photo documentation on the Blue and Max Adventure Poodle Blog in a blogging titled David Does The Puyallup.

If you are in Texas reading this, or some other part of the world, or America, you might be wondering what it means to Do the Puyallup.

Well, to Do the Puyallup means one is going to the Western Washington State Fair.

In the town of Puyallup.

Puyallup, the town, is a few miles east and south of Tacoma. The Puyallup, the People, are a Washington Tribe of Indians, as in the Puyallup Tribe.

I do not know why, when one says one is going to Do The Dallas, it does not mean one is going to the State Fair of Texas. Very perplexing.

I don't enjoy the State Fair of Texas as much as I always enjoyed Doing the Puyallup. One thing is the food is better at The Puyallup. And you don't have to buy coupons to buy food. American currency is accepted.

The Midway of the State Fair of Texas is bigger and wilder than The Puyallup's. I'm not a big Carnival ride fan. But I greatly enjoy walking through the State Fair of Texas Midway. It is a bit of sensory overload. The Carnival/Midway zone of The Puyallup is puny compared to The Dallas.

David at The Puyallup in his Ask Me
My Secret Identity T-Shirt

Both fairs have gondola rides. The State Fair of Texas gondola skyride is only a few years old. The Puyallup's was born during the Seattle World's Fair, in 1962, moving to Puyallup, many years later.

If I remember right The Puyallup has a wooden roller coaster. I don't think there are one of those at the State Fair of Texas.

I always found shows I enjoyed watching at The Puyallup, not so much at The Dallas. Ironically, it was a Dallas based band, The Shoppe, that was always the highlight of a visit to The Puyallup, followed by a hypnotist show.

With Washington being a bit more of an agricultural area than Texas, that part, the produce and animals, is a bigger deal at The Puyallup.

The Puyallup has way more varied exhibits than the State Fair of Texas. Lots of demonstrations. Lots of temptations to buy. It was at The Puyallup I got my first Vita-Mix.

The State Fair of Texas seems to devote an awful lot of space to vehicle exhibits. I do not recollect seeing cars on display at The Puyallup.

The State Fair of Texas has some very cool permanent buildings, built in the Art Deco style, plus several museums. The Puyallup has a lot of permanent buildings, but not of the sort you see in Fair Park in Dallas.

I think you can find some fried food at The Puyallup, but nothing of the exotic deep-fried Big Tex Choice Award sort that can be a bit horrifying at the State Fair of Texas.

Right now I'm thinking if I weren't such a procrastinator, I would likely have gone to The Puyallup with my nephew, David, yesterday. And had a scone. Or two. Or three. But, nothing deep-fried. Not even butter.

Watching The Old Man In The Fosdic Sea And A Los Angeles Police Chase With Robin Hood Throwing Money To Poor People

The Old Man was back fishing in the Fosdick Sea, in Oakland Lake Park, again today, fishing whilst sitting on his mini-dock, with his feet in the water one is forbidden to swim in, trying to catch fish one is forbidden to eat.

It was an idyllic scene. Sort of Tom Sawyerish. Becky Thatcher is not in the picture. She had her pole in the water about 10 feet to the right of the Old Man in the Fosdick Sea. Becky fished from shore, not from a mini-deck.

Speaking of idyllic scenes, my lunchtime entertainment, whilst enjoying Beef Stroganoff, was to watch a Los Angeles police car chase through the streets of LA, eventually stopping a pair of Robin Hoods, who had engaged in an armed robbery.

Eventually a lot of Los Angelenos, who were watching, like I was, the live chase on their TVs, with the chase taking place on their streets, left their TVs to go out to the streets, where the armed robber Robin Hoods began throwing money to the poor people of Sherwood Forest.

The Robin Hoods throwing money added an added element of mayhem to the chase, as the moneyseekers got between the robbers and the police cars, at times.

This is not the first time I've watched one of these bizarre police chases. I think I've watched 2 that have taken place in the D/FW zone. I never quite understand why these are broadcast live. It seems, like it did today, the live broadcast creates problems.

Although, on the other hand, some poor people got themselves a little unexpected cash today, after seeing the potential easy money being thrown live on their TVs.

Wednesday Night Free Dinner At Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo

When I don't hear from the good people at Paradise Center I know all is going well in their world.

It has been months since I've heard a Paradise Center peep, except for weekly emails about Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo.

This morning the incoming email included a Camp Bowie Bingo invite for free dinner, tonight, as in Wednesday, September 12.

Paradise Center's Camp Bowie Bingo must be doing real well, with it now expanded to weekdays, in addition to weekends, and offering free dinners.

I am currently scheduled to be at TCU this early evening. I was going to follow being at TCU with biking to check out the new Phyllis Tilley Bridge, it being a massive pedestrian crossing structure that spans the mighty Trinity River, giving Fort Worth a much needed pedestrian connection between downtown Fort Worth and West Fort Worth.

Now that I've gotten this dinner invite from Camp Bowie Bingo I may add heading a bit further west to this evening's agenda.

Sneezing On Top Of Mount Tandy Before Navigating A Maze Of Thorns

I returned to the Tandy Hills today for the first time since my recent bout of allergic woes became even more woeful after my visit to the Tandy Hills last Saturday.

I parked on top of Mount Tandy and barely exited my vehicular transport when the sneeze impulse hit me.

Fighting back the sneeze impulse I thought to myself, this is not good, it's the Tandy Hills to which I am allergic.

As I walked down Mount Tandy, past the maze of purple thorns you see in the picture, the allergic woes began to abate, once again. The more hill hiking I did the better I felt.

I have concluded it is not the Tandy Hills tot which I am allergic.

What a relief.

Another relief that I found on the Tandy Hills today, was to find that someone has removed the mysterious ice chest that has laid next to the trail, by the equally mysterious burial crypt, since August 25, which remains intact.

Wishing My Nephew David A Happy 9/11 Birthday

That is my nephew, David, getting ready to take a swing at a pinata at his birthday party this past  weekend.

Have I mentioned, previously, that David is bilingual? He is learning Spanish at the Montessori school he attends.

I do not know if David's bilingual bi-cultureness is the reason for the birthday pinata.

I was invited to David's birthday party, but was unable to make it to Tacoma in time to attend.

Even though David's birthday party was this past weekend, his actual birthday is today. September 11.

Yes, David is a 9/11 baby. Born 4 years ago, today.

Happy Birthday David!

The 11th Anniversary Of September 11, 2001

One World Trade Center

It does not seem possible that it is 11 years since I got a call from Big Ed in Dallas telling me that a plane had struck the World Trade Center. I assumed Big Ed was talking about the World Trade Center in Dallas, since he was in Dallas at a meeting near the Dallas World Trade Center.

I turned on the TV right when the plane struck the second tower in New York City.

I thought I was seeing a replay, then I realized the other tower was burning. When it sank into my thick skull that America was under attack I started waking up people on the west coast.

I'd been on the west coast a week prior to 9/11. I'd driven, solo, back to Washington a month prior. This was to be the last time I've driven back to Washington. In the 3 years prior to 9/11 I'd driven back and forth from Texas to Washington 5 times. I do not know why 9/11 stopped the drives back to Washington. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it became way cheaper to fly.

Now, 11 years later, a very impressive memorial exists where the twin towers used to stand.

What was originally called the Freedom  Tower and is now called One World Trade Center, is not yet finished. However, on August 17, 2012, the building was topped out at the 105th floor, at 1,368 feet, eventually to reach 1,776 feet, with the installation of 408 foot antenna spire.

A lot has happened in the world in the 11 years since 9/11/2001, but that date still seems like yesterday to me.

Apparently Killing Sweetwater Rattlesnakes Is Senseless & Makes You Look Like A Moron

On the left you are looking at a screencap of the webpage on my Eyes on Texas website devoted to the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup.

This afternoon I got yet one more email about the rattlesnakes in Sweetwater. Those rattlesnake emails have become frequent lately. So, I Googled "Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup" and found that my webpage about this important subject is back Googling in the #1 spot, hence the emails asking me where rattlesnake meat can be purchased, if I sell rattlesnake skins and rattles. And my favorite, asking me for my favorite rattlesnake recipes.

I have no rattlesnake recipes. Let alone a favorite.

And then there are the haters, you know, those who hate those who murder rattlesnakes. I think some of the haters think I am one of the murderers. I have never killed any snake, rattlesnake or any other brand.

Today I got a good example of the hater type rattlesnake email, incoming from someone named Jack Kittae. Jack Kittae totally overly formatted his message, all highlighted in red, with words shouted in various sizes, as you can see via part of the email, in the second screencap of the day.

I copied and pasted the email in its formatted mode, but it looked real bad in blog form, so I de-formatted it for your more easily read reading pleasure...

Hello Roundup People, Consider this a warning from a very powerful person who plans to shut down your operation. Just think (if your able to actually THINK) A rattlesnake is just as dangerous as an electrical outlet......If you don't put your fingers in it....YOU WON'T GET BIT. These animals are NOT hurting you or coming to your house seeking food and shelter.

Do you all think killing Rattlesnakes makes you "COOL"????????

What you are doing is senseless and makes you look like a MORON!!!

Why don't you have a FLEA and TICK roundup and kill some things that really bother us HUMANS.

It won't be long before WE SHUT YOU DOWN FOR GOOD.

Meanwhile, I will continue to BREED Rattlesnakes by the HUNDREDS and release them in the wild.
YOU WILL NEVER WIN!!!

My only hope is that ALL OF YOU receive a nice, big, fat, juicy BITE right in your face during your next IDIOTIC ROUNDUP.

You will never know when one of us is out in the crowd....letting some nice big Timber Rattlesnakes loose.

If it didn't have any consequences....I would take your "hatchet man" and do to him what you do to those defenseless little RATTLESNAKES..

YOU ALL make it real easy to HATE YOU and FEEL SORRY for you at the same time.

YOU ALL are NOT COOL and are not REAL MEN no matter how hard you try and convince yourselves......

I REALLY, REALLY hope you get BIT and stay in the hospital for a few days.

YOU are ALL so WRONG.....WAKE UP ROUNDUPPERS!!!!

Go get your Pick em Up Trucks and your Bud Lites and go hunt some Coyotes!!

GOD is watching YOU and HE doesn't like what he sees...better watch your Karma!!!

LEAVE OUR RATTLESNAKES ALONE!!!!!!