I Am Shocked To Learn Fort Worth Is Not One Of The 50 Best Places To Live In America

I was shocked today, shocked I tell you, to learn that Business Week and Bloomberg worked together to evaluate 100 of America's largest cities to come up with a list of the 50 Best Places to Live in America. Shocked I tell you, because the town that regularly makes the world Green with Envy, Fort Worth, is not on the list.

Dallas made the list, solo, not linked together with the other towns in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metropolitan zone. Dallas was deemed to be the #41 Best Place to Live in America.

Other Texas towns fared better, like Austin at #8, Houston at #22, San Antonio at #30.

Looking at the criteria upon which the rankings were based, I can see why Fort Worth does not show up on the list of the Top 50 Best Places to Live in America.

The rankings were based on leisure attributes, like the number of restaurants, bars, museums, libraries, pro sports teams and park acreage per capita. Then educational attributes were factored in, taking into account public school performance, the number of college graduates, and the number of colleges. Additionally, economic factors, crime and air quality were factored in. The order of emphasis was leisure amenities, educational quality, economic factors, crime and air quality.

Years ago a Washington, D.C. lobbyist group named Fort Worth as one of the Most Livable Communities in America, or something like that. Having lived in a part of the country where towns regularly showed up on legit lists of this type, I was struck by a big HUH?

Like a homely girl suddenly finding herself named a beauty queen, Fort Worth totally overreacted to the bogus award, with the city sponsoring a City Wide Celebration. I think this may have been the most embarrassed I have ever been for Fort Worth. It just seemed really pitiful to me.

Then, a short time after Fort Worth won this "prestigious" honor I was up in Tacoma, a town which was also honored by this bogus award. I happened to be dealing with Tacoma's Deputy Major at that point in time. I told him Fort Worth had a city wide celebration when they got that award. He giggled, asked if I was kidding. I said, no, I'm not kidding. Then I asked if Tacoma had a city wide celebration. He said, no, they just politely said thank you and that was the end of it.

Tacoma is located in a bit more sophisticated part of the planet than Fort Worth.

So, what was the Best Place to Live in America as determined by Business Week and Bloomberg? That would be San Francisco. The second Best Place? Seattle.

I had no idea til reading the Best Place to Live in America article today that the per capita income in San Francisco and Seattle, at over $90K, is around double the per capita income in Dallas.

You can view a slide show of the towns that make up the 50 Best Places to Live in America.

A partial list of the 50 Best Places to Live in America is below, with one of my favorite towns, Phoenix at #44, and another of my favorite towns, Los Angeles, at #50. I guess #50 is not that bad. It could be worse, as in not showing up on the list at all, like the forlorn town I'm currently typing in....

1. San Francisco
2. Seattle
3. Washington, D.C.
4. Boston
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Denver
7. New York City
8. Austin, Texas
9. San Diego
10. St. Paul
11. Pittsburgh
12. Minneapolis
13. Nashville
14. New Orleans
15. Kansas City, Missouri
19. Honolulu
22. Houston
23. Oklahoma City
24. Chicago
30. San Antonio
41. Dallas
44. Phoenix
50. Los Angeles

With A Moderate Ozone Level I Hiked The Tandy Hills With Potentially Noxious Yellow Weeds

Tandy Hills Mutant Scotch Broom

With the ozone level up one stage from 'good' to 'moderate' I risked breathing in moderately adequate air whilst doing some endorphin inducing aerobically stimulating Tandy Hills hill hiking today.

Clouds did some sun blocking, but high humidity still turned the hill hiking into a salubrious steam bath that felt really good.

The Tandy Hills are currently sprouting large patches of yellow flowers on skinny stems that look like a mutant variation of the notorious noxious west coast weed that goes by the name of Scotch Broom.

A lot of people are allergic to Scotch Broom. I did not seem to have any sort of immediate allergic reaction to the Tandy Hills mutant Scotch Broom.

A week ago today I was in total allergic misery, with Friday night, a week ago, being the night I was a sleepless Zombie. What a difference a week makes.

Last Saturday I got myself a dozen Poblano Peppers at Town Talk. Yesterday I wondered if there was such a thing as Poblano Pepper soup. So I Googled "Poblano Pepper Soup Recipe" and found that there are a lot of recipes for making soup with this particular pepper.

So, this morning I made Poblano Pepper Soup. It turned out to be really tasty.

If one looks at a recipe for making a Chile Relleno it is a Poblano Pepper that is the main ingredient. But, when I roast and use a Poblano Pepper it tastes nothing like a Relleno. When I roast a Hatch Chile, then I totally get the Relleno taste.

This Poblano/Relleno conundrum is very perplexing.

Walking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Spying A Mysterious Stranger

What a difference a week makes. Last Thursday I was falling down an evermore miserable allergic hole, wondering if I was ever going to breathe normal again, not knowing, a week ago, that the next night would be my worst night of allergic misery, ever.

And, now, a week later, I'm breathing free and feeling like my regular fairly healthy self.

Today I drove my regular fairly healthy self to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt this area. It seems like it's been awhile since I've visited the Village Creek Indian Ghosts.

I was a bit startled, today, when I got to the location you see in the picture above. Usually I walk to this Village Creek overlook to startle the turtles. Today it was I who was startled, startled by a guy on the other side of the creek waving at me.

You would need to click the picture to enlarge it to see the guy on the other side of the creek.

Now, you're thinking, what is the big deal, so what if there was a guy on the other side of the creek. Well, I have no idea how he got there. I know of no trails. It's a thick jungle on that side of Village Creek.

I continued on to the Village Creek Blue Bayou overlook, and then headed back to my vehicle. That waving guy, who startled me, was still in the location where I first saw him, now, hunkered down, digging in the sand bank, with a backpack beside him.

Very mysterious.

Up Before The Sun Breathing Free On My Little Brother's Birthday With Spencer Jack Building Bridges In The Skagit River Sand

I am vertical well before the arrival of the sun on the morning of this 26th day of September.

September 26. Today is my little brother's birthday. Happy birthday little brother. My little brother is my great grand nephew, Spencer Jack's, grandpa.

Last night Spencer Jack's dad emailed me a picture of Spencer playing in the sand on the banks of the incredibly shrinking Skagit River.

What makes the banks of the Skagit River so sandy, I am sitting here wondering? The banks of the Trinity River aren't sandy.

It is already a week ago today that I found I had a dead battery, followed by a huge increase in my allergy woes. Now, a week later, the allergy woes have greatly abated.

During the course of my allergy woes I was very troubled to learn that I was over using the nasal sprays. That over use causes what is called the rebound effect. The rebound effect means the over use of the nasal spray causes the nasal passages to quickly clog up again.

I Googled "nasal congestion rebound effect" and read some awfully dire info about the dreaded rebound effect. One person said recovering from the rebound effect could take up to a week and one should be prepared to spend a couple nights unable to sleep.

I was mortified.

Then I read a suggested cure that made sense. As in keep one nasal passage clear by continuing to spray, while the other nasal passage clears up. When that happens quit spraying. The person making this suggestion suggested it would take a couple days.

Well.

Monday night I sprayed my left nostril. Early in the morning the right nostril was clear. When I got vertical, Tuesday morning, both nostrils were clear. The left nostril clogged up during the day and I used the spray one time to clear it. That was the last time I used the spray. This morning I am pretty much cleared up.

What a relief.

Below is a cropped version of the picture my nephew sent me last night of Spencer Jack making bridges in the Skagit River sand. The orange arch in the lower right of the picture is Spencer's version of La Conner's Rainbow Bridge.

Hiking The Windy Tandy Hills Breathing Low Ozone Air With Extreme Pollen

With the temperature barely in the 80s, with a strong wind blowing, with the ozone level low enough for the air quality to be declared "Good" in North Texas, I decided to return to the Tandy Hills today for the first time in awhile.

I am not sure how long awhile is, maybe well over a week.

In the picture you are looking at the Tandy Wagon Trail that heads towards the skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth from the top of Mount Tandy.

Many a wagon must have rolled over this trail to leave such long lasting ruts.

Typing the word "ruts" I am sitting here wondering if that is actually a word and also wondering why I think this word refers to the tracks left on the ground by wheels passing over a trail.

Hiking the Tandy Hills today tests what it is what I have had an allergic reaction to the past couple weeks.

So, far I don't seem to be having any new allergic reaction. If I was having an allergic reaction I'm thinking I would need to consider that it is pollen that is bothering me and not high ozone levels. The pollen level remains "Extreme". I am not quite sure what that means, but it sounds sort of dire.

The Ozone In The Air That I Breathe Has Gone From Bad To Good So I Went Walking

The Air Quality Alert that has been alerting the part of the planet on which I reside ceased doing its alerting this morning.

The air has gone from bad to good. Well, the ozone problem part of the air has gone from bad to good. The pollen problem remains extreme.

I don't know if my allergic woes are ozone or pollen related or a combo of both, but with the ozone problem no longer being bad, I decided to risk breathing outdoor air via walking around Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

I was a bit clogged up on the drive to Fosdick Lake. By the time I was done walking I was no longer clogged up. Now that I am back in air-conditioned comfort, clogging has returned. Maybe I'm allergic to air-conditioning.

As you can see in the picture above, a herd of Fosdick turtles was enjoying the respite from bad air by having a sunning session on their favorite log. Usually the Fosdick turtles are spooked as soon as they hear my camera make its chirping noise. But not today. The Fosdick turtles posed cooperatively.

Steve A pointed me to a Air North Texas website where I learned all sorts of things about ozone and North Texas Air. On the website you can sign up for email alerts which will alert me when the air that I breathe goes bad. So far I have not been alerted.

I Finally Realized I Have Been Stupidly Exposing My Allergy Prone Self To Texas Ozone Air Pollution

Occasionally I really amaze myself with how cluelessly dumb I can be. Really, it's true. Years ago, if I remember right, someone somewhere told me that they thought me to be really smart. Witty, smart and highly intelligent.

Well.

I know myself better than I know anyone else. I may be a bit witty, at times, but smart and highly intelligent? Not so much.

Example of my clueless dumbness.

For weeks now I have been whining about my allergic woes. I do this whining at the same time I mention going hiking or biking under the noon day sun.

Friday night I basically was unable to sleep, so miserable and clogged up was I from my allergic woes.

The next day, that being yesterday, as in Saturday, a light bulb finally turned on in my dim bulb, oxygen deprived brain.

At the same time that those who monitor such things inform me via various means that the air that I am breathing is polluted, I go out in it at the worst time of the day.

And then wonder why I have allergic woes.

Below is today's AIR QUALITY ALERT from the National Weather Service...

...AIR POLLUTION WATCH LEVEL ORANGE... 

AIR POLLUTION WATCH - LEVEL ORANGE - FOR DALLAS-FORT WORTH.

THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (TCEQ) HAS ISSUED A LEVEL ORANGE AIR POLLUTION WATCH FOR THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012.

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE FAVORABLE FOR PRODUCING HIGH LEVELS OF OZONE AIR POLLUTION IN THE DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA ON SUNDAY. OZONE LEVELS COULD REACH THE LEVEL ORANGE "UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS" CATEGORY.

ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS OF OZONE CAN ACT AS A LUNG IRRITANT. INDIVIDUALS WITH CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE, SUCH AS ASTHMA AND EMPHYSEMA, AS WELL AS THE ELDERLY AND YOUNG CHILDREN, ARE PARTICULARLY SENSITIVE TO OZONE AND SHOULD ATTEMPT TO AVOID EXPOSURE. TO AVOID EXPOSURE, MINIMIZE EXERTION OUTDOORS DURING THE MID-DAY TO EARLY EVENING HOURS OR STAY INDOORS IN AN AIR- CONDITIONED ROOM DURING THIS TIME.

Clearly I have been in denial. Somehow thinking I am impervious to the threat posed by the air that I breathe. Also in denial that I am borderline being in that ELDERLY group the National Weather Service indicates has an increased vulnerability to Ozone.

So, from this day forth, there shall be no more noon day aerobic exercising, by me, in the outer world at my polluted location on the planet, until the National Weather Service indicates that the air that I'd be breathing in that outer world is no threat to my respiratory system.

I will continue to go swimming though. In the morning. Which I will do today, Sunday, the second Fall morning of 2012, as soon as the sun arrives to light up this forsaken, polluted place I call home.

I Did Not Climb On Tarzan's Treehouse In Fort Worth's Gateway Park Today

No, that is not part of Tarzan's treehouse in the African jungle you are looking at in the picture.

What it is that you are looking at is part of one of the two "CLOSED TO PUBLIC' boardwalks in Fort Worth's Gateway Park jungle.

Both of Gateway Park's boardwalks have been neglected, with rotting floorboards, I think, being behind the reason for the "CLOSED TO PUBLIC' signs, that are easily walked around.

I stopped at Gateway Park on my way to Town Talk, intending to go on a short walk under the tall trees which render shade which, for the most part, blocked the sun from reaching me directly.

There were a lot of mountain bikers biking the FWMBA mountain bike trail today. Usually, at most, I'll see one or two, maybe three. Today there were, maybe, dozens. It's hard to count such a thing. Maybe all the mountain bikers were in some sort of Autumnal Equinox celebrating mode.

The air in Gateway Park today seemed real oppressive, felt heavy. By the time I got to Town Talk I was clogged up with nasal congestion. Again.

I am remaining indoors, in air-conditioned comfort, for the rest of this first day of Fall.

On The First Day Of Fall I Have Been Practicing The Buteyko Method Of Breathing Foul Texas Air

I had a very rough early first day of Fall. As in my allergic nasal congestion woes rendered sleeping very difficult.

It seems there is an epidemic of nasal congestion in the D/FW Metroplex. I come to that conclusion not based on anything I've read in what passes for newspapers in this ill-served, newspaper-wise, part of the planet. I came to the epidemic conclusion due to the number of people I've heard suffering from the same symptoms I suffer from who formerly rarely suffered such symptoms.

Elsie Hotpepper is a recently joined member of the epidemic.

I have been vertical since sometime between 4 and 5 this morning.

My  clogged desperation was so great that I Googled "nasal congestion." There are a lot of suggestions as to how to remedy this woe.

I had, in stock, a jar of mentholated Vaseline. One of the suggestions suggested rubbing some inside ones nose. I did so. Now everything smells like Eucalyptus. But the nasal congestion remained.

I already had saline spray and was using it. Maybe it had some salubrious effect, moisturizing wise, but not decongestant wise.

Then I found the nasal decongestiing method you learn about in the YouTube video above. It is called the Buteyko Method. Here's a blurb from the website from whence I got the video....

Over 90% of people with nasal congestion can get a relief in less than 2 minutes if they slow down their heavy breathing using a simple breathing exercise. This easy respiratory exercise to clear a stuffy nose was invented by Soviet MDs practicing the Buteyko method. More than 180 MDs taught this most natural remedy to thousands of their patients with asthma, sinusitis, hay fever, chronic mouth breathing, rhinitis, and many other conditions.  This treatment and remedy also works for children, pregnant women, and those with symptoms of fatigue.  The exercise can be applied during night sleep as well.

Basically you mouth breathe in a deep breath, then pace for 20-30 steps whilst pinching your nose to prevent breathing, then sitting down and exhaling through ones nose. Stand up and repeat. I did several repeats. The totally clogged nasal passages did open up a bit, but I did not get the total relief I was hoping for.

After practicing the Buteyko I left my abode for a walk around the neighborhood, holding my breath and exhaling through my nose as I walked. When I got back to my abode I was still clogged up. So, I gave in and squirted 4-Way Nasal Spray into the clogged zone.

Instant relief.

I'd stopped using the 4-Way last night because I thought I'd over done using it and had caused the dreaded rebound effect, where overuse causes the clog. Taking a break from the 4-Way seems to have been a good plan, because I have now been breathing clear for a half hour.

I believe this first day of Fall is the last day we are scheduled to be under the dire AIR QUALITY ALERT. Until the next time.

Walking To Fort Worth's East Regional Library With Ross Perot Wondering What Is Wrong With Us

I noticed this morning that I had a some library books due. When one has library books due one must return them by the due date or the day after the due date one is assessed an enormous fine. Something like a dime. Maybe a quarter.

I really don't know what the fine is because I've never been late returning a book.

I decided to be really adventurous and walk to the East Regional Library to return the books. This particular Fort Worth library is closed on Fridays.

Closing libraries and cutting hours is one of those things Fort Worth does that makes me wonder how it is that Fort Worth is such a World Class City that is the envy of much of the civilized world.

Walking to the library I came upon yet one more thing that makes me wonder how it is that Fort Worth is such a World Class City that is the envy of much of the civilized world.

That one more thing is the obstructions blocking the narrow sidewalk that one walks to get the East Regional Library. I put my books down on the sidewalk, then backed up to take a picture. After I made it past the obstruction I found another sidewalk obstruction, so I laid my books down, again, and took another picture.

As you can see, above, the second sidewalk obstruction is a combo, with one obstruction being Mother Nature made and the other obstruction man made, that being a "ROAD WORK AHEAD" sign plopped on the sidewalk. To get around that sign one has to either step out on to busy Bridge Street, or slide oneself between the sign and the guard rail.

I'm skinny so I was able to take the slide by option. I would guess at least 50% of Texans would not have this option available to them, with the dangerous stepping out on the busy street option being their only way around the sign.

I think I have commented regarding Fort Worth's pathetic sidewalks in previous bloggings. It is truly amazing to me how many Fort Worth streets have no sidewalks. The shortest walking route to the library would have had me walking a sidewalk-less hill up Bridge Street. To avoid the sidewalk-less section of Bridge Street I detoured through the Albertson's parking lot.

I really think Fort Worth should address its sad sidewalk situation before it wastes money on unneeded projects, like building an unneeded flood diversion channel and little lake, replacing perfectly functioning levees that have kept the downtown Fort Worth zone flood free for over a half a century.

Years ago, back in the 1980s, Ross Perot sparked some controversy criticizing what he thought was a failing of the United States and its cities, claiming that America "had grown arrogant and complacent after World War II." And due to this arrogance and complacency America was no longer the world's greatest nation, further asserting that America was "daydreaming of its past while the rest of the world was building its future."

Perot said, "Go to Rome, go to Paris, go to London. Those cities are centuries old. They're thriving. They're clean. They work. Our oldest cities are brand new compared to them and yet… go to New York, drive through downtown Washington, go to Detroit, go to Philadelphia. What's wrong with us?"

I doubt Ross Perot has ever been to Fort Worth. He lives in Dallas. But, if he visited Fort Worth, I'm sure he would add Fort Worth to his list of American cities that make him wonder what is wrong with this town?