The Old Man & The Fosdick Sea Feeding Ducks

The Old Man & The Fosdick Sea was back floating on his unique fishing barge today in Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park.

I think if I were to fish on a fishing barge such as this I would opt not to be wearing long pants.

The July Arctic Blast is still keeping the outer world temperature far below normal in normally HOT north Texas.

The overnight low at my location was 62. It was in the 70s when I went walking around Fosdick Lake and it is only 84 degrees, right now, in the middle of the afternoon of the second day of July.

I think I have mentioned that my mom and dad were in Bend, yesterday. Bend, Oregon, that is. Yesterday I thought mom's visit with her sister was not going to happen, due to logistical problems. But, last night those logistical problems were taken care of, which had mom and dad visiting my Aunt Mike this morning.

Aunt Mike did not recognize my mom and dad. But, they had a pleasant visit. Alzheimer's is a cruel disease.

Meanwhile I have heard from Gar the Texan  regarding his upcoming legally binding contractual partnership to a new wife. Previously I mentioned that it seemed that Gar the Texan was trying to break Mickey Rooney's wife total record.

However, Gar the Texan is now claiming, if I'm understanding correctly, that only three of his "wives" have been legally binding contractual partnerships requiring a divorce proceeding to be wife-free. I guess that must mean the Vibrator and the Very Big Girl were Texas Common Law type wives.

Now, back to today and Fosdick Lake. Soon after watching the Old Man & the Fosdick Sea fishing I came upon the charming scene below.

A mom and little girl feeding the Fosducks.

I asked if I could take their picture because they were being so darn cute. The little girl excitedly gave me permission. While her mother seemed a bit wary.

A Board Walk With My Sister In Arlington's Veterans Park

I was not bored walking the Veterans Park boardwalk today in Arlington.

This Arctic Blast which has returned natural cold air to North Texas, temporarily, is quite refreshing.

My sister who is usually in Arizona, but is currently in Idaho, went walking with me today.

Yesterday I mentioned my sister had a vehicular malfunction whilst driving to one of my other sister's wedding in Tacoma. I had been misinformed by my parental units that my sister was stranded in Twin Falls.

Instead my sister, and nephew, CJ, are stranded about 140 miles northwest of Twin Falls, in Nampa, Idaho. It was the air-conditioner that malfunctioned, with the repair to be made by this afternoon.

Meanwhile my mom  and dad arrived in Bend, Oregon much earlier than I, and my cousin, had anticipated. And so, my cousin was out of town, so, as far as I know, my mom did not get to see her sister. That will now need to wait for the return trip to Arizona.

Have I ever mentioned that Arlington's Veterans Park is an extremely well done park? With modern restroom facilities, with  no outhouses  to be seen anywhere, unlike that which is the park design aesthetic of the town to Arlington's west.

In Veterans Park there are locations where one can not tell one is at the heart of a 6 million plus people metropolitan zone, such as the location above with the gnarled tree, with green trees as far as one can see.

Veteran's Park has miles of paved trail, a boardwalk and landscaped walkway through a garden, a  Xeriscape, miles of unpaved, wooded trails, a music pavilion of the real permanent sort, again, unlike the design aesthetic of that town  to Arlington's west and many other amenities that add up to being a park a city can be proud to have in town.

Among the Veterans Park amenities I forgot to mention is the Veterans Park Memorial.

At the base of the Veterans Park Memorial there are memorial bricks honoring soldiers from American Wars all the way back to the Mexican-American War.

There are Civil War bricks from both the Confederate and Union side of the War of Northern Aggression. Choctaw Code Talker bricks, Spanish-American War bricks, plus bricks from all the wars of the previous and current century, World Wars I & II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraq War, War in Afghanistan and likely other wars I'm not remembering right now.

I  can not be the only one who notices that America seems to get into a lot of wars.....

An Arctic Blast Brings Temperatures 30 Degrees Above Freezing To Formerly HOT North Texas

This morning it was only 30 degrees above freezing when I woke up my computer to monitor the weather for the day.

It is now 35 degrees above freezing at about 3 hours since the sun showed up today to being its heating duty.

I do not remember, previously, having my windows open, in Texas, in July. But, they are open this morning on this 1st day of the new month.

The pool was much warmer than the air this morning. That does not happen too often.

I do not know how long this unseasonably cold Arctic Blast is scheduled to continue. If the temperature predictors are correct with their prediction, we are only going to be in the 80s the next couple days in this formerly HOT part of the planet.

It is currently HOTTER up in my old home zone of Washington than it is in formerly HOT Texas.

Tonight I Have A Mom & Dad In Klamath Falls And A Sister Stuck In Twin Falls With A Vehicular Malfunction

In the picture you are looking at what is known as a mountain. This mountain is near Klamath Falls, Oregon.

My mom called me tonight from Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Mom and dad left the Phoenix zone Saturday morning to begin a trek north to a wedding in Tacoma.

It had been indicated to me, by my mom, that they would be traveling at a slower pace than they are traveling, what with them already being in Klamath Falls.

I was a bit concerned about my mom and dad driving across long stretches of desert with this record breaking heat wave happening. A vehicular breakdown when the temperature is super HOT can quickly become very problematic.

All my siblings, who do not currently live in Washington, are currently on the road, heading north for that aforementioned wedding.

Mom told me my sister, also heading north from the Phoenix zone, with my nephew CJ as her chauffeur, has had one of those dreaded vehicular breakdowns, currently stuck in Twin Falls, Idaho, awaiting a mechanical repair.

The last time I drove back to Washington, early August of 2001, my last night before arriving in Seattle was spent in Twin Falls.

It is 2,200 miles, give or take a mile or two, from my location in Texas to Seattle. This sounds like a long distance, but it really isn't. First night of that trip north was spent in Pueblo, Colorado, second night in Twin Falls, with arrival in Seattle the next afternoon.

After my mom called I let my cousin Freddy, in Bend, know that his aunt and uncle had made it to Klamath Falls and would be arriving in Bend around noon tomorrow. I am hoping that when my Aunt Mike sees her sister, that being my mom, that Aunt Mike has a Notebook moment and recognizes my mom.

Mom said she'll call me tomorrow to let me know how the visit with Aunt Mike went.

Gar The Texan Takes One More Step Towards Breaking Mickey Rooney's Multiple Marriage Record

I am not the most attentive Facebooker on the planet. Which causes me to miss Facebook notices.

It has been several years now where I have not understood why Facebook has not fallen off the Internet map, like MySpace did, with Facebook replaced by something better.

It seems to me that entities such as Google and Microsoft should be working on replacing Facebook with something better.

Anyway.

Today I learned that Facebook is now being used to issue Wedding Invites, doing away with the time honored method of mailing of an invite requesting a RSVP.

It was from Gar the Texan that I received my most recent wedding invite. I clicked on the "Maybe" I will attend option on the invite.

Gar the Texan is calling his latest nuptial event "Doomsday."

I can sort of imagine why Doomsday is the current Gar the Texan wedding theme. Likely, it being Doomsday has something to do with the fact that Gar the Texan is trying to beat Mickey Rooney's number of marriages record.

I have never met the first Mrs. Gar the Texan, she being the mother of his big brood of replicants, who have now made Gar the Texan into Gar the Texan Grandpa.

I have met some of the subsequent Mrs. Gar the Texans, such as the followup to the original, she being an El Paso girl with a neurological disorder that caused her to vibrate like one of those old Motel 6 beds after you inserted a quarter in the vibrating device.

The Vibrator was followed by the Very Big Girl. She being an heiress worth a million or 20. Gar the Texan thought he'd be happy married to the Very Big Rich Girl, with her letting him play video games all day, til he found out she also expected him to perform traditional husbandly duties when the sun went down.

The Very Big Girl was followed by the German. When I first met the German my skin literally crawled. She did not speak with a German accent that reminded me of Heidi Klum or Schultz from Hogan's Heroes. Gar the Texan's German spoke with a German accent that reminded me that Eva Braun married Adolf Hitler the day before he shot himself.

When Gar the Texan let it be known that he intended to marry the German I was very conflicted. I thought, should I verbalize what I thought about him marrying a German decades younger than himself who could barely speak English? Or not share that I thought this was a HUGE mistake.

I opted to keep my opinion to myself.

Gar the Texan was soon divorced from the German after she put him through a living hell of Goosestepping and Sauerkraut.

And now, it is on to wife #5, or is it #6? I don't know for sure.

The latest incoming wife appears to be more age appropriate. She is an American. An American who I believe is from Idaho. The land of really famous spuds. This bodes well. I hope.....

The SB Depot Dud Had Me Happy To Be Back With My Regular Saturday Gateway Park Town Talk Rut

In the picture you are looking at my handlebars above a cliff above the Trinity River in Gateway Park.

Last Saturday, from this same location, I said that today I was going to break free of my Saturday Gateway Park Town Talk rut and go instead to SB Depot in Arlington.

Well.

I had to be in Arlington yesterday. Which made it make sense to go to SB Depot, then, since I was in the neighborhood.

Last week, after I mentioned I was going to go to SB Depot today, Stenotrophomonas told me I would like the SB Depot cooler much more than the Town Talk cooler.

I somehow construed what Stenotrophomonas told me to mean I would like SB Depot better than Town Talk.

However, I'd barely driven on to the SB Depot parking lot when I decided this place was a dud. A big DUD.

It was coming up on noon and there were only a couple cars in the parking lot. Inside the store was a ghost town. The touted International Food Court was empty of anyone from any nation. The sole checkout person appeared to be napping.

And then I found the SB Depot cooler and got what Stenotrophomonas meant. This cooler was so big all of Town Talk could fit inside. However, the SB Depot cooler was mostly empty and what was in there was nothing I wanted.

I quickly left SB Depot and continued on to Cho Saigon and then ALDI.

Now, back to today. I had myself a really fine time biking the Gateway Park mountain bike trail. The trails are in great shape, which enabled some high speed pedaling.

And then it was on to Town Talk to cool off in Town Talk's tiny cooler.

I filled an entire shopping cart at Town Talk today. That has never happened before. I got Pineapples, Oranges, Asparagus, Mangoes, Romaine Lettuce, Yellow Peppers, Avocados, Green Beans, Rainier Cherries from Wenatchee, dozens of Tyson All Natural Chicken Legs and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

I guess I am okay with my Saturday Town Talk rut. I do enjoy it. And since there really are so few things I enjoy, I suppose I should just be happy to stay in my familiar rut....

CBS TV Is Covering The Olivergate Scandal Reporting The Tarrant Regional Water District GM Is In Hot Water

Unlike the inept, non-local newspaper of record, known as the disgraced Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the local CBS TV News is covering the TRWD Olivergate Scandal.

Yesterday's CBS coverage of the scandal was titled "Tarrant Regional Water District GM In Hot Water".

An excerpt from the online version of the CBS TV coverage of the TRWD Olivergate Scandal...

There are allegations of confrontations and threats at the agency that provides water to nearly two million North Texans.

The newest board member of the Tarrant Regional Water District said her request for documents related to district emails, real estate records and payment records, was met instead with a heated lecture from the district’s general manager Jim Oliver.

“He said if you want records as a board member, you come through me,” Kelleher said, pounding on her chest to show how she said Oliver emphasized his words. “I thought ‘wow’.”

You can watch the interview with Mary Kelleher by going to CBSDFW.COM where you will hear Mary Kelleher describe the bullying of Jim Oliver.

Yesterday's blogging about the TRWD Olivergate Scandal brought a very appropo comment from Guelma...

Guelma has left a new comment on your post "The TRWD Olivergate Scandal Takes Another Scandalous Turn With Denials, Lies & Cover-Ups":

This part of the world seems to have more than its fair share of what has been called bullycrats, public servants who somehow think they are rulers of the "we the people" who pay their salaries and other perks. Time to keep twisting this Oliver and then flush him down the river. 

I agree with Guelma, the Oliver Twisting must continue until this bullycrat is flushed down the river....

A Call From My Mom Had Me Hunting For My WSU Cougar Bobblehead From My Aunt Mike

My mom called me a couple minutes ago to let me know they are heading north in the morning, heading to Tacoma for a wedding, with a stop in Bend, Oregon, on the way.

The stop in Bend is to see my Aunt Mike, my mom's baby sister, who we were all shocked to learn, this past year, has Alzheimer's.

Aunt Mike has always been the healthiest, most robust of my aunts and uncles.

And the funniest.

Aunt Mike ran marathons. I remember being at Gasworks Park, in Seattle, in the early 1990s, in a heavy rain, to watch Aunt Mike complete a marathon the day before the I-90 floating bridge sank.

I last saw Aunt Mike on August 11 of 2001, at my mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party. I drove solo, back to Washington, for this, with no one but my two oldest nephews knowing I was coming.

No one knows I am coming north for this latest family event. Because, I don't think I am.

I'd mentioned to my mom, previously, that my cousin Kurt, he being Aunt Mike's only kid, told me Aunt Mike still likes going to McDonald's.

So, mom told me she had a cute McDonald's Bobblehead for Aunt Mike.

I then told mom I still had a Washington State University Cougars Bobblehead that Aunt Mike gave me decades ago, when she went to WSU.

That Cougar Bobblehead went with me when I went to college, and has followed me all the places I have gone since, including Texas.

After I got off the phone, with my mom, I went hunting for my Aunt Mike Cougar Bobblehead. I found it, Googled McDonald's Bobbleheads and took the picture you see above.

It is going to be interesting to see if Aunt Mike recognizes my mom. This will be the first time since Aunt Mike has had Alzheimer's that she will be being visited by someone who she has known as long as she has had a memory.

The TRWD Olivergate Scandal Takes Another Scandalous Turn With Denials, Lies & Cover-Ups

UPDATE: Sorry to confuse. No, this headline did not actually appear in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Everyone knows the Fort Worth Star-Telegram does not cover news of the TRWD Olivergate Scandal type of real news....

On Wednesday I blogged about a letter newly elected TRWD board member, Mary Kelleher, sent to TRWD General Manager, Jim Oliver, in What Is TRWD General Manager Jim Oliver Afraid Will Be Exposed With Full TRWD Transparency?

In part that letter from Mary Kelleher said, “I take very seriously my responsibilities as an elected official and I expect that my attempts to provide the necessary oversight in the future will not be met with raised voice, chest-pounding, disrespect, and other behavior unacceptable for a public servant, let alone the senior executive of the TRWD.”

Rather than man up and own his bad behavior, Jim Oliver opted to use the Nixon-style Lie, Deny and Cover-up method of dealing with a scandal.

Most of us know how well that worked out for Richard Nixon. Apparently Jim Oliver missed that history lesson. I suspect Jim Oliver will meet the same fate as Richard Nixon.

Via TRWD spokesman, Chad Lorance, Jim Oliver strained credibility with the following....

“Ms. Kelleher, accompanied by two unidentified males, appeared unannounced at the District offices on June 21 and requested numerous documents from staff, including some that were confidential in nature. The release of those confidential documents by the district’s staff would have violated provisions of the Texas Government Code."

Chad Lorance continued the obfuscating spin by claiming all requests for information must be reviewed by general counsel for compliance with all laws, with the information requests made only to the TRWD Imperial Dictator, I mean, General Manager, Jim Oliver, adding that “Staff members confirmed that Mr. Oliver did not raise his voice during that discussion."

So, are we to believe that an elected TRWD board member can not examine TRWD documents without Jim Oliver's approval and a review by a lawyer? And there is some Texas Government Code which codifies this bizarre practice?

When Mary Kelleher made her document review request on June 21, why did TRWD employee, Nancy King, accept Mary Kelleher's document review requests, telling Mary Kelleher to return that afternoon,  at which time Nancy King would provide the available documents?

Apparently Nancy King had not been advised of the tight security that controls TRWD documents and filters their release through the command of the Imperial Dictator, TRWD General Manager, Jim Oliver.

As for Jim Oliver's claim that TRWD staff members, in the office at the time of his tirade, confirm he did not raise his voice. Well, I can not help but wonder what the result of a lie detector test would be, hooked up to Jim Oliver, or those staff members who were deaf to Oliver's yelling. Or used to hearing it. Or intimidated and bullied by this bureaucratic tyrant.

In other words, if Jim Oliver's judgement was so bad that he gave himself permission to try and intimidate Mary Kelleher with a hysterical tantrum, imagine how he must treat staffers who are not elected officials? Let alone elected officials elected with the most votes in TRWD election history.....

Over 100 For The First Time In 2013 In North Texas

I don't know when, today, the outer world furnace heated to over 100 for the first time this year in North Texas.

I did not notice we'd gone over 100 til some time after 5 in the afternoon.

I did notice that the air-conditioner has been working hard this afternoon to maintain the artificial chill.

Tomorrow I have business to attend to in Arlington, none of which will be out in the HEAT, except for the walks from an air-conditioned vehicle to an air-condition building.

I think tomorrow's super HOT Friday will have swimming as my only endorphin inducing aerobic activity for the day. Unless I change my mind....