I Found No One Floating In The Trinity River When I Biked In Gateway Park Today

In the picture it looks like my handlebars are looking at a lake.

But that is no lake.

It is the green Trinity River, as viewed from a cliff in Fort Worth's Gateway Park, today, around noon, with the temperature a few degrees below 100.

Yesterday, a few miles upstream, the body of a woman was found floating where the Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube floaters float.

I don't know if tomorrow's scheduled Trinity River Inner Tube Happy Hour Float has been cancelled pending the results of the investigation into what caused a woman to float dead in that location.

On a happier note, I saw no one floating, dead or alive, in the part of the Trinity River I looked at today.

I had a fast pedal on the Gateway Park mountain bike trail today. Most of the trail is heavily shaded, which makes for a much cooler experience than being directly under the blazing HOT Texas sun.

When I finished pedaling I continued on to Gateway Park's neighbor, Town Talk, hoping to get some more packages of Chorizos and bags of Poblano Batard  bread. I was successful on both counts.

I Refuse To Eat The Fish I Catch In Fort Worth's Fosdick Lake

Upon arrival at the Oakland Lake Park parking lot I saw the guy on the left catch and release a fish back in to Fosdick Lake.

I was standing on Fosdick Dam, looking south across Fosdick  Lake, when I zoomed in to take a picture of the bucolic fishing scene you see here.

A crowd of spectators, in the form of humans and ducks, were spectating the fishing.

I've never enjoyed fishing. Even though the fishing gene runs strong in my relatives, like Spencer Jack's Uncle Joey.

Joey catches fish he can eat, caught in water that is not polluted.

One is advised not to eat the fish one catches in Fosdick Lake.

I would think that a town that felt compelled to post such warnings about fish caught in the town's water would be motivated to clean up the town's dirty water to make the fish safe to eat.

The town of Bedford has a stocked fishing lake in Chisholm Park that is quite popular.

Bedford is only a few miles from Fort Worth.

Maybe Fort Worth could send a study group to Bedford to find out how it is that Bedford has a lake from which one can consume the fish one catches.

Spencer Jake Riding The Great Seattle Wheel Reminded Me Of The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle

No, that is not an artist's rendering of what little Pond Granger will look like if the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle ever becomes something anyone can see.

What you are looking at in the picture is my Great Nephew, Spencer Jack, and his favorite girl friend, Brittney, in Seattle, high above Elliott Bay in a gondola attached to the Great Seattle Wheel.

I blogged about Spencer Jack and the Great Seattle Wheel, this morning, on my Washington blog in a blogging titled Spencer Jack & Girl Friend Brittney Take A Spin On The Seattle Great Wheel.

Looking at the above picture did get me to thinking about the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle. To the left of Brittney we can see a small slice of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Alaskan Way Viaduct is getting replaced by a tunnel. The world's biggest tunnel boring machine, christened Bertha by the locals, has started her boring job.

The new transit tunnel is scheduled to be operational sometime in 2015 or 2016.

Does anyone know when some aspect of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, other than a drive-in movie theater, a restaurant, a wakeboard park, inner tube floating parties and a lame music venue, is scheduled to be operational?

Like when is that celebrated flood diversion channel scheduled to finally start protecting downtown Fort Worth from a flood?

Has anyone seen an artist's rendering of what that flood diversion channel will look like?

Is the flood diversion channel, if it is ever built, going to be a big cement lined ditch? Empty of water except when a flood comes to town?

When can we expect to be seeing cruise ships docking on Pond Granger? This decade?

Have any of J.D. Granger's thousands of Magic Trees been planted?

Over two years ago we learned that those Magic Trees had to be in place during a flood to slow down the Trinity River after it shoots at high speed through the flood diversion channel. Shouldn't those trees be planted by now? Giving them plenty of time to get well rooted before they get  hit with a flood?

So many questions. Never any answers....

A Wreck On The Way To Mallard Cove With A Scary Cliff Above An Upside Down Car In The Trinity River

I came upon the disturbing scene you see on the left on my way to Mallard Cove Park to pedal my handlebars.

When I took a turn to the right to head east on Randol Mill Road I saw the road blocked by a firetruck, police cars, emergency vehicles and a lot of flashing lights on the west side of where Randol Mill crosses I-820.

One lane was getting through to the east. As I waited for the light to turn green I snapped the picture. Though I thought not at first, the guy on the ground was still alive. I saw an EMT guy talking to him and then changing his focus to another injured guy, on a stretcher, being moved to an ambulance.

The light turned green and I proceeded on to Mallard Cove Park.

The paved trails at Mallard Cove Park are fine for a couple loops. But then I exit the park zone to explore via beat up old access roads. At one point I came to the view you see below.

A narrow trail came to its end. I could see the view you see above. I assumed the Trinity River was  flowing towards me. But then I slowly stepped to the edge of the precipice to see I was wrong in my assumption.

Due to my bad photography skills I was not able to accurately capture how high the above cliff is. Or how fast the Trinity River was flowing, making rapids. As I walked towards the precipice I thought the Trinity River was flowing towards me and that when I got to the edge of the cliff I would see the river continuing on to my right, heading east. Instead I got to the cliff's edge and looked down to be very startled to see the river directly below me and flowing in the opposite direction I assumed it was flowing.

It took me awhile to figure out that the Trinity River was making a big oxbow turn at this location, with the turn having the river head back west before making another turn to the east. I need to look at Google Earth to see how the  river manages to do this at this location.

And then from the same view there was something disturbing in the middle of the river.

The disturbing thing in the middle of the river appeared to be an upside down vehicle, sort of a continuation of today's car wreck theme. And also continuing with today's car wreck theme, sort of, is the scene I came upon below.

Dozens of abandoned tires of various sizes. Why do people dispose of tires in this manner in so many locations I come upon in the D/FW Metro Zone? This tire collection is located a short distance west of the western boundary of Mallard Cove Park.

UPDATE: Just as I thought it might, Google Earth solved the mystery of how it was I was confused by the direction the Trinity River was flowing today. As you can see the river takes an Oxbow turn at the location I saw it whilst standing atop a cliff, heads west, before turning back east to continue its journey to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Continuing Quest To Find Who Is At The Center Of Fort Worth's Culture Of Corruption

Last week I blogged about wondering who it was Who Is At The Center Of Fort Worth's Culture Of Corruption? In that particular blogging it appeared that Fort Worth Wheeler Dealer, Jim Lane, was at the Center of the Culture of Corruption, graphic-wise.

Moments ago I had reason to re-read another blogging from last week titled Walking With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Thinking About Replacing Kay Granger With Wendy Davis, Mary Kelleher Or Elsie Hotpepper in which I mentioned I had read a very amusing paragraph that mentioned both Jim Oliver and J.D.Granger in an article written by Clyde Picht in the Fort Worth Business Press....

Needing a director for the TRVA with high qualifications – someone versed in construction, engineering and hydrology, to name a few essential skills – the water district’s general manager, Jim Oliver, went for the best. This being potentially a billion dollar project, Oliver zeroed in on the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office and found a tier 4 law school graduate working as an assistant DA. Selecting J.D. Granger to head TRVA was rather fortuitous because his mother, Kay Granger, happened to be a member of Congress and federal money was required for the key requirement of building a bypass channel and dams and hydraulic locks and all the really expensive stuff.

Re-reading what Clyde Picht wrote about J.D. Granger being picked as the guy to run the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle is why at this point in time, in the graphic above, I have J.D. Granger at the Center of Fort Worth's Culture of Corruption.

Re-reading what Clyde Picht wrote got me thinking about TRWD board member Mary Kelleher's quest to get TRWD documents available for Mary's, and the public's perusal.

Thinking about TRWD documents got me wondering what sort of documentation exists of the communications between J.D. Granger and Jim Oliver regarding hiring J.D. to run the TRVB project.

J.D Granger was working as an assistant District Attorney. So, what happened? Did J.D. get a call one day, during a break from prosecuting, from Jim Oliver? An email? A personal meeting?

When Jim Oliver suggested to J.D. Granger that he was the man he wanted to run the TRV Boondoggle, what did J.D. say?

Did J.D. say to Jim Oliver I have absolutely no qualifications for such a job? Did J.D. ask Jim Oliver why are you thinking I could, or should, take this job?

What was Jim Oliver's explanation, to J.D., as to why Jim Oliver thought J.D. was the man for this particular job?

When the selection of J.D. Granger was made to run this billion dollar boondoggle, how was this selection presented to the TRWD Board? What discussion took place? Did Jim Lane or Marty Leonard or any of the other board members inquire of Jim Oliver as to what J.D. Granger's qualifications were?

Should there not be rather detailed records regarding as important a subject as the hiring of the person to run such an important, uh, flood control project?

Has the Fort Worth Star-Telegram or Fort Worth Weekly or anybody ever directly asked J.D. Granger how he is qualified for his Trinity River Vision Boondoggle job?

That seems as pertinent a question today as it did back when J.D. got the job, what with the Trinity River Vision project now clearly, solidly into boondoggle mode. And with that being the case, who do you blame?

The unqualified guy hired to do the job?

Or those who agreed to hire him?

Or the Culture of Corruption that permits such things to take place?

An Indian Ghost Walk With A Giant Great Dane & Mexican Hot Dogs

In the picture you are looking at one of the two spots designated as being a Wildflower Area in Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Today the Wildflower Areas were not looking too colorful.

This morning a couple hours after my morning swim I drove up to Hurst to ALDI. It had been two months since I'd driven up to the Hurst ALDI.

Since my last drive to the HURST ALDI the highway construction at the 820/121 junction, and beyond, has grown even more adventurous than the last time I navigated this obstacle.

Somehow, within the past 2 months, at the Precinct Line exit off of 121, a new Outback Steakhouse has sprouted up and is open. When I drove by this spot 2 months ago all I recollect seeing was a big open space where, I think, a grocery store once stood, with nothing under construction.

In Texas some things are built amazingly fast, like some road construction projects and restaurants, like this new Outback Steakhouse. Whilst other things, like the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, seem to be built on a slow motion time table.

The most interesting thing I saw walking with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts today was a Giant Great Dane and the lady walking the Giant Great Dane. The Giant Great Dane was an extremely friendly dog, who seemed to be smiling. The lady walking the Giant Great Dane was also extremely friendly.

But what made the lady walking the Giant Great Dane interesting was what she was wearing. Tie dyed leggings with a tie dyed top that matched the tie dyed leggings, with a matching tie dyed bandanna. I would think wearing leggings on a HOT day would be extremely HOT. Aren't leggings sort of like wearing long underwear? Only tighter?

I used to know an extremely large lady who stuffed herself into leggings, with the leggings frequently splitting apart due to the stress of containing more flesh, under extreme pressure, than any fabric can withstand. It also perplexed me as to why an extremely large lady would want to stuff herself into tight leggings. Is it to show off that voluptuous figure?

Speaking of stuffing something into something.

Yesterday I mentioned getting Poblano Batard Bread and Chorizo at Town Talk and that I was going to see if those two items, together, made for a tasty Mexican Hot Dog.

Well, lunch is now history and I can report that the next time I'm at Town Talk if Poblano Batard Bread and Chorizo are in the Town Talk freezer I am buying some to stick in my freezer.

From Wee Cheng's Son We Learn Vice-President Biden Is In Singapore Buying Fresh Lime Juice

On the left you are looking at a screen cap from Facebook. A screen cap of a posting by Wee Cheng that amused me.

Wee Cheng is a Singapore native of Chinese descent. Wee writes and speaks English, in addition to Chinese. Singaporean English is known as Singlish, due to the way the locals mix Singapore in to their version of English.

My lessons in Singapore culture came from Wee Cheng back in the last century.

My first website was birthed in the mid 1990s. In either late 1994 or 1995. My first website was called Dialing Doctor Durango. At that point in time Doctor Durango was sort of a know it all blowhard soliciting questions from people seeking answers to any type of question. Being a know it all blowhard was a real big stretch for me.

Most people got the satirical sarcastic nature of Dialing Doctor Durango. But, two things happened that caused me to stop being Doctor Durango and change my website in to The Durango Files.

One of the things that happened was a Munich, Germany medical university's website listed Dialing Doctor Durango among the Top Ten medical websites on the Internet. Soon after that I got a very earnest, very serious gynecological oncology question from a lady in the UK.

After the gynecological oncology question I decided it was time to shut the Doctor Durango clinic.

Now, what does any of that have to do with Wee Cheng?

Well, back when I was still enjoying  being Doctor Durango Wee Cheng emailed me asking for lovelorn advice. Lord knows I am the go to guy for that type advice. Wee Cheng's former boyfriend, Teck Seng, was returning to Singapore from an assignment in London. Teck Seng wanted to see Wee. Wee was reluctant. Wee's mother thought she should give Teck another shot.

I agreed with Wee's mom.

During the course of the following years Wee and I exchanged emails constantly. Wee asked for my phone number and called me a couple times while I still lived in Washington and once or twice after the move to Texas. Wee mailed me cool stuff, like antique Singapore postcards, that I webpaged. Those postcards must be in this abode, somewhere. Wee mailed me a cool silk sarong type thing she got in Japan.

When Wee was in Japan she went into a Walmart where she got something called Easy Cheese. Disgusting fake cheese sprayed from a can. This delicacy was not available in Singapore, so Wee asked me if I could ship her some Easy Cheese. I bought 3 cans of the stuff and shipped it to Singapore. If I remember right it cost about 10 times more to mail than the Easy Cheese cost.

I don't remember if it was before I moved to Texas, or after, but, I got an invitation to Wee and Teck's wedding. I did not make it to Singapore for the wedding.

Wee continued emailing me until just before George Bush invaded Iraq. Prior to that Wee told me if America invaded anymore Asian countries she was done with all things American. I then asked if that meant she'd be giving up using the Internet.

After that exchange I did not hear from Wee again for years, not til she sent me a Facebook friend request. After Wee Facebook friended me I was quite pleased to see that she was now a mother with two boys.

It was one of those boys who provided me Facebook amusement this morning with the following...

Yap Wee Cheng
Son:  Mum, do you know US Vice President is in Singapore?
Mum:  Yes. Not bad yah, you know about it. Do you know the reason for him to be here? 
Son:  For good food lah, he went to hawker center to buy fresh lime juice. 

Mum can't help but laugh hysterically.

"yah" and "lah" are examples of the aforementioned Singlish.

An Almost Chilly Walk Around Fosdick Lake Before Finding Poblano Batard Bread At Town Talk

That thin slice of blue in the middle of the picture is Fosdick Lake. In this view we are on a hill in Oakland Lake Park, looking west.

My Saturday norm, of late, has been to go biking at Gateway Park and then on to Town Talk.

However, yesterday afternoon a deluge dropped some water which likely rendered parts of the Gateway Park mountain bike trail muddy.

When I mountain biked in the Pacific Northwest biking through mud was quite common. But Pacific Northwest mud does not have the glue-like consistency of Texas mud. And so I avoid biking on Texas mud, if I can help it.

Today there were a lot of people enjoying walking around Fosdick Lake and playing in Oakland Lake Park. I think the large number of people enjoying being outdoors is explained by the temperature being unusually cold for the last Saturday of July in North Texas.

As in, the air was only heated into the low 80s when I went walking. Low 80s with a wind blowing. It was almost chilly. I probably should have kept my shirt on.

I had better treasure hunting this week at Town Talk than I did last Saturday.

Today I got a couple bags of Romaine Hearts, 4 bags of Spring Lettuce Mix, a case of Greek Honey Yogurt, Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese, a bag of something called Poblano Batard Bread, Whole Grain Bagels, Chorizos and dozens of Chicken Legs.

I am not sure what to do with Chorizos or Poblano Batard  Bread. But tomorrow I think I will see if paired together those items make a Mexican Hot Dog.

Pondering The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Al Capone Mary Kelleher & Me

Til I read the quote on the left, brought to my eyes this morning by the Fort Worth Connie D, I had no idea I had anything in common with Al Capone, besides being late paying my income tax a time or two.

This morning I learned, via Elsie Hotpepper, that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has made a 180 degree turn in its covering of the Tarrant Regional Water District board controversies.

You can read this turnaround yourself in an editorial in today's Star-Telegram titled Uncomfortable times ahead for water district.

Basically the Star-Telegram opined that the people spoke, turned out in record numbers, elected Mary Kelleher with the most votes of any candidate.

And that the other board members need to get on board.

The first 5 paragraphs of the Star-Telegram editorial give you a good idea of how big a change this is in the Star-Telegram's coverage of this issue...

The main thing the four multi-term members of the Tarrant Regional Water District board of directors must remember about recently elected member Mary Kelleher is that she won.

In fact, she won the May 11 election handily, pulling in more votes than any of the seven candidates in this year’s race for three spots on the board. Board President Vic Henderson and now-Vice President Jack Stevens were re-elected to the other two seats.

If that’s not enough to make the veterans respect the rookie, they should note that 59,889 people cast ballots in the water district election this year, up 61 percent from the 37,286 who turned out in 2010, the board’s most recent previous election.

That means a lot more people were interested this time around, and Kelleher’s place as the top vote-getter signals great voter interest in her message.

That message, voiced by Kelleher and two other candidates who were not elected, was clear. Putting it mildly, they said the TRWD has some explaining to do. Voters need to know more about how the board and the district operate, and they want to know whether it’s the most effective and efficient operation it can be.

Just like with Al Capone, weak is not what you are going to get when you are not kind to a well regarded person like Mary Kelleher.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram antidote known as the Star-Telegraph made note of today's Star-Telegram editorial in a blog post titled Who is the Tool?

In that blog post the Star-Telegraph summed up the issue quite succinctly with...

Mary has been flooded, railroaded, threatened and bullied. She's not going anywhere and neither are the people that elected her.

That's a fact, Jack.

Finding Ma & Pa's 50th Anniversary Party Is A Bit Depressing

I think I've mentioned I've been going through all my web files, making changes.

I have been making web files since the early 1990s. Web files created since around 1998 still exist, for the most part, and are located in hundreds of folders stored in my durangotexas domain.

Going through all the web files I am finding all sorts of things I'd forgotten I'd done. Such as making a webpage with a few photos that I took at my mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party, back on August 11, 2001.

No one, but my two oldest nephews, knew I was driving myself up to Washington for mom and dad's anniversary. This was to be the last time I have driven back to Washington.

Even though the 50th party was on the 11th, my mom and dad's actual anniversary is August 6, the same day an angry America dropped the world's first atom bomb on a town in Japan named Hiroshima.

My mom and dad always seem to have their significant anniversary parties on August 11, rather than Hiroshima Day. I remember the 40th was also on August 11, out on Samish Island.

This coming August 6 Hiroshima Day will be mom and dad's 63rd Anniversary, if I am counting correctly.

Looking at the Ma & Pa's 50th Anniversary Party webpage is sort of depressing. Several in the pictures are no longer living. Like my Grandma Vera, Uncle Mel, Glen Youngren, Kate the Brit and her boyfriend, Jack and Rosie the Rat Dog.

And I could see my Aunt Mike in one of the photos. At that point in time Aunt Mike was in good health, still running and biking, looking younger than her years, still a blonde.

And now, just a few short years later Aunt Mike is in an assisted care facility with Alzheimer's.

Like I said.

Depressing.