America Is In Deep Trouble If Fort Worth Is The Best Downtown In America

On the left you are looking at a screen cap from the website of an entity which calls itself Livability. The specific screen cap is from a livability.com webpage sharing with the world the Top 10 Best Downtowns 2014.

It really should not come as a shock to anyone that after Livability's extensive scientific investigation it was determined that Fort Worth, Texas has the Best Downtown in America.

Even though this news really should shock no one there seems to be sort of a collective huh? among those who have been to downtown Fort Worth.

And the downtowns of other American towns.

I first learned Fort Worth is America's Best Downtown when Elsie Hotpepper sent me a link to an article in Fort Worth Weekly titled Downtown Fort Worth Is America’s Best. Fort Worth Weekly took a sort of tongue and cheek approach to this surprising accolade, listing in order the other Top Ten Downtowns in America, as in #2 Providence, (Rhode Island), followed by Indianapolis, Provo, Alexandria, (Virginia), Frederick, (Maryland), Fort Lauderdale, Bellingham, (Washington), Eugene, (Oregon) and Birmingham, (Alabama).

Yeah, I know nothing of several of those towns, either. Except I was born in Eugene and lived several years in Bellingham, both, in my opinion, with much more lively downtowns than Fort Worth's.

Fort Worth Weekly opined that "This is like winning first place in an ugly baby contest." And advises, "So, eat our dust, Eugene, OR!"

I suspect whoever wrote that Eugene should eat Fort Worth's dust has never been to Eugene. Eugene has a downtown with these things called stores, very pedestrian friendly, with sidewalks lining streets all over town.

So, how does this Livability thing explain the inexplicable? I shall quote from their website...

But numbers alone can’t tell you what makes a downtown great. For that you need to see the skylines, hear the street sounds and talk to people who've been there. We took a look, talked with our well-traveled staff and made our picks.

It takes decades of careful planning, political alignments and dedication to create downtowns that attract new residents and visitors. We gave considerable weight to population growth and the ratio of residents to jobs in a downtown area because urban center experts suggest these are the most telling signs of how a downtown is doing.

"The way to have a really vibrant downtown is to have residents there who can support the businesses and provide that life on the street to make the area seem more lively and safer," says Sheila Grant, editor of Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter. "We think they are the most vital part of the city. They give everyone in the outlying areas a sense of community and heritage."

Skylines? Fort Worth has a recognizable skyline? Livability talked with their well-traveled staff to make their picks? Their staff traveled to Fort Worth and still thought it to be the Best Downtown in America?

The ratio of residents to jobs in a downtown area?

Did no one on Livability's well traveled staff notice how few people populated the streets of downtown Fort Worth? Did they not notice there is not a single grocery store in downtown Fort Worth? Did they not notice there is not a single department store in downtown Fort Worth?

As recently as the day after Thanksgiving of 2013 I wandered the streets of downtown Fort Worth to document how lifeless it was on the busiest shopping day of the year. The best downtown in America is a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year?

And then there is this paragraph...

"The way to have a really vibrant downtown is to have residents there who can support the businesses and provide that life on the street to make the area seem more lively and safer," says Sheila Grant, editor of Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter. "We think they are the most vital part of the city. They give everyone in the outlying areas a sense of community and heritage."

Oy vey. How does Ms. Grant explain how it is that if downtown Fort Worth has all these residents making the downtown lively and safe, why do all those downtown residents not have access to a downtown grocery store?

A sense of heritage? Oy vey, again. The Best Downtown in America has a boarded up eyesore on the north end of its downtown, called Heritage Park. Did those well traveled Livability staff people not notice this?

And then there is what the Livability article had to say, specifically, about the Best Downtown in America...

A collection of 13 parks provide residents, visitors and downtown workers with spots to soak in some sunshine, eat lunch and unwind. The city's 35-block entertainment and shopping district, Sundance Square, attracts millions of visitors and national attention for its innovative design.

Innovative design? What innovative design? Really, I'm not just being snarky here, I am totally baffled.

A collection of 13 parks in the downtown Fort Worth zone? Is Heritage Park counted among the 13?

Shopping district? If this is a shopping district why is it a ghost town on the day after Thanksgiving?

Attracts millions of visitors? Millions? This count must come from the same mysterious calculator which calculated that the Cabela's sporting goods store in North Fort Worth would draw millions of visitors making it the #1 tourist attraction in Texas.

I can not help but wonder, will Fort Worth be having a city wide celebration celebrating being the Best Downtown in America, such as what happened when a D.C. lobbying group put Fort Worth on some Top Ten Most Livable City list, a list more sophisticated towns, like Tacoma, knew was bogus, politely thanking the lobbying group, but having no city wide celebration.

This is all very perplexing....

Today I Got Myself Stocked With Asian Goods From Saigon Cho In Arlington's Chinatown

No, that is not the Fosdick Fountain in Fosdick Lake in Oakland Lake Park in Fort Worth you are looking at here.

This body of water and its fountain is located in Veterans Park in Arlington.

I stopped at Veterans Park for a short walking commune with nature before continuing on to Arlington's Chinatown to go get myself some much needed Asian grocery supplies at my favorite Asian grocery store, Saigon Cho.

Or is it Cho Saigon? One would think I could remember.

Today I got a lot of bottled sauces, including fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili sauce.  In addition to a lot of sauce I got a big bottle of siracha. Oh, I think that is a sauce too. A really hot sauce. I also got a big bottle of sesame oil, a big bag of vermicelli rice noodles, garlic and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

So, I am now well stocked with Asian sauces, which tomorrow will render cashew chicken over those aforementioned rice noodles. But, right now, enchiladas are baking in the oven. Apparently I am very multi-cultural, spanning the globe for the various cuisines which spew from my kitchen.

The lunch bell is gonging. Talk to you later.....

An Extremely Cold Walk Around Fort Worth's Fosdick Lake On The Last Sunday Of 2014's Winter

Fosdick Fountain in Fosdick Lake in Fort Worth's Oakland Lake Park

Once again cold has creeped south from the north and once again I found myself at one of my outdoor recreational locations without sufficient outwear to keep some semblance of warm.

This morning when I went swimming the outer world was only 10 degrees cooler than the morning before, when I had myself a nice long swim.

Yesterday's deluging added a couple inches of previously frozen water to the pool.

I did not have myself a nice long swim this morning.

As the minutes of those morning marched on towards noon the temperature continued to drop. A strong wind blows, at times gustily. Currently a few minutes after my return to interior comfort I see the outer world is now chilled to 44 with a 26 mile per hour wind making it really feel like 33. I thought it really felt more like 23 when I was out in it.

You can sort of tell the wind is blowing Fosdick Fountain's water to the south, in the picture above.

I only saw one other person foolish enough to be out in this frigidity today, that being a properly attired jogging woman jogging across Fosdick Dam as I tried to make a 360 degree video. I did not like the result of my attempt to make a 360 degree video using a phone, so you won't be seeing it.

We start to warm up again tomorrow. I don't think I will be making a swim attempt in the morning though. The first day of Spring arrives on Thursday. I hope with the arrival of Spring we can put this Arctic madness behind us...

An Aborted Gateway Park Bike Ride Before Treasure Hunting At Town Talk

On the left you are looking out my computer room window through a pane of glass dripping water from today's eagerly anticipated downpour which tardily arrived a short while before four on this Ides of March Saturday afternoon.

A few minutes ago I saw my computer based weather monitoring device turn red, so I clicked it and learned that currently we are being advised to watch for a severe thunderstorm.

A few seconds after getting the watch for a severe thunderstorm notification I heard my first boom of thunder. As of right now, that one clap is the only clap I have heard so far.

Prior to the predicted precipitation precipitating I was preparing to go for my second swim of the day. That particular preparation has now been aborted. My second aborted plan of the day.

Computer Based Weather Information

Around noon when I left my abode to drive my mechanized mobile device to Gateway Park to pedal my non-mechanized mobile device on the mountain bike trail drops of rain were moistening the windshield. The rain was not falling anywhere close to downpour mode, but nonetheless I assumed it might whilst finding myself on a dirt trail turning into mud.

So, I aborted today's mountain bike ride and continued on to Town Talk.

As it turned out, during the time frame allotted for a bike ride the rain never fell in amounts copious enough to have ruined a pleasant bike ride.

I guess I did what is known as erring on the side of caution. Better that than have bike tires with three inches of clay-like mud stuck to them.

Town Talk treasure hunting was a success today. Orange peppers, a big box of frozen shrimp, dozens of bananas, jalapeno bacon, chick peas, rice and other stuff I am not remembering right now.

Unlike the past three Saturdays, today Town Talk was not suffering from a jammed parking lot and long checkout lines.

Just got a text message from Elsie Hotpepper asking if I want to go see a Dud and a Prince tonight. I have no idea what this means, except that somehow wildcatting is involved....

The Ides Of March Did Not Have Me Being Beware Of Swimming This Morning

To the left you are looking at the March 15 Saturday morning view from my patio, looking at my swimming pool and currently dry hot tub.

As you can see, my part of the planet is being overcast today.

Somewhere at some point in time I recollect being warned that one really should be wary of the 15th day of March. If I remember right the exact warning is "Beware the Ides of March".

Is the word "Ides" Latin for middle? I have no idea. Latin for 15th?

Anyway, so far today this Ides of March day has been the best of the new year of 2014.

Why has this been the best day of the new year, you ask?

Well, this morning, with the outer world getting no chillier overnight than the 60s, I was able to have myself my first long swim of the new year.

The result of this first long swim of the new year is I am feeling real good. As in really good.

Yesterday morning I tried to stay immersed in the then too cool pool. I bailed after about a minute. This morning I experienced absolutely no bailing impulse.

I suspect a hydrologist, if that is the correct term for one who is knowledgeable about water, would be able to calculate how quickly a mass of water gains or loses heat when exposed to a particular temperature over a particular time frame. This morning the water felt to be about the same temperature as the air, which at that point in time, according to my phone, was 62 degrees.

If the weather predictors prediction for today is correct that Ides of March warning to be wary may be appropo, what with the forecast for today being downpours, thunderstorms, hail and possible tornadoes.

I can not remember the last time I heard the tornado sirens blaring, except for their semi-regular Wednesday noon test blarings.

Texas weather has grown so atypical of the norm that I sort of forgot that we are currently in the tornado season time of the year.

I am hoping to roll my wheels on the Gateway Park mountain bike trails before the rain arrives, followed by my regularly scheduled Saturday Town Talk treasure hunt.

I am hoping to find egg rolls at Town Talk today, to go with the cashew chicken stir fry I'm planning on making for lunch.

In the meantime I guess I shall err on the side of caution and Beware of the Ides of March....

Today I Found A Leaning Tower Of Pisa Hoodoo On The Tandy Hills

I am not certain if today's Tandy Hills Hoodoo is the same Hoodoo I saw on Wednesday. It seems as if the the Wednesday Hoodoo was skinnier, without that big block of rock in its midsection.

Today the Tandy Hills Hoodoo was slightly leaning, a Leaning Tower of Pisa Hoodoo.

I will not be back on the Tandy Hills tomorrow for my semi-regular Saturday Hill and Hoodoo inspection.

If Saturday's predicted rain and thunderstorms do not arrive I will be rolling my wheels on the Gateway Park mountain bike trails tomorrow, prior to my regularly scheduled Saturday Town Talk treasure hunting.

The temperature was perfect, in the low 60s, today for some high speed hill hiking. I saw only one other person indulging in endorphin acquisition today.

My hot tub is still out of commission. This morning I tried to get myself some hydrotherapy via the pool, but it was too cool for hydrotherapy of a duration long enough to have the hoped for salubrious effect.

I must cut this blogging short. I just got a text message telling me I need to check out something to do with the Texas Supreme Court.....

Will The Courts Rule The TRWD Board Election Must Proceed As Scheduled?

On the left you are looking at snippet of a guy named Craig Bickley's Facebook page. Apparently Craig Bickley and a lady named Melissa McDougall are running for director positions on the Tarrant Regional Water District Board.

Is this pair running to replace the pearls clutching dowager, Marty Leonard, and the lawyer, Jim Lane? I don't know, since the upcoming TRWD Board Election is in some sort of state of legal limbo due to a couple lawsuits being heard in a couple places, one being outside of Texas, that being the 5th Circuit Court in New Orleans, with the other being heard by the Texas Supreme Court.

If your source of local news is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram you likely do not know that one of the lawsuits is being heard, today, by the Texas Supreme Court, regarding the TRWD's bizarre arbitrary decision to not hold an election on its regularly scheduled date, and instead to simply add a year to the terms of the aforementioned Marty Leonard and Jim Lane.

You can peruse some details of the pending lawsuits on the Star-Telegraph blog. Please note that is Star-Telegraph, not Star-Telegram. You can read about the Texas Supreme Court Agreeing to Hear the TRWD Election Case and in a previous Star-Telegraph blogging you can read about the case being heard by the 5th Circuit in New Orleans in the blog post Going to the Big Show.

I rather like this Craig Bickley guy, just judging by the snippet of text I gleaned from his Facebook page...

Great morning talking with the hard working precinct chairs of the Tarrant County Republican Party Executive Committee. They were excited to hear that Melissa and I are working to bring some "adult supervision" to the TRWD and couldn't wait to help us out.

In fact, after the meeting I had many folks come up to tell me of more TRWD corruption that they had experienced. This campaign is going to be won by getting the word out. It is a battle of expression vs suppression and I firmly believe that the voters are ready to have their views heard and their money handled responsibly.

Vote Craig Bickley and Melissa McDougall

Adult supervision of the TRWD? Does this mean if Bickely and McDougall get elected that Jim Oliver will finally get the boot? And that Mary Kelleher will finally have access  to the TRWD's public documents she has been requesting to see for months, if Bickley and McDougall win this battle of expression vs. suppression?

With the Texas Supreme Court case which is being heard today, I have no confidence justice and common sense will prevail. Not til this case gets heard outside of Texas.....

UPDATE: I have been informed that the Texas Supreme Court is not hearing the TRWD election case today, Friday, March 14, 2014, rather that the TRWD was given 48 hours to respond to the lawsuit, with that 48 hours ending Friday, March 14, 2014.

In Arlington Rolling My Bike Wheels Past Indian Ghosts Searching For Steep Hills

My Handlebars Pointing At An Interlochen Canal

Yesterday I was remembering biking the paved golf cart trail at Eaglemont in my old home zone of Mount Vernon and lamenting the lack of steep hills to roll my wheels up and down at my present location in mostly flat Texas.

Well.

Today I rolled my mechanized wheels to Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area to roll my non-mechanized wheels with the Indian ghosts who haunt this location.

I got to the VCNHA, removed my bike from the transport device and whilst pumping up the tires and adjusting the front brake cable I remembered I was near some rare steep Texas hills.

So, I pedaled to the exit from the Indian ghost zone to the Interlochen neighborhood.

One of the exits from the Interlochen neighborhood is a road called Crowley. That is a steep road that in the past has caused me to go into breathing hard oxygen debt mode. Which is a good thing.

I have not pedaled Crowley Road in this decade. In the prior decade I would reach the summit of Crowley Road then take a right on a road which led to a big development of new homes. The last I was in this location a few homes were finished, with dozens more under construction.

The road to all this construction was extremely steep, causing a fast descent with the need to be in the lowest gear and switch back and forth across the road to make the ascent.

Well.

Today I took the right on to the steep road to find it is now blocked by a security gate. So, I did not get to have the Eaglemont-like steep experience I was hoping for.

Even so, I had myself a mighty fine time rolling my wheels today.

Today I Found A New Hoodoo Has Risen On The Tandy Hills

Due to the fact that wind was blowing in from the north, at high velocity, I was surprised  when I headed west up the trail from currently dry Tandy Falls to see a new Hoodoo standing up strongly against the gusts.

This new Hoodoo is extremely well constructed, with little rocks acting as braces to stabilize the bigger rocks, hence the still standing, I suspect.

Yesterday the high, termperature-wise, was 86 at my location. This morning that 86 degrees had shrunk to 46, a forty degree loss overnight.

At 46 degrees this morning one might think I had myself a nice hot tub hydrotherapy session. One would have thought wrong if one thought that. The tub was not hot because there was no water in it. Repairs need to be made to a seal, so the water has left the tub. For how long, I do not know.

This time last year, as in by the time Daylight Savings Time arrived, a third of the way into March, I was regularly getting my morning hydrotherapy session, without excess heat, in the pool.

I tried the pool this morning, what with the hot tub not available. I did not last long with the pool still too cool to facilitate a salubrious hydrotherapy session.

On the left you are looking at the close up view of the latest Tandy Hills Hoodoo.

The close up view is not close enough for you to see the intricate feat of engineering which has gone into constructing this precarious Hoodoo tower.

Has anyone happened upon the constructor of the Tandy Hills Hoodoos when he or she is in construction mode?

Golfing With Spencer Jack At Eaglemont Has Me Lamenting Time Flying

This morning upon doing my daily Facebook check the first thing I saw was a picture of Spencer Jack driving a golf cart, with his dad, my favorite nephew Jason, as his passenger.

I am almost 100% certain this golf cart driving was taking place at the Eaglemont Golf Course & Country Club in my old hometown of Mount Vernon.

Eaglemont was built in the 1990s. My home in Mount Vernon was in a place called East Thunderbird on a lane called Pawnee, a short distance north of Eaglemont.

Eaglemont was being built soon after I got my first mountain bike, in 1995. The golf course was built first, with miles of paved golf cart trails, going over extremely hilly terrain, the likes of which I do not have available to me at my location in Texas.

Just to get to Eaglemont was a pedal up an extremely steep road. The Eaglemont paved golf trail is sort of like a roller coaster to bike, with the long downhill back to my abode the fun, fast payoff at the end.

After multiple times of myself having a mighty fine time biking the Eaglemont golf course I had my nephews, Jason and his little brother,Joey, have their dad, my brother, Jake, haul their bikes over to my place so me and my nephews could pedal the Eaglemont trails.

I think Jason was maybe 13 or 14 when he and Joey biked Eaglemont with me. Six or seven years older than Spencer Jack's current age.

Additionally, what has me lamenting the rapid passage of time is the fact that within a few years of biking the Eaglemont golf trail Jason opened his first restaurant.

At Eaglemont. The Eaglemont Pavilion.

In April of 2006 I was at the Eaglemont Pavilion for Jason's wedding reception. I later made a video of that event to add to an Eaglemont Pavilion website I made for Jason. You can watch that video below, where you will see Jason and Spencer Jack's mom (and me if you are real eagle-eyed).

At some point in time after 2006 Jason sold the Eaglemont Pavilion to open the Fidalgo Drive-In in Anacortes.  You can go here to like the Fidalgo Drive-In on Facebook.

And now it is 2014 and Spencer Jack is seven years old driving his dad on the Eaglemont Golf Course golf cart trail.

Meanwhile I am in Texas, way older than seven years old, about to go hiking on a sad substitute for the Eaglemont Golf Course, that being the rocky slopes of the Tandy Hills....

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