Wheel Rolling Along Arlington's Village Creek With The Indian Ghosts Out Of Town

Those are my handlebars parked on the paved trail in the Village Creek Natural Historical Area. I stopped at this location hoping I would be able to get a good picture of all the leaves that are falling and have fallen since the arrival of fall.

I was not very successful in getting a good picture of the fallen and falling leaves.

As I was taking the picture I looked up to see what I thought was a guy walking a pair of small ponies. Upon closer inspection the pair of small ponies turned out to be a pair of big dogs.

I had no interaction with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts today. They must be out of town at their annual Harvest Moon Powwow.

If you were that one person who read my blogging from yesterday where I mentioned I arrived at Gateway Park yesterday and quickly found out that I was unable to roll my wheels over the mountain bike trails, due to a front tire flat, well, I guess you can likely intuit that the flat is fixed, hence today's Sunday wheel rolling.

Later this afternoon I will be going over to Miss Puerto Rico's for a rare visit. But, before that I just received an urgent request from Elsie Hotpepper which requires my immediate un-distracted attention. I guess I will take care of that right now....

Feeling Flat Had Me At Town Talk Early Finding Lobster Bisque

That would be the front tire of my bike you are looking at, sitting on the patio overlooking the swimming pool where I had myself a mighty fine time this morning.

After that mighty fine time early this morning the time following that has not been so fine.

Around 11 this morning I rolled my mechanized wheels to Gateway Park hoping to roll my human mechanized wheels a couple loops around the mountain bike trail.

All was going well until I discovered the aforementioned front tire was flat.

One would think I would keep a patch kit on the bike, or in the bike transporting vehicle, but I never remember to do so. Maybe I will remember after this incident.

So, with the bike ride aborted by a flat I was off to Town Talk much earlier than the Saturday norm. I had no problem finding a parking spot at Town Talk today, unlike recent Saturdays.

Today my Town Talk treasure hunting yieldied a big bag of apples from Yakima. Yakima is a town in Eastern Washington. In addition to the apples I got a package of 100% pure beef hamburger patties, flour tortillas, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, red onions, organic milk, smoked sausage and lobster bisque.

I have had lobster a time or two, but never in its bisque format.

I guess I will go fix a flat now....

Is Fort Worth's The Best Small Downtown In America?

Yesterday after I saw a full page advertisement in this week's Fort Worth Weekly touting Fort Worth's downtown as being the Top Downtown in America I opined my disdain for this absurdest propaganda.

When I opined my disdain I was thinking that this propaganda had to do with the recent award Fort Worth shared with Wichita Falls which the local propaganda distortionists touted as indicating Fort Worth had America's best downtown when the award was for Fort Worth's new downtown plaza, with the award given after Sundance Square submitted the plaza for consideration, with that submission being full of ridiculous propaganda which the Pinnacle Award awarders must not have investigated for veracity before awarding the award.

After I blogged my disdain for this Top Downtown in America ad someone named Anonymous commented...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "To Experience America's Top Downtown Go To Fort Worth Weekly":

The ad claims "Fort Worth has the #1 downtown in America, according to livability.com..."

That is a lie.

No I'm almost certain they are correct. Downtown Fort Worth was chosen the #1 downtown in America by Livability.com.

http://livability.com/best-places/top-10/best-downtowns/10-best-downtowns/2014/fort-worth

The pinnacle award for Sundance Square Plaza is a separate award from a different organization. It seems like Fort Worth is always winning one these meaningless awards and, of course, bragging about winning them.

I found the comment from Anonymous to be disturbing for a very disturbing reason, with that reason being I think my memory may be failing.

Why do I think my memory may be failing? Well. I clicked on the link in the comment from Anonymous, and quickly found myself thinking that that which I was reading seemed very familiar. Particularly when I read that two of the other towns on this Top Ten Best Downtowns list were Eugene, Oregon and Bellingham, Washington.

I thought to myself, did I blog about this? I thought it seemed likely I would have, what with Eugene being where I was born and having lived in Bellingham. So, I entered "Bellingham" into the search window on the blog and quickly found out that I did blog about this, back on Monday March 17, 2014, in a blogging titled America Is In Deep Trouble If Fort Worth Is The Best Downtown In America.

I am thinking I promptly forgot about this ludicrous Top Downtown deal due to the ludicrousness of it, I mean, just read what towns followed Fort Worth on the rest of the Top Ten list--- Providence, Rhode Island, Indianapolis, Indiana, Provo, Utah, Alexandria, Virginia, Frederick, Maryland, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Bellingham, Washington, Eugene, Oregon, Birmingham, Alabama.

At the time I don't know why I did not investigate Livability.com. I have now done so and found out how Fort Worth could end up on such a list when better known downtowns in America are not on the list, you know, towns like New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Los Angeles, Boston or Seattle.

The Wikipedia article about Livability.com cleared it up for me in its first paragraph....

Livability.com is a website that ranks America’s most livable small and mid-sized cities. The website includes demographic information, statistics, articles, photography and video that summarize the quality of life in cities, including information about schools, neighborhoods, local restaurants and cultural events. The website’s content is anchored by original photography shot by Journal Communications Inc. staff photographers. The site also provides moving tools and tips, do-it-yourself project help and home and garden advice.

So, I guess I was right after all when I opined it was false advertising to advertise Fort Worth's as the Top Downtown in America, according to Livability.com, when truthful advertising would have said "America's Top Mid-Sized Downtown", with the blurb at the bottom of the ad truthfully edited to say "Fort Worth has the #1 mid-sized downtown in America, according to livability.com....."

I don't understand how Fort Worth can be considered mid-sized. Fort Worth is a big city, population wise. Why would Fort Worth be on a list with much smaller towns like Bellingham and Eugene? This makes no sense.

Does Fort Worth still have that semi-pro Cats baseball team playing in La Grave Field? I recollect finding it bizarre that a big city like Fort Worth had a semi-pro baseball team playing in a very minor league with teams from little towns a fraction the size of Fort Worth.

Why does Fort Worth not play in the Big Leagues, both in baseball and when it comes to competing for these important Top Ten in America type lists? And shouldn't someone let the good folks at livability.com know that Fort Worth is not a mid-sized city? Fort Worth's currently population is 792,727.

Bellingham's population is 82,234. Eugene's population is 157,986. Both are small, mid-sized towns.

Bellingham, Eugene and Fort Worth's are the only downtowns on the Livability list which I have visited. My ranking would be Eugene at #1 due to being so pedestrian friendly. Bellingham at #2 due to being a bigger, more lively, more attractive downtown than Fort Worth's, even though Bellingham is a fraction of the size of Fort Worth.

I'd rank Fort Worth a distant third, due to its downtown having embarrassing eyesores like the boarded up Heritage Park, along with no downtown department or grocery stores, both of which exist in the downtowns of Eugene and Bellingham....

2014 Mesothelioma Awareness Day

Today is Mesothelioma Awareness Day. I was made aware of Mesothelioma Awareness Day a couple weeks ago via an email asking me to help raise awareness about Mesothelioma. The email was from Cameron and Heather Von St. James.

Mesothelioma is rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium. Mesothelium is a fancy word for the protective lining which covers the internal organs of the body.

The prognosis for those who are diagnosed with Mesothelioma is bleak. Heather Von St. James is a Mesothelioma survivor. You can listen to Heather tell you about her winning battle against Mesothelioma in the video below.

Exposure to asbestos is the primary causal agent for Mesothelioma. Heather was exposed to asbestos when she was a kid, before the danger of asbestos exposure was common knowledge.

Asbestos began being mined and used commercially in the late 19th century. Use of the mineral greatly increased during World War II, exposing, since the early 1940s, millions of Americans to asbestos danger.

It is now known that breathing in asbestos fibers is extremely hazardous to human health. And yet asbestos continues to be mined, with 2 million tons mined world wide in 2009. Russia produces about half the world's asbestos, followed by China, Brazil, Kazakhstan.

Canada closed its last two asbestos mines in 2011.

The dire severity of asbestos related diseases, including Mesothelioma, combined with the extremely widespread use of asbestos, along with it continued long term use, even after the dangers were known, has brought about asbestos litigation which has become the most expensive mass tort case ever in the U.S.

Approximately 100,000 Americans have died or are currently terminally ill from asbestos exposure related to ship building. Thousands of tons of asbestos were used in World War II ships. Some 4.3 million shipyard workers were exposed to asbestos during the war. For every thousand of those shipyard workers fourteen died from Mesothelioma.

In this century, when New York City's World Trade Center towers were knocked down, lower Manhattan was blanketed with the dust of debris, with asbestos among the combustible materials in the debris. Breathing in the 9/11 dust is thought to be the cause of the high cancer death rate among emergency workers since 9/11. Thousands of others who were exposed to that day's dust are thought to be at risk.

With today being Mesothelioma Awareness Day, beware of the continued danger caused by asbestos.

Go here to learn about Asbestos sites in Texas. Go here to learn about Asbestos sites in Fort Worth, including information about medical and legal help.

Watch the video below to hear Heather Von St. James testimony to the fact that one can be a Mesothelioma Cancer Survivor....

Multiple Towers On The Tandy Hills Today With Men Hanging From Above

Towers shall be the theme for today's visit to the Tandy Hills Natural Area.

On the left we are looking west across an old wagon trail which heads west from the summit of Mount Tandy towards a lone tower sticking up above the horizon, with that lone tower being one of the few skyscrapers which make up the stunning skyline of beautiful Downtown Fort Worth.

Also known as the Top Downtown in America by some local fact distortionistas.

Today's hill hiking was the coolest in a long time. Cool in the temperature sense of the word.

The outer world was chilled to the low 60s when I went swimming early this morning. The low 60s was cooler than the temperature of the water, which made for a very refreshing time in the pool.

The temperature had only risen about 20 degrees by the time I drove myself to the summit of Mount Tandy, hence the cool hiking.

For months now every time I drive to the summit of Mount Tandy there is a crew there working on the Tandy Tower, also known as the Fort Worth Space Needle.

Today was no exception.

As I walked past the Tandy Tower I heard shouting, but could not see who was doing the shouting.

Then about half way down Mount Tandy I looked back at the tower to see a guy hanging from a rope, halfway up the tower. And then another guy came into view. I got the camera out and zoomed in for the photo you see above.

I have no idea what these two guys are doing to the Tandy Tower, but I do know watching them activated my usually dormant acrophobia.

Soon after I started getting dizzy from being too high I came upon the towering Hoodoo you see below.

The above Hoodoo appears to be well engineered with a solid, substantial foundation. That was not the case with the second towering Hoodoo I came upon today.

The below Hoodoo tower was towering at Hoodoo Central at the north end of the trail that leads to the Tandy Hills from View Street. I think we could call this one the Leaning Hoodoo Tower of Tandy.

I suspect it will not be long before the Leaning Hoodoo Tower of Tandy finds itself horizontal.

To Experience America's Top Downtown Go To Fort Worth Weekly's Best Of 2014 Edition

Yesterday I picked up this week's Fort Worth Weekly, the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition.

I did not get around to looking at the eagerly anticipated Best of 2014 edition of Fort Worth Weekly til this morning.

It only took flipping the cover to the first page to aggravate me.

You are looking at the aggravation on the left. A full page advertisement from the entity known as Sundance Square.

I know there is often little truth in advertising, but this un-truthful advertisement is downright embarrassing. I know that Fort Worth Weekly likes its advertising revenue, but, really, this ad is totally shameless.

The ad claims "Fort Worth has the #1 downtown in America, according to livability.com..."

That is a lie.

Livability.com did not designate Fort Worth's as the #1 downtown in America. I blogged the facts about this ridiculous propaganda previously in a blogging titled Elsie Hotpepper Helped Me Learn How Fort Worth Became The Top Downtown In America.

Why does Fort Worth Weekly go along with this false advertising I can not help but wonder?

Than again, maybe I don't need to spend all that much time wondering, what with the following propaganda gem from Fort Worth Weekly itself in the "On the Town" section of its Best of 2014 edition....

The few readers who participated in the Best of 2014 voting voted Lightcatcher Winery and Bistro as the place to Take a First Date.

While the Critic's, meaning the Fort Worth Weekly staff, chose Coyote Drive-in as the place to Take a First Date.

Part of the Critic's Choice explanation for their choice says "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion, the outdoor theater serves tasty food and beverages..."

Okay, let's just ignore the fact that what used to be known as Trinity Bottoms has been renamed Panther Island, by the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, even though there is no island, and it is highly likely there never will be anything one could stretch their imagination far enough to call an island.

There also is no pavilion on the imaginary island. A blogging from a few weeks ago titled The Futile Search For The Missing Pavilion, Island & Panther At Fort Worth's Panther Island Pavilion elaborated on the fact there is no pavilion at Panther Island Pavilion.

Now, let's get back to what those Fort Worth Weekly Critic's had to say.....

Coyote Drive-in "Situated at the scenic Panther Island Pavilion"?

The area that is known as Panther Island Pavilion is at the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River, that being the location of the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle's Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats.

I do not know anyone whose imagination is so imaginative that they would see this location as being scenic.

The oddest part of what the Fort Worth Critic's had to say about the Coyote Drive-in being situated in the scenic Panther Island Pavilion is not the scenic part, it is the fact that the Coyote Drive-in is no where near the confluence of the West and Clear Forks of the Trinity River and that which is being called Panther Island Pavilion.

Well, you get what you pay for. Fort Worth Weekly is free.....

A Walk Through The Forest Of Trinity River Vision Gateway Park Master Plan Propaganda

A few days ago I biked by the Trinity River Vision's Gateway Park Master Plan propaganda installation, stopped to take a picture and later blogged about my wonderment that this signage has been touting the Boondoggle's Master Plan for years now.

With absolutely nothing to show for  it.

Not even J.D. Granger's Magic Trees have been planted, which one would think would be of foremost importance, to give the trees plenty of time to grow strong roots, so as to slow up a Trinity River flood as it races through the un-built, un-needed flood diversion channel before it inundates Arlington.

In the video below I take a long walk through the forest of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Gateway Park Master Plan propaganda signage marveling at the wonder of it all.....

Spencer Jack Wishing Us A Mighty Fine Fall From The Skagit River Vision

On the day before the Autumnal Equinox, Spencer Jack took his dad to Ground Zero of the Downtown Mount Vernon Revitalization Project, also known as the Skagit River Vision, to take a Happy First Day of Fall photo for his Great Uncle.

Spencer Jack is standing before a Get Ready sign which depicts what the Skagit River Vision will look like when it can totally be seen in a week or two.

If that sign behind Spencer Jack were not blocking the view you would be looking at the signature bridge which crosses the Skagit River, connecting West Mount Vernon to Downtown Mount Vernon. That signature bridge was built in less than four years and was built over a wide, fast moving body of water, with water elevation changes, cyclically throughout the day, to varying degrees, due to tidal action a few miles downstream.

When the Skagit River Vision's re-built riverfront opens to the public the public will be enjoying a plaza which dwarfs a recently opened plaza in another town about which I am familiar, a town with a population about 25 times bigger than Mount Vernon's.

I am still unclear how the new flood wall works. The flood wall is the key ingredient which instigated the Downtown Mount Vernon Revitalization Project, also known as the Skagit River Vision. When the Skagit River goes into flood mode Downtown Mount Vernon finds itself in a New Orleans type situation,  as in below the level of the river.

A big sandbag wall has saved Downtown Mount Vernon multiple times from a raging Skagit River. The big sandbag wall took hours to build, with hundreds helping. It takes just a few people a few minutes to put up the new flood wall.

Knowing what it is like to have lived in a town with serious flood issues, seriously addressed, is part of what makes it perplexing to me to currently live in a town with imaginary flood issues, goofily, irresponsibly addressed.

Yes, perplexing.

Very perplexing.....

A Moving Look At One Of Fort Worth's Boarded Up Gateway Park Boardwalks

On the left you are looking at one of Fort Worth's Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks.

There are two boarded up Boardwalks in Gateway Park. One at the west side of the park, one at the east side of the park.

Both Gateway Park boarded up Boardwalks have been boarded up eyesores for years.

One used to be able to get by that which boarded up the Boardwalk and make ones way down the Boardwalk to the point where going further was impossible.

Now, in 2014, the boarded up west side Boardwalk is boarded up with sufficient boards to prevent anyone getting on the boarded up Boardwalk without extreme effort. Upon a close look it appears a lot of the boards that make up the Boardwalk have now decomposed to the point where one would be a fool to try and get around the blockage to walk on the boarded up Boardwalk.

Below is a YouTube video which gives you a good idea of what an eyesore this boarded up Boardwalk is. And, like I say in the video, I don't understand why Fort Worth does not either tear down this boarded up Boardwalk. Or fix it...

No Fallen Trees Blocked Me From Seeing The Scenic Trinity River In Gateway Park Today

I did not manage to get myself a sufficient endorphin dose via this morning's long aerobically stimulating pool bout, so around noon I headed west to Gateway Park to roll my wheels and take a picture at my favorite Trinity River photo op location.

What you see in picture is really what the Trinity River looks like under the bright, clear blue sky. I used no special lighting effect or filter to enhance the river's natural beauty.

When I got to the roller coaster section of the mountain bike trail I heard the sound of chain saws. I figured the fallen tree obstruction I came upon the last time I rolled my wheels at this location was being chopped into pieces.

I had a lengthy debate with myself whether or not to cut the ride short so as to avoid the logging operation. By the end of the debate I decided not to avoid the logging operation.

Turned out the lengthy debate was totally unnecessary. By the time I got to the fallen tree location the chain saw operators had moved on to another fallen tree, one that had fallen on the paved trail, not the mountain bike trail.

After one time around the mountain bike trail I got on the aforementioned paved trail and rolled to the boarded up boardwalk on the west side of the park because I wanted to make a video of this eyesore. I figured if a picture is worth a thousand words a video has to be worth a lot more.

After finishing the boardwalk video project I continued rolling til I got to the Fort Woof location of the massive installation of Trinity River Vision Boondoggle Gateway Park  Master Plan Propaganda signage to make a video of that, as well.

The boarded up boardwalk video is currently being processed. It seems to be stuck at the PROCESSING 95% mark. If it ever finishes processing I'll upload the Gateway Park Master Plan video. It is quite a bit longer than the boarded up boardwalk video.

In the meantime I await incoming photos from Spencer Jack and his dad, photo documenting for me Mount Vernon's Skagit River Vision, along with that vision's completed signature bridge over actual water....