Today Texas And America Lost A Real Good Man

As you can likely guess, I am looking scornfully concerned in this photo because of the out of control Sea of Grass which has taken over the Village Creek formerly blue Blue Bayou.

This used to be a big pond of water, with just a little bit of vegetation.

I tried to go running with the Indian Ghosts today, what with hoping the chilly temperature being in the low 70s would make for a likely pleasant bout of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation.

But, I was tired. I'd run for a bit, then walk, then run some more. I was not feeling like Mr. Light On His Feet like I did two days ago running around Fosdick Lake.

I think the tiredness came from having been vertical since a bit past 4 this morning. I had to deliver Mr. Ed to a clinic so he could be operated on. A real early delivery. I made it back to my home zone before the sun arrived, so I had myself a pre-dawn pool bout.

Weighing on my fragile mind is the fact that there have been way too many deaths in the past week. Russians killing Syrians in Syria. Aunt Alice's son, Wade. The killing spree in Roseburg.

While trying to run with the Indian Ghosts my phone made its incoming text message noise. I sat on a shaded bench and soon learned that today Tarrant County Lost A Hero. Allen Patterson succumbed to the brain cancer he has been fighting for what seems well less than a year. Just a day or two ago Allen posted on Facebook that he was ending his chemo treatment and taking off on a roadtrip with his family. The way Allen Patterson dealt with the blow of suddenly finding out he had an extremely deadly version of cancer was of the courageous uplifting sort I do not believe I have witnessed before.

I have to be in the downtown about which all of America is envious tomorrow morning at  8. I just got reminded by Elsie Hotpepper that there is a big parade happening in downtown Fort Worth tomorrow. I should be out of there before the parade starts rolling....

First Day Of October Chilly Tandy Hills Hiking Followed By Rain

Today I had myself the coolest high speed hill hiking in a long long time.

74 degrees when I reached the summit of Mount Tandy.

75 degrees when I returned to the summit of Mount Tandy an hour later, with big plops of rain starting to drop.

Those ploppers dropped all the way to ALDI in the first good rain I've seen since I don't remember when.

Windshield wipers slapping time to the mindless ranting of Rush Limbaugh, til I couldn't take the nonsense anymore, so I switched to some soothing golden oldies rock and roll.

As you can maybe tell by the giant dandelion looking yellow flowers above, the wind was gusting a bit before the rain began. These giant dandelion looking wildflowers were sprouting by the rock crypt which showed up a couple years ago. Near as I can tell no one has ever turned over the rock to see what is in the crypt.

I have to get up real early tomorrow to provide chauffeur service for someone needing delivery to a clinic for a surgical procedure. I should be able  to make it back here in time for my regularly scheduled, pre-dawn swim.

The pool was a bit cool this morning. October is when it begins to become a bit more challenging to go swimming in an unheated pool. The new month sure has started off starkly different to most all of September. Cool, cloudy, rain, wind. But now, mid-afternoon, the sun has returned and the temperature has risen to a still sort of chilly 82.

Have I ever mentioned I am not much of a fan of riddles? Well, I have now....

Elsie Hotpepper Asks Why Fort Worth Is Not Flooded With Celebrities Digging The Town's Wonders

A week ago today I blogged about America being shocked to learn downtown Fort Worth is the Envy of the Nation.

Then the following Saturday Elsie Hotpepper Facebook messaged me with the following question...

"If we were the most envious of all, would this be news" Wouldn't all the stars be here?"

Elsie Hotpepper was making reference to the local Fort Worth media, both print, as in the Star-Telegram, and TV, such as WFAA, making a big deal about Harrison Ford being spotted in Fort Worth, with WFAA making the claim that Harrison Ford 'digs' Fort Worth.

How did WFAA determine that Harrison Ford dug Fort Worth? I can't picture Harrison Ford, or anyone who has been around the world, or around America, gushing about digging Fort Worth. Not that there are not some things to dig about Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Stockyards seem dig worthy to me. The Fort Worth Water Gardens are sort of dig worthy too, to me. The Water Gardens have even been in a movie.

I think Elsie Hotpepper makes a good point. As in if Fort Worth's downtown was actually the envy of the nation the downtown would be a bit more busy with visitors, including celebrities, wouldn't it?

It does seem that just about every time a celebrity, even a minor celebrity, shows up in town a bit of a fuss is made. It would seem sort of obvious the reason a fuss is made is because celebrity spottings are rare. Even political celebrity spottings are rare.

I remember seeing Hillary Clinton in Fort Worth. I blogged about that in My Date With Hillary.

I can not remember any leader of another country showing up in Fort Worth since I've been in town.

Recently China's President Xi visited a few cities in America. He did not show up in Fort Worth. I suspect if such a visit ever were to occur a big fuss would be made. It would be interesting to see how Fort Worth handled something like a visit from the Pope.

I remember seeing both President Ford and President Jimmy Carter in Seattle. Ford on the Seattle waterfront, Carter in a hangar at Boeing Field. Both were campaigning. Both lost. Ford to Carter, Carter to Reagan.

Is Harrison Ford still in Fort Worth digging all there is to dig in the most wonderful town in America? I know I have not seen him, yet. Maybe I will see Mr. Ford on the Tandy Hills today. I'm sure he would dig the Tandy Hills....

Wikipedia Has Me Confused About Dallas

A few days ago in a blog post I mentioned Spencer Jack's Dad's Dallas Grave Visit.

Regarding Spencer Jack's dad's Dallas grave visit that post said....

Whilst Jason did his touring he text messaged a time or two to his Favorite Uncle D. That would be me. One of those messages said, in part....

Not only did I see Benjamin Franklin's grave today, I saw Dallas's grave. Are you aware of who the city of Dallas is named after?

Well, I guess I have always assumed Dallas was named after a guy whose last  name was Dallas. But, I Googled "Dallas" to see if I could find who this Dallas person was. Soon I found myself reading the Wikipedia article about Dallas. The Wikipedia article made no mention of who or what Dallas is named after.

Well, Spencer Jack's dad must have read the above and then emailed me with....

FUD -- That big city in Texas, named Dallas, was named after George M. Dallas.   Or so said my Philadelphia Big Bus tour guide, who majored in history in the early 1970s.

I had previously never heard of the man.   Apparently he was our 11th vice-president.

--FNJ

So, I Googled George M. Dallas. Info from the Wikipedia article about Mr. Dallas is what Google adds to the search results for illustrative blurb purposes to the right of the search results, the screen cap of which you see above.

The first paragraph of the George M. Dallas article says "The City of Dallas, Texas, is named after him because Dallas created the first local trading post which was the first known settlement in what is today the Dallas, Texas."

During the course of the Wikipedia article, as the life of George Dallas is detailed from birth on, his education, what he did when Dallas got out of school, there is no mention made of how he came to be in Texas, or when this was, or how long Dallas was in Dallas.

The article details the political career of Dallas, going from being mayor of Philadelphia to a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania to James Knox Polk's Vice-President.

But nothing about what Dallas did in Dallas, other than that one mention of creating that first local trading post. The article makes no mention of Dallas being any sort of  merchant, let along a trading post opener founding the first known settlement at the location named after him.

I wonder if many Texans or Dallasites know why Dallas is named Dallas? I recollect being shocked, shocked I tell you, when the native born Texan known as Gar the Texan verbalized being surprised to learn Fort Worth had actually been a fort at one time. Gar the Texan learned this when reading the signage at one of Fort Worth's currently boarded up eyesores, Heritage Park, to which we had biked, back before that spot celebrating Fort Worth's heritage degraded into being a boarded up eyesore.

Leaving Fort Worth and going back to the founding of Dallas, the Wikipedia article about Dallas, the city, says...

John Neely Bryan established a permanent settlement near the Trinity River named Dallas in 1841.

What? 1841? That is four years  before George Dallas became Vice-President, eight years after he ceased being a Senator. I think the John Neely Bryan log cabin is something I have seen in downtown Dallas, near the JFK memorial.

Why isn't Dallas named Bryan?

Anyway, I think both myself and Wikipedia are confused about Dallas....

On The Tandy Hills Perplexed By Lonesome Shoes And The Rapidly Rising Gas Price

Back on the Tandy Hills on this next to last day of September. A few days ago I had myself a slight tripping incident which impacted my left knee. For some reason hiking hills at high speed makes the knee feel all better.

Likely the feel all better thing is caused by the tranquilizing endorphin effect induced by heavy duty aerobicizing.

Now, what is the deal with the shoes, you are asking yourself?

Well, these shoes were sitting beside the trail on the north side of the Tandy Falls Escarpment, above currently dry Tandy Falls. This location is about as far as one gets from civilization on the Tandy Hills, unless one considers the freeway civilized.

In other words, I would not want to walk barefoot from this location back to my vehicular transport.

Speaking of vehicular transport. What's up with the price of gas overnight shooting up 20 cents a gallon, or more. I drove by two QTs today that I drove by yesterday. At that point in time both were $1.95. Today both were $2.19. The Circle K on the way to the Tandy Hills yesterday was $1.96. Today it was $2.18. Yesterday the Shell across the street from the Circle K was one penny more than the Circle K. Today the Shell is still a penny more than the Circle K.

How does this happen, overnight? Did something bad happen about which I am unaware? Did the Iran nuclear deal collapse? Did NASA's revelation that Mars is wet send up the price of oil? Is the price jump caused by Shell ceasing with Arctic drilling?

Why Is Fort Worth's Best Public Servant Ignoring The Pulte Wall Of Shame?

Dog Wall Watcher

Last night I got an email informing me I had been "tagged" in Facebook. I learned from past taggings that this means someone wants me to look at something. This time that something turned out to be what I soon learned is known as the Pulte Wall of Shame.

Upon first arriving at Facebook to see what had tagged me I saw a photo of a tall wall with a tall dog looking like it was standing guard. The text with the photo explained that in the 7 months that this wall has been in failure mode only in the past few days have the worried person's three dogs been acting like something is up. Or about to come down.

From a series of comments I was able to glean that this wall has been posing a threat to a neighborhood, with those who own the wall doing nothing to fix it. I wondered where this disaster waiting to happen was located, so I made a comment....

Durango Jones: Have you informed the city officials of whatever city this dangerous wall is crumbling in of this potential disaster? The city has a responsibility to act to fix such a problem. Should the disaster occur the city would be guilty of some type of criminal negligence, if they had been informed of the problem, pre-disaster.....

Well, imagine my shock when I was told this crumbling wall was crumbling in Fort Worth. Multiple attempts to get help from the city have been ignored. Attempts to talk to Fort Worth's mayor, Betsy Price, have failed.

The lady whose dogs are on wall guard duty then commented...

Krissy Harmon Irizarry: Oh, Durango, they could care less! Just as Layla stated. I've YET to speak to Betsy ONCE in 7 months via email or otherwise. I have invited them all (city council and city heads) out to see the wall in person...no one has come. We had a big meeting with the city in August where lots of promises were made to try to "help us" but it was all lip service. I've only heard from each of them once since then. And David Cooke...city manager...don't get me started. I've NEVER been spoken to so disrespectfully by anyone in my life. Rude is a huge understatement. Oh, did I forget to mention that the city never inspected the wall? Issued a permit, never inspected a 15 foot retaining wall bordering a home and holding back tons of pounds of earth, and then says that even if they didn't inspect they are not responsible. We are so thankful for Rep. Krause and his office...they have been our ONLY ally in this!

I am shocked, shocked I tell you, that Fort Worth's esteemed mayor has been impossible to reach.

Apparently the city issued permits to allow the building of the wall, then did no building inspections. The crumbling wall is at the Golf Club Fossil Creek, also known, apparently, as Eagle Golf.

I think I have gleaned that the neighborhood where homes are in danger is known as the Pulte Development, hence the Pulte Wall of Shame.

Below is a screen cap from the Pulte Walls of Shame Facebook page.

There has been some news coverage of the Pulte Wall of Shame. Nothing in the Star-Telegram, due to that newspaper's policy of not covering anything crumbling in Fort Worth. The local NBC affiliate was the first local TV station to show any interest in the crumbling wall. However, nothing ever made it to air, and NBC5 ceased responding to emails and phone calls.

Now why would NBC5 decide not to cover the story of the crumbling wall after they checked into the details? Well, I think the advertisement below might provide a clue....

In the Capital of Cronyism one can't help but  wonder about NBC5's relationship with Eagle Golf Club Fossil Creek.

I wonder if Betsy Price takes  phone calls from whoever owns the Golf Club Fossil Creek?

Last week Fort Worth Weekly released their highly anticipated Best of Fort Worth 2015 edition. That's the edition where a few readers submit their choices of what they think is Best in Fort Worth.

Who did those few readers think is the Best Public Servant in Fort Worth?

If you guessed Betsy Price you guessed right.

I would have thought the readers would have picked Betsy as the winner in the Best Old Gal category.

Now, why would Betsy Price show no interest in a crumbling wall which poses a threat to some of her constituents she has been elected to serve? Is Betsy Price not aware of the Pulte Wall of Shame? If not, why not? Why does Betsy Price ignore attempts to contact her about the Pulte Wall of Shame?

If the City of Fort Worth issued the permits which allowed the wall to be built. And then did no inspections of the construction of the wall to make it sure it was being built to code. And if that wall fails catastrophically, doesn't the city have some liability? The golf course is responsible for the wall. But who is responsible for allowing the wall to get built?

Wouldn't you think Fort Worth's Best Public Servant would show some concern over the Pulte Wall of Shame crumbling in her town?

Very perplexing.

Spencer Jack's Dad's Dallas Grave Visit Took Me On A Walking Tour

A week or so ago Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, was visiting historic sites in the historic city of Philadelphia.

Whilst Jason did his touring he text messaged a time or two to his Favorite Uncle D. That would be me. One of those messages said, in part....

Not only did I see Benjamin Franklin's grave today, I saw Dallas's grave. Are you aware of who the city of Dallas is named after?

Well, I guess I have always assumed Dallas was named after a guy whose last  name was Dallas. But, I Googled "Dallas" to see if I could find who this Dallas person was. Soon I found myself reading the Wikipedia article about Dallas. The Wikipedia article made no mention of who or what Dallas is named after. But reading about Dallas led me to an interesting website that analyzed the walkability of towns all over America and Canada. The major cities have blurbs describing them, along with Walk Score, Transit Score  and Bike Score.

That is the graphic for Fort Worth you see above. The information blurb for Fort Worth was sort of pitiful compared to other towns blurbed....

Fort Worth is the 42nd most walkable large city in the US with 741,206 residents. Fort Worth has minimal public transportation and does not have many bike lanes. Fort Worth is a Car-Dependent city. Most errands require a car.

The blurb for Dallas was a lot less pitiful....

Dallas, Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex — it’s the biggest landlocked region in the US. Things are big here, as you’d expect from Texas. There’s blues and BBQ here, but there’s also art at the Dallas Museum of Art, history at the African American Museum, and all kinds of culture — dance, theater, and live music.

Dallas is improving its transit with a light rail line that serves downtown and Oak Lawn, two of the more walkable districts. The Trinity Railway Express connects Fort Worth with Dallas’ DART light rail system at Union Station, with a stop near DFW, the international airport.

Dallas is the 23rd most walkable large city in the US with 1,197,816 residents. Dallas has some public transportation and does not have many bike lanes. Dallas is a Car-Dependent city. Most errands require a car.

The entry for Austin is as pitiful as Fort Worth's, but with Austin deemed  more walkable than Fort Worth...

Austin is the 34th most walkable large city in the US with 790,390 residents. Austin has some public transportation and is somewhat bikeable. Austin is a Car-Dependent city. Most errands require a car.

The blurb describing Houston was also not pitiful, and, apparently, Houston is slightly easier to walk in than Dallas....

Houston has sparkling new high-rises, historic architecture with wrought iron balconies, parks and museums, and plenty of shopping. It’s the fourth largest city in the US. The Johnson Space Center is in Houston, and the Rothko Chapel, a serene facility housing the work of one the masters of American Art.

In Houston, you’re inside the Loop (Interstate 610) or inside the Beltway, or out in the suburbs. There are five main business districts, two Chinatowns, and day trippers think nothing of heading to Galveston on the Gulf Coast. Houston is a commuter’s town, you may find a walkable neighborhood but most likely still have to drive to work.

Houston is a Car-Dependent city. Most errands require a car. Houston is the 22nd most walkable large city in the US with 2,099,451 residents. Houston has some public transportation and does not have many bike lanes.

I have walked  in many of the towns ranked by the Walkscore people. I was surprised Portland was not considered to be more walkable than Seattle. I was not surprised  to see that Fort Worth is the least walkable  of the big Texas towns. If I remember right I have complained a time or two about Fort Worth's sidewalk shortage.

You can  go to the Walkscore website to see which is the most walkable town in America, along with how other towns rank.

Below is the blurb for Seattle. I have walked more in Seattle than any other big city in America....

Seattle is rapidly becoming a world-class walkable city. SoundTransit’s new light rail line connects the city and to the airport. People are relocating to Seattle for jobs at companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Starbucks.

Seattle is ringed by the Olympic and Cascade mountains and surrounded by Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Seattle neighborhood architecture ranges from single family homes in Wallingford to high-rise downtown apartments.

Seattle is the 8th most walkable large city in the US with 608,660 residents. Seattle has good public transportation and is somewhat bikeable. Seattle is Very Walkable. Most errands can be accomplished on foot. 

I agree, Seattle is very walkable, with wide sidewalks, all over town. But, you would not catch me riding a bike in downtown Seattle. Too hilly, too many people, too much traffic, way too much going on which would render riding a bike in that zone to be scary. Seattle has a lot of paved bike trails, though. The Burke-Gilman comes to mind.

I think Walkscore shortchanged Fort Worth in the Bike Score department.

I have rolled my bike wheels in downtown Fort Worth many times. It is not scary to do so. And Fort Worth has that Bike Share program that seems to be working. I thought that was another sure to fail Fort Worth thing. I was wrong. And Fort Worth has a lot of miles of paved bike trails, called the Trinity Trails, along the Trinity River. One can roll ones wheels from the east end of Fort Worth to the west end on the Trinity Trails.

Fort Worth definitely earns its low Transit Score of 19. The Fort Worth public transit system is terrible.

A few weeks ago Mr. Ed had to use the Fort Worth bus system to get from Berry and I-35 to his abode, about 8 miles to the east. Mr. Ed had to take a bus a circuitous route with multiple stops west, eventually reaching the downtown transit center, switch to another bus to head back east to another transit center, then switch to another bus to get to his final destination.

Over two hours to go eight miles is rapid transit in Fort Worth. It would have been faster for Mr. Ed to walk home....

Today Aunt Alice's Son Wade Rests In Peace

Last night I was surprised, on Facebook, to learn that Aunt Alice's son, Wade, had been taken to Harborview Hospital in Seattle, due to seizures causing his brain to bleed.

I assume Wade was flown to Seattle in an emergency air ambulance.

I was struck by all the people expressing their support for Aunt Alice. Her kindly nature really does bring out the best in an awful lot of people.

I learned a few minutes ago, also on Facebook, that Wade died this morning.

Aunt Alice tried to call me yesterday. It was an odd call. Suddenly Facebook notified me that Aunt Alice was calling me. How did Facebook know this? Then my phone lit up, telling me I had a call, but it was not the usual thing I see when I get a call. I couldn't figure out how to answer it.

My friend on the planet of the longest duration, Linda R, asked me a couple weeks ago if Aunt Alice was my mom or my dad's sister, because Linda did not remember me having an aunt named Alice.

Well, Aunt Alice is not really my aunt. I just call her that. And she refers to  me as her Sweet Nephew. Aunt Alice is also known as Tootsie Tonasket of the Okanogan Tribe. Alice used to be married to Uncle Albert, last name Hudson, which makes Wade's name Wade Hudson. Aunt Alice used to be Alice Hudson, tell she reverted  to Alice Odella, her pre-married name.

I have known Aunt Alice for a long time. But I have never met her in person. Or Wade. I think I have only been to Eastern Washington once since I came to know Aunt Alice.

Years ago Alice emailed me a question about the Branch-Davidians. She'd been to my webpage that documented my visit to the site of that tragedy and somehow thought I was associated with that cult. This began years of email exchanges.

I've seen Aunt Alice change drastically over the years, growing way more confident. MySpace and then Facebook connected Aunt Alice with the rest of the world in a way she did not have available to her prior to social media. Via Facebook Aunt Alice re-connected with her sister she'd been separated from since she was a little kid.

Aunt Alice is not rich in material goods, she has some health issues stemming from childhood meningitis. But, Aunt Alice is rich in heart and spirit. And she's a real good cook.

Wade was the same age as two of my nephews, Spencer Jack's uncle Joey and my nephew Jeremy's big brother, Christopher.

Soon after I met Aunt Alice she became a grandma. Wade had a baby with Veronica, a girl named Lavada. Lavada is now in high school. Time flies.

I assume Wade was getting good medical care. ObamaCare did not get compromised in Washington, like it did in Texas. No one should die from lack of decent medical care in the country which touts itself as the best in the world with the world's highest standard of living.

Sentiments which actually are not reality based....

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Fast Hiking On The Last Sunday Of September

The Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man was back doing some high speed hill hiking on this last Sunday of September.

Temperature in low 80s,  breeze blowing. Very pleasant.

I snapped five Shadow of the Thin Man photos. Each of them has that dark area that looks like the Thin Man is holding a blanket, with each iteration being slightly different. No clue what caused this.

Today I noticed that some sections of the new trails are getting a bit overgrown. I don't think the new trails are seeing as many boots on the ground as they should be seeing.

As I was doing the hill hiking I was pondering that Trinity River Vision Update that I blogged about earlier today.

I was talking about The Boondoggle's UPDATE to another person not native to Texas and Fort Worth and that person opined that The Boondoggle's quarterly UPDATES seem like a very small town type thing to do.

The Boondoggle has been boondoggling along this entire century, with very little so show for the effort. So, to make it appear that they are getting something done they send out these "UPDATES" detailing the progress of the construction of a roundabout and a piece of "art" already installed in the roundabout.

Now, that roundabout and that art installation might be a big deal in a real small town. But it seems a rather pathetic thing to be UPDATING the people about in a city of over 800,000. And how many times do we need to hear about all those "events" taking place at the imaginary pavilion on the imaginary island?

Anyway, I am in a bad mood. Just learned of the death of a young man, only 33 or 34. Aunt Alice's, also known as Tootsie Tonasket's, son, Wade.

Fort Worth Weekly Critic's Choice Blog Is Not What You Are Reading Right Now

Today I finally was able to procure a hard copy of this week's Fort Worth Weekly, that being the eagerly anticipated annual Best of Fort Worth edition.

Readers are asked to pick the Best in several categories, such as Getting & Spending, People & Places, Good Grub, Culture and On The Town.

Each category has sub-categories where the readers submit what they think is the Best in Fort Worth.

For example, in Getting & Spending readers are asked to pick the Best place to get cigars. The Reader's Choice was Pop's Safari. The Critic's Choice was Tobacco Lane.

The Critic's Choice part of Fort Worth Weekly's annual Best of Fort Worth edition has always struck me as odd. They solicit the opinion of Readers. And then over and over again indicate the Reader's choice is wrong, that this is the Critic's Choice. And who are these Critics?

I suspect not all that many Readers bother to submit choices, so those Critics have to fill in the blank spaces with their choices. This is the biggest edition of FW Weekly of the year. Chock full of advertising. Advertisers love to get that coveted "Best of" accolade, which they then promote in their advertisements.

Now, regarding the Critic's Blog Choice of the Star-Telegraph, the Critics tell us the Star-Telegraph is a reminder that watchdogging still has a place.

Okay, well, that really makes no sense. Why do we need a reminder that watchdogging still has a place?

Regarding the Star-Telegraph blog, you can find a link to it on this very blog you are reading right now, on the list of blogs you will find on the column on the right.

A time or two or maybe more I have been asked if I know who does the Star-Telegraph blog. I think I get asked this because a time or two or maybe more the Star-Telegraph blog has linked to something I have spewed on my blog.

My boilerplate answer to this probing question is that I do have a fairly good idea who it  is who does the Star-Telegraph blog. And that it is not Betsy Price, who many think is the culprit...