The Bearded Lady's Coffee & Donut Burger With Mildred's Papa

A year or two ago, maybe three, I acquired yet one more Facebook friend who I do not actually know.

Mildred's Papa.

Mildred's Papa and Mama travel the country watching baseball games, enjoying lunch and dinner in exotic locations.

But none that I made note of while on the road are as exotic as those Mildred's Papa and Mama frequent whilst they are in their home zone of Fort Worth and its environs.

Mildred's Papa and Mama post selfie photos on Facebook documenting their attendance at various baseball games in various locations along with documenting, via the selfie method, what was had for lunch and dinner.

Such as yesterday's lunch at the Bearded Lady in Fort Worth where the above was had for lunch. A delicious looking Bearded Lady Burger of the Week Coffee and Donut Burger.

The description of the Coffee and Donut Burger below, gleaned from Mildred's Papa's Facebook entry and confirmed on the Bearded Lady Facebook page....

Lunch today! Burger of the Week: Coffee and Donut Burger! Ground Beef Patty stuffed with Blackberry Cream Cheese topped with Cheddar, AVOCA Coffee Glazed Bacon, Caramelized Onions, Candied Pecans on a Paul's Donut's Glazed Donut Bun!

I read the above description of the Coffee and Donut Burger and then made the following comment to Mildred's Papa's Bearded Lady Facebook post...

You and your lovely wife really need to write a How To book explaining how it is you two manage to eat that which you eat and yet remain such svelte figures of fitness.....

The Bearded Lady Facebook page's photo of their Burger of the Week did not look as tasty as Mildred's Papa's photo of the Coffee and Donut Burger.

I like a donut once or twice a decade. Bacon is tasty every once in awhile. I don't think coffee glazed bacon sounds like a good thing. Blackberry cream cheese would likely be tasty on a bagel.  Candied pecans are a good thing. As are caramelized onions

But, all this assembled together?

How is all that held together by a donut bun?

Mildred's Papa and Mama go to a lot of places where something real tasty looking shows up on their table.

Of those I think the most tasty looking item comes from a place called something like Bentley's Pub. There Mildred's Papa gets classic British style fish and chips.

I miss fresh seafood of the cod, crab, halibut, clam and oyster sort.

This fish and chips that Mildred's Papa gets at that Bentley's Pub place looks like a classic fish and chips I  have had myself a time or two at a fish and chip joint at Stanley Park in Vancouver.

The Bearded Lady has an interesting menu which you can peruse by going to the Bearded Lady website.

Who wants to take me out to lunch at the Bearded Lady for a Coffee & Donut Burger?

I hear crickets......

Climbing Disneyland's Matterhorn Gets Me Melancholy About San Clemente Body Surfing

That which you see here arrived in my email inbox this morning at 12:55 am, sent by my Favorite Nephew Jason, aka FNJ.

The email contained no explanatory text.

The subject line of the email was: Disneyland Park Video jpg.

There was no video included, despite what the subject line said. There also was no photo in the jpg format. The photo that was included is in the png format.

I knew not what to make of this.

I thought that since this was sent about an hour after midnight that FNJ was tired and not thinking clearly.

A few minutes after thinking FNJ was not thinking clearly I was on Facebook where the mystery was cleared up with this...

Jason Jones FUD---We actually were privileged to hike up the Anaheim Matterhorn. Most guests reach such heights using a bobsled. It was a disastrous attempt. I was surprised as anyone might be that we were allowed this opportunity. Nonetheless, to make a short story.... Disney has pictures logged of this. I will contact those folks in Anaheim and see if I can provide you with photo documentation of our journey up one of Disneyland's four mountains.

The photo documentation to which FNJ refers is the photo you see above. At least I am assuming such.

When I read "one of Disneyland's four mountains" I could only think of one, at first, that being the Matterhorn. Then I remembered Space Mountain. After that I remembered Thunder Mountain. But, currently I can not think of a fourth Disneyland mountain.

Disneyland exists in my memory as far back as my memory goes. When mom and dad took me and my siblings to Disneyland for the first time I was 13. That trip was the best, funnest family vacation we ever took. And that covers a lot of fun family vacations.

Recently my little brother wrote a rather well written story of his memories of that trip. The first trip to Southern California was so much fun the following summer we did Disneyland and Southern California again. My little brother and I have been trying to differentiate those two trips, finding doing so difficult. Like I realized it was on the second trip we took that twisty ride down Lombard Street in San Francisco, because we did not know of Lombard Street til we saw it on the Circlevision attraction  in Disneyland the year before.

So, in my 13th year on the planet I had my first visit to Disneyland. My last visit to Disneyland was on Christmas Day of 1994.

21 years ago.

For some reason realizing this particular passage of time is making me feel melancholy.

I remember another Disneyland related time I felt melancholy. I was 21, seven years after my first visit to Disneyland. I was back in Southern California, camping at San Clemente State Park, near the Nixon abode. I was standing on the San Clemente bluff, looking out across the Pacific. The plan was to go to Disneyland the next day. I remember standing there and thinking it seemed such a long time ago, when it was only seven years, that I was there for the first time, with my siblings, and now I was back, without my parental units or siblings. I remember that first day at San Clemente, me and my little brother being so excited to hurry up and find our way down to the ocean. We all had our chores we did to set up camp. We hurried through those chores. Mom and dad knew how anxious we were to get to the ocean. They let us go ahead of them, which was not the norm in a new place, protective mom that we had.

To get to the San Clemente beach you take a trail that cuts through the tall bluffs,  goes under railroad tracks and then opens up on the beach. A beautiful beach with big waves crashing. We were quickly in the water and soon were trying to master the art of body surfing.

I can not remember the last time I went body surfing.

I think I have now gone from feeling melancholy to being depressed.  An ocean breeze and the sound of crashing waves would be a real good thing right about now.....

Spencer Jack Is Ready To Climb Switzerland's Matterhorn After Climbing Disneyland's

Incoming emails this morning from my Favorite Nephew Jason and my Favorite Great Nephew Spencer Jack, also known as FNJ and FGNSJ.

The emails included several photos, including the one you see here, along with a very short video, which was so short you won't see it here.

In addition to the photos and the short video there was the following message....

FNJ,
Your mother obviously spoiled our photo attempt to throw you off our current whereabouts.

And for the record books, this is only Spencer's 2nd trip to Anaheim in 2015.  I believe.

The choosing of our vacation destination is a complicated process. One that I am not at all involved in.  

This is solely Spencer's job. I merely suggest spots. 

Once he chooses a spot, I handle the travel arrangements and such like matters.

This was not a suggested spot. And I have no inside knowledge as to how Spencer comes up with his final choice. You would have to ask him if you desired to know his trip picking methodology.

I suspect he might have seen an Halloween Disneyland Commercial. The kid is easily persuaded by advertising gimmicks.

I was lobbying for Phoenix or an overnight floating trip down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.  

Both were denied.

In the end, I don't really care where we go, as I just enjoy our time together wherever we are at.

That being said, I should probably ask him what we are doing tomorrow.

Last night he mentioned we may be visiting the Santa Monica Pier.

FNJ & FGNSJ

________________________________________

When I was a much younger boy there was period where I was making annual treks to Southern California and Disneyland. But never twice, or thrice in one year, that I recall.

If I remember correctly I have asked FNJ if he and Spencer Jack have also visited Knott's Berry Farm. I do not remember the answer to that probing question. Knott's Berry Farm is real close to Disneyland. Back in its original iteration, before it became a roller coaster mecca, Knott's Berry Farm was sort of a one of a kind theme park. Now it's become like Six Flags Over Texas on steroids with better landscaping and a lot more variety, including Mrs. Knott's chicken dinner with boysenberry jam on biscuits.

Spencer Jack needs to add Universal Studios in Universal City in Hollywood to his theme park wish list.

And head south to San Diego to go to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo's Safari Park in Escondido.

I think I have been to what is now known as Safari Park twice, if I remember right. The former name for Safari Park was Wild Animal Park. It is the only zoo type place where I have experienced a gorilla getting annoyed at all the gawkers to the point that he began tossing gorilla doo-doo at the crowd. It was a lot more amusing than it sounds.

Safari Park is also the only zoo type place where I found myself peacefully walking along a trail in a jungle-like setting to suddenly find myself face to face with a big tiger.

Spencer Jack, and his dad especially, would really like the Safari Park monorail that takes you on a safari tour above all the wild animals milling about in their recreated natural habitat.

Anyway, I hope FNJ and FGNSJ are having themselves a mighty fine time in Sunny Southern California. But, I suspect they are probably already back home in chilly Washington....

With An Old Lady Saluting Arlington's New Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial

The other person besides myself who reads this blog is likely looking at that tidy row of outhouses and thinking I must have visited one of Fort Worth's many outhouse infested parks today.

Well, that person would be wrong.

The tidy row of outhouses you see here is a temporary installation in Veterans Park in Arlington.

Arlington is a town whose parks have few outhouses, unless one counts the amazing number of outhouses which dot the parking lots surrounding Arlington's ballparks, as in the place the Texas Rangers play baseball and the crashed spaceship in which the Dallas Cowboys try to play football.

I believe it likely that this tidy row of outhouses was installed in Veterans Park for the use of the crowd which attended the dedication ceremony for the new Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial.

Let's take a look at the new Veterans Park Vietnam War Memorial.

As I hiked west, up a brown grassy knoll, towards the new memorial, I saw what appeared to be a white-haired little ol' lady saluting something. What is she saluting, I wondered? We will find out.

As I walked towards the saluting senior, and stepped onto the memorial area, the first thing I came upon was what appeared to be a large gold Buddhist urn, filled with coarse sand in which many spent stick of incense were stuck. At the center of the memorial there is a statue of two soldiers. The soldier on the left appears to be Vietnamese, fighting next to an American soldier. The red, white and blue wreath on the left paid tribute to the American soldiers. I assume the yellow and red wreath on the right paid tribute to the Vietnamese soldiers. But I could not read what that wreath was conveying because I am unable to read Vietnamese.

After looking at the wreaths I looked left to see what it was the white-haired senior had been saluting.

A long message on a shiny slab of polished marble or granite or some such polishable stone, of which my photo only shows about half of the message. At the top, in capital letters, "THEY SACRIFICED SO OTHERS COULD LIVE".

The first paragraph, being saluted, "Vietnam was for so many years engulfed in the fires and destruction of  war. More than 2 million soldiers in the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces, and more than 1,000,000 soldiers in the Armed Forces of the United States of America and Allied Nations fought valiantly and selflessly side by side for South Vietnam. Countless soldiers suffered injuries and became disabled. More than 300,000 South Vietnamese soldiers and more  than 58,000 American soldiers gave the ultimate sacrifice, dying so the people of South Vietnam could live. They died, but their heroic spirits will never die. They were gone, but they are not forgotten."

I think I will not touch the irony in the sentiment expressed above and just leave it alone.

Above and below is a look at the American and South Vietnamese soldiers, fighting side by side. I believe the yellow and red flag, above, in the middle between the American flag and the state flag of Texas, was the South Vietnam flag, back when there was still a South Vietnam.

I was very impressed by Arlington's new Vietnam War Memorial. On one of the shiny slabs of stone we learn who donated the funds to build this memorial. Many of the donors were Vietnamese Americans, some of whom I assume were born in America, some of whom I assume were among those who escaped to America during the final sad chapter of that sad war.

Arlington has a large Vietnamese American community, who have made quite an impact on Arlington in many ways. A positive impact, working hard to make it in their new land, opening restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses.

The last time I had to renew my driver's license, back in August of 2012, I waited in line for hours behind a funny Vietnamese lady. She was one of the Boat People who made it to America back in 1974. She was very young when she left Vietnam, leaving her mom behind. She has made it back twice to Vietnam to visit her mom and other relatives. And her mom has visited once in America.

It works out best for America when we welcome new people, no matter how they get here, with open arms, not demonizing them as illegal aliens. Or so it seems to me.

Another thing. Arlington's new Vietnam Memorial was built very quickly. It seems like only a month ago, or so, I saw the foundation work underway. Clearly no unqualified son of a local congresswoman was in charge of getting this project finished.....

Is Spencer Jack Learning Spanish On His Way To Texas?

Incoming email from my favorite great nephew and nephew, Spencer Jack and Jason, this morning.

Subject line: Spencer Jack learning Spanish whilst traveling.

It appears Spencer Jack is onboard an airplane, holding a book with the book's title being "I'm Going To Texas" which apparently translates into Spanish as "Yo Voy A Texas."

Now, had my mom not called me yesterday while I was walking the aisles of Albertsons, I might be thinking Spencer Jack and his dad were making a guerrilla visit to Texas, with me getting no fair warning and instead getting a phone call asking me to come get them at the airport.

Well.

Mom told me that Spencer Jack and his dad were currently in the Southern California zone, not North Texas.

Spencer Jack and his dad are once again visiting Disneyland. I think this makes the third visit with Mickey Mouse this year.

Mom told me that last week my favorite sister, Jackie and my favorite brother-in-law, Jack headed west from Arizona to Disneyland to visit Mickey Mouse with Jackie's youngest sister and her brood of three.

My last visit to Disneyland occurred on Christmas Day of 1994. If I remember right it cost $29.95 to get into Disneyland on that day. Currently it costs around $100 to get into Disneyland. And another $100 to get into Disney California, that being the new theme park adjacent to Disneyland, built where the Disneyland parking lot used to be.

I really don't know if I could get myself $100 worth of fun by going to Disneyland, nowadays. I remember my last visit, over two decades ago, wore me out by closing time. Wore me out even with a mid day break back to the motel for resting purposes.

What I  found much more enjoyable than Disneyland on that visit to the Los Angeles zone was going to the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. Mr. Nixon was still alive at the time, while Pat Nixon was not. Visiting Pat Nixon's gravesite was oddly melancholy. Mr. Nixon joined her there soon thereafter.

The Nixon Presidential Library has so many interesting elements. For one thing the building is like a palace, with the most deluxe restroom facilities I have ever seen. One area has life size statues of all the world leaders Nixon had known. One area has a large section of the then newly crumbled Berlin Wall. As you walk through the Library it is arranged like a timeline walk through Nixon's life. You hear the Checker's Speech as you walk by the area devoted to the 1952 election. Eventually you come to the dark Watergate Tunnel of Shame. The Tunnel of Shame ends with a room where you can ask questions of Mr. Nixon in a pseudo press conference. I imagine new technology has made this even more impressive than it was in 1994.

In Mr. Nixon's gift shop I got myself an official White House bath towel. I still have that towel. It  has never been used.

I think something like the Nixon Presidential Library is a Disneyland for Adults. And not nearly as exhausting as Disneyland....

Last Sunday Of October Only 25 Degrees Above Freezing In Texas

I do not recollect previously ever seeing that which you see here.

With that thing you are seeing being my computer based temperature monitoring device showing the same temperature as my old home location, Mount Vernon, located in the far northwest state of Washington, is showing, this morning, in the online Skagit newspaper.

57 degrees.

Even though my established criteria for going swimming in the morning requires that the 24 hour average temperature has to be 50 degrees, or above, I decided to fore go the likely too cool pool this morning.

I have not yet felt cold enough to turn the interior climate control device to HEAT mode. That may change as the day progresses.

I suspect the only locations available today for my almost daily bout of hiking, biking or walking would be Mallard Cove Park, Oakland Lake Park or Quanah Parker Park.

Mallard Cove Park went under the last time we got into flood mode, but I've not heard, yet, that the Trinity has risen to that level of flooding.

I suspect this bout of chilling will soon switch back to something more reasonable, in the 80s, I hope.....

Overnight Dog Dispute Little Girl Shelby Corker Turns Into 25 Year Old Woman

Yesterday afternoon Elsie Hotpepper pointed me to a case of what seemed to be total police incompetence, which led me to blog Fort Worth Police Take Down Little Girl Saving Puppy.

After I blogged about this Elsie Hotpepper asked me why this isn't news? As in why isn't this being reported by local TV news and the Star-Telegram.

Well.

This morning's Star-Telegram online front page is telling the story of the police taking down a little girl who saved a puppy.

Overnight the "little girl" has turned into a 25 year old woman.

I do not know if the above was the little girl's mugshot, or not. According to the Star-Telegram Shelby Corker spent Thursday night in jail, before being bailed out on Friday.

Usually the Star-Telegram does not let me read anything but the front page and the weather, but I was allowed to read the article about the Doggie dispute.

The Doggie dispute is a bit more complicated than I thought it was yesterday. But it still seems way too extreme to arrest and jail someone for something like what happened in this instance.

New Monitoring Storm Action From Miss Puerto Rico's Balcony

What you are looking at here is the stormy view, looking northeast, from my neighborhood Albertson's parking lot.

That menacing sky was doing its menacing in the noon time frame. I'd been to Walmart, forgot to get eggs, and so I stopped at Albertsons to correct that mistake.

Upon returning to my abode there was a respite from storminess. During that respite, post-lunch, pre the next storm, I drove over to Miss Puerto Rico's to pick up a couple items.

One of the items was a flat panel computer monitor.  A real big one. I'm looking at it right now. It will take some getting used to. Using two computer screens comes in real handy. The previous second screen was a bulky antique thing from sometime way back in the previous decade.

Whilst at Miss Puerto Rico's Belly Baby and I went outside to take the stormy picture you see below, looking north from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony.

It is now a few minutes past  five in the afternoon. So far no major storming. Just a little extra drippage. I suspect the respite from drippage and thunder booming will not be a long respite....

Fort Worth Police Take Down Little Girl Saving Puppy

A couple hours ago I was in the midst of conferring via the video phone method when the annoying phone made its incoming text message noise. When I finished conferring I checked to see the incoming text message to see it came in from Elsie Hotpepper, telling me she had Facebook messaged me with something totally appalling.

When I get a message like this my initial reaction is to assume it is something appalling I have done. Or said. Or  both.

Elsie Hotpepper's Facebook message sent me to another Facebook page, StandwithShelby. The StandwithShelby Facebook page had a link to a StandwithShelby website, courtesy of her attorney.

Both StandwithShelby webpages told the same appalling story, about yet one more convoluted thing happening in Texas that has given rise to the Internet meme graphic with the outline of the State of Texas, with the text saying "Day In A Row Without Texas Being A National Embarrassment" Then below that a big ZERO.

Fort Worth is the epicenter of this latest Texas Embarrassment. I'll  copy for your appalled disgust the entirety of the embarrassment that you can also read via going to either of the StandwithShelby webpages linked above.....

Shelby Corker was arrested on October 22, 2015 by the Fort Worth Police Department. Shelby rescued a stray dog that had no collar, no tags, and no microchip. Shelby took the dog to a veterinary clinic to be cared for. The veterinary doctor informed Shelby that the dog had been severely neglected. The dog was 30 pounds under weight, yeast infections in both ears, and a polyp on the lower lid of the right eye causing the eye to be matted closed. To say the least, the dog was in bad shape. Shelby paid to have the dog vaccinated and treated. The veterinary doctor reported that the dog was not receiving proper health care or nutrition.

A stranger contacted Shelby claiming to be the dog’s owner. Shelby was not convinced. The stranger filed a complaint for theft. Fort Worth Detectives threatened Shelby with arrest if she did not hand over the dog. Despite a letter from the veterinary doctor to Fort Worth Police Department, the detective refused to consider the possibility that the dog’s purported owner was abusing the dog. The detective arrived at Shelby’s work. Five police officers arrested this girl who was trying to save a dog. They also sent officers to raid her house.

What the detective failed to realize is that the dog was taken to Fort Worth Animal Care and Control. Fort Worth Animal Care and Control said to take the dog to the humane society. Eventually, Fort Worth Animal Care and Control took the dog. The dog was in the City’s custody when Shelby was arrested. Within hours, Fort Worth Animal Care and Control turned the dog over to the purported owner – the very same person who was responsible for the dog not receiving the proper care and nutrition.

Shelby is represented by Joshua Graham & Associates, PLLC. “Of all the bad people that we could be spending our efforts on, its a shame that so much went into taking down a little girl trying to save a puppy. Shameful.”

A Dark Stormy Friday Morning In Texas With Incoming Hurricane Patricia

Til this Friday morning it had been a long time since I looked out my computer room window to see and hear a thunderstorm accompanied by a downpour of large water pellets.

The downpour of large water pellets and thunder booms started up about an hour after I had returned from my morning bout in the cool pool.

Rain during the night added several inches to the pool depth.

No hiking or biking for me today. Unless I decide to go on an under the bumbershoot stroll.

When I checked in on the news online I was surprised by big HEADLINES screaming the news that the most powerful Pacific hurricane ever measured was blowing wind at around 200 mph, taking aim at Mexico's west coast, then heading towards Texas.

Upon first glance I did not understand why such a powerful hurricane had not been on my news radar for days.

Well.

The reason I had not heard of Hurricane Patricia before this morning is because yesterday she was just a little Tropical Depression, which overnight grew to hurricane strength. Did she even have a name yesterday?

The forecasters are forecasting the Patricia is likely to wreak havoc of record breaking proportions when she makes landfall on Mexico.

The fact that the strongest Pacific hurricane ever measured sprang up overnight  is a bit disturbing.

And what happens here in Texas if this already saturated state gets hit by Patricia?

I think I will venture to Walmart this morning and stock up for what may be the Apocalypse.