Lord Baby Jesus Please Let The People Learn To Drive In The Rain

I saw that which you see here on Facebook a couple minutes ago, a meme from something called Olympia Memes.

Olympia is the capital of  the state of Washington. I don't know if Olympia being the state capital has anything to do with Olympia Meme being so named.

I do know that Washington has been much too dry for much to long, til lately. Apparently some people are being vexed by Washington drivers not driving well in the rain. Others blame California transplants.

My current location, a little north of being deep in the heart of Texas, is, weather-wise, being a stereotypical Western Washington Puget Sound lowlands type winter day.

Gray and a slow motion rain, off and on.

On Saturday I read a report or two, again via Facebook, that snow flakes were falling on the Kent Highlands. Kent is a suburb south of Seattle. The Kent Highlands are the area of Kent up on a high bluff above the flat lowlands. I have heard of no snow falling in my old homezone of the Skagit Valley. The lowlands of the Skagit Valley are known as a Banana Belt. Snow can fall and stick in copious amounts in the next county north of Skagit, that being Whatcom, whilst the Skagit zone gets nary a flake.

Lowland Washington drivers are just about as bad as Texans when a rare snowstorm makes roads slippery. Maybe not as bad as Texans due to the fact that lowland Washingtonians can easily get some snow driving practice by heading a few miles east, to the Cascade mountain zone. There are no mountain zone snow opportunities at my current location for hundreds of miles. Probably Colorado would be the closest location one might find a mountain with snow, currently.

I really do not know if I will be able to adjust to living in Western Washington again. Just one day of this gray Texas dripping has me suffering a mild case of SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder).

I did manage to go swimming this morning, which sort of surprised me. For very selfish reasons I am really becoming a fan of global warming. I went running in the rain in the noon time frame. Running in my neighborhood zone.

French Flag Waves Support Around The World Along With Fort Worth's Unique Contribution

With this particular blogging my original intention was to make it one of my popular series of bloggings about something I see in an online west coast news source which I would not likely see in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

I had screen capped an article about Seattle's French community singing La Marseillaise on Saturday whilst the French flag was raised atop the Space Needle.

The 25 by 35 foot flag was made via a rush job by a Tukwila flag maker, then rushed to Seattle for hoisting atop the Space Needle at 4 pm Saturday.

So, while hoisting a French flag atop a well known Fort Worth landmark is something one would not see in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, due to the fact that Fort Worth has no well known landmarks, I decided it would be tacky and tasteless, on this occasion, to point out that fact.

Oops, I guess I just did.

And does Fort Worth have a French community? I sort of doubt it.

Below is the Sydney Opera House lit up in the French flag tri-colors. The French flag is like the American, Canadian, British, Japanese and a few other flags, in that it is readily recognizable, what with its red, white and blue simplicity.

A month or so ago we heard the sort of shocking news that the skyline of Dallas is the best in the world. Not New York City, not Paris, not any other well known city skyline, it is Dallas with the best, or maybe most well known, skyline in the world. The Dallas skyline has been lit up with the French tri-color flag via the Omni Hotel next to the Reunion Tower.

Note that Dallas is following the French flag's color protocol, broad stripes, with blue on the left, white in the middle, red on the right.

And then we have Fort Worth's contribution to the world-wide symbolic support for France.

I saw the above and totally did not get it. We are looking down on downtown Fort Worth's Sundance Square Plaza. Is the fact that there is blue, white and red lighting supposed to be easily noted as representing France? On ground level did this look like anything even remotely memorable?

Maybe all the other cities in the world were being totally literal, while Fort Worth opted to go for an abstract rendering of the French flag.

Yes,  I realize in the bigger scheme of things this particular Fort Worth oddity amounts to nothing, but still, it is just goofy.

I found this photo on Facebook. A selection of a few of the comments were, well, sort of equally embarrassing....

Debbie McGee: So beautiful! Brian captured the support for our neighbors across the sea!

Judy Schell: So proud of Fort Worth, Texas

Jean Wright Potts: Lovely to be so proud of our cities in mourning with France.

Judy Gans: Beautiful.

Nikki Frazier Sonderegger: Very well displayed.

Mary Zimmerman: awesome way to show we care.

So proud? Beautiful? Well displayed? Awesome way to show we care?

The Brian to which the first commenter refers to is Brian Luenser, he being a local photographer who uses filters and digital manipulation to create extremely distorted photos of Fort Worth, which legions of locals gush over like clueless sheep.  Mr. Luenser's photo of Sundance Square in its tri-color glory appears to be more photo-realistic than most of his photos.

In this blogging I had intended to mention how badly some Republican neo-con nincompoops have embarrassed themselves, and America, with the French, and other thinking people, world-wide, with some of their idiotic statements about the horrific mass murder in Paris. But, I have already run long and it is time for lunch....

I Found No Town Talk In Irving Today

In the photo you are looking at the Saturday post-noon skyward view from my patio prison cell. The photo makes the sky appear more stormy than what my eyes see.

However, apparently, storm clouds are on their way with some anticipated water delivery.

Saturday used to be the day I could usually be counted on to go treasure hunting at Town Talk. But, lately the Town Talk treasure hunting has not been all that fruitful. That and most of the Town Talkers who I was used to seeing whilst checking out, have checked out, replaced by multiple faces I do not recognize.

This morning rather than head west I headed east, to Irving, to check out some property. I don't think I'd been to Irving since my mom and dad were here in January of 2009. I recollect driving them through Las Colinas. Prior to that I think the last time I was in Irving was to go to a Dave & Busters for Miss Puerto Rico's company Christmas party.

Anyway, Irving was a heavy traffic driving adventure today.

Changing the subject to something else.

This morning when I got myself vertical I was very pleased to find that my strained Achilles tendons were no longer in pain mode. This pleased me. So, even though the temperature was a bit below 50, I took myself on a limp-free walk to the pool where I was surprised to find myself able to have a mighty fine time.

After exiting the somewhat cool pool I did my now regular warm up routine of installing myself in sweatpants and then running as fast as I can run til the need to breathe hard stops me. This went quite well this morning with the, now, no longer hurting Achilles heels.

And now it is time for lunch. Chicken, pizza and potato salad....

Riding A Disneyland Log With Ruby, Theo & David

I found that which you see here in my email inbox this afternoon. Photo documentation of the first visit to Disneyland by my Favorite Niece, Ruby and Favorite Nephews Theo and David.

Ruby, Theo and David's grandma had told me the kids were in Disneyland a couple weeks ago when I called my mom and dad from Fort Worth's Disneyland known as Sundance Square Plaza, which is also one of the happiest places on earth where people go to make dreams come true, when they have no better place to go.

Ruby, Theo and David did the Disney parks five days in a row, hopping between Disneyland and Disney California, using something called a Park Hopper Pass.

I have never gone to Disneyland for more days than one in a single visit. Disneyland is exhausting. My last time getting exhausted at Disneyland was Christmas of 1994

Christmas of 1994 was also my one and only time taking a ride on Disneyland's Splash Mountain. I did not like the ride. It was a cold winter day and that ride splashes water. That and I enjoyed Knotts Berry Farm's version more. Probably because the temperature was warm and getting splashed felt good.

On the log you are looking at David in the lead, followed by Theo, then my little sister, Michele, followed by Ruby, followed by mama  Kristen, and then behind  Kristen, near as I can tell, is my Favorite Brother-in-Law, Jack, he being the first husband of my Favorite Sister Jackie.

Jack and Jackie were also in attendance at Disneyland, for at least one day during the extensive stay of Ruby, Theo and David.  My Favorite Nephew Christopher, he being Ruby, Theo and David's cousin, was a surprise visitor, along with Christopher's girl friend.

I do not know how Christopher managed to find his mom and dad, cousins and aunts in the vast Disneyland parks. My guess is he called his mother once he was in the vicinity, got an idea where they were in which park, and then tracked them down. Christopher is very resourceful that way.

Strollers were used to move the kids through the parks. I can not imagine herding three little kids around Disneyland. I can barely handle herding myself in that locale...

Wobbling On My Strained Achilles Heels Looking For Signs Of Christmas

What you are looking at here is what I was looking at a few minutes ago when I walked to Albertsons. This view is looking northeast from the north side of the Albertsons' parking lot. That little structure on the right is a Fort Worth bus stop waiting room.

Soon after I snapped this photo a bus arrived and soon thereafter I started hearing a guy shout "hold that bus, hold that bus." The guy was riding one bike whilst holding on to another, smaller bike. The bus waited for him. I did not wait to see if he successfully boarded with two bikes.

I took this photo not because I was enamored of the bus stop, but because of the billboard in the center pf the picture. That billboard is shilling a store I have never heard of called At Home, apparently with multiple locations in the D/FW Metroplex, with the main message being that this store is the "Home of  the Christmas Spirit."

I thought that home was Walmart.

Speaking of Walmart, it was at Walmart yesterday I saw my first sign of the coming, dreaded, by me, Holiday Season, that being a partially assembled Christmas tree, with its upper third missing.

I likely have passed by many other signs of the coming Holiday Season but did not notice them due to my blissful obliviousness. Which makes this billboard only the second sign of the Holiday Season I have seen.

Changing subjects to something more pleasant, like the weather.

As you can see via the photo documentation my location in North Texas is currently enjoying a totally clear blue sky. The temperature this morning at the time of my regularly scheduled swim was 46. I opted out of swimming. The temperature currently is 64 at a bit past noon. I likely will opt out of swimming tomorrow morning as well.

I am currently being medicated to mitigate the pain I have been suffering from due to strained Achilles tendons. The strain is currently not causing much pain. Apparently the medication is working.

I must now see if can remain vertical long enough to make lunch....

The Shadow Of The Tandy Hills Thin Man Was Not Seen By Me Today

No, that is not the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man you are looking at here. What you are looking at here is the Shadow of the Village Creek Pinhead.

When I am on the Tandy Hills my shadow looks like I'm a thin man. When I'm running with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts my shadow looks like I have grown myself a pair of thunder thighs.

Thunder thighs are a genetic trait which occurs in many of my relatives. I have always been grateful to have had that genetic trait pass me by.

Til, apparently, now.

Yesterday's high was in the 80s. This morning when the sun arrived the outer world was chilled to the high 40s. With the 24 hour average being well above 50 I opted to do my usual morning swim. The morning swim went quite well, with the water much warmer than the air, and once again confirming that swimming works if that 24 hour average above 50 thing happens.

I suspect tomorrow morning's pool bout will be a bit more dicey. I mean icy.

For my run in with the Indian Ghosts today I had on much more outer wear than is the norm. Long pants and a long sleeved sweatshirt. The long pants may have contributed to the thunder thigh illusion.

After my visit with the Indian Ghosts it was on to ALDI to acquire vittles. Lots of vittles. And now it is time to turn some of those vittles into lunch.

Why Is The Fort Worth Arena Project Only Now Getting Closer To Reality?

In last year's November vote Fort Worth voters approved of the building of a new arena to replace the ancient Will  Rogers Coliseum.

Voters voted to approve of the project by passing three propositions. One proposition approved charging a buck to rent a livestock stall. Another proposition approved of a parking fee surcharge. And still another proposition approved of charging a surcharge on tickets.

Yes, I realize you reading this in democratic parts of America are wondering why three propositions of this sort would be on a ballot  and how it is that approving them approved of the building of an arena.

Well. Apparently the passage of those three propositions really had nothing to do with an arena actually being under construction. I remember wondering at the time, during that election season, why there was no mention made of the construction timeline of this arena project.

But, this is Fort Worth where the locals are used to public works projects with no project timeline. America's Biggest Boondoggle, also known as the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision, has been boondoggling along for almost two decades, with no real project timeline, yet recently touting 2023 as the year when The Boondoggle's projects are finally completed.

So, this morning the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has an article titled FW arena project getting closer to reality.

I thought that vote a year ago brought the FW arena project to reality?

I know I have asked a time or two lately if anyone has seen any sign of that arena being under construction.

Well, now we have the answer. It is not under construction. A year after being approved by voters voting yes on three goofy propositions, nothing is currently being built.

From the Star-Telegram article....

The new multipurpose arena in the Will Rogers Complex approved by Fort Worth voters last November won’t happen for a few more years, but work on the project has made some significant steps forward.

The City Council on Tuesday was presented with the proposed master agreement between the city and its private backers, Event Facilities Fort Worth Inc., for the development, construction and operation of the $450 million, 14,000-seat arena.

Completion of the master agreement should “allow construction to begin in earnest,” said a city staff memo to the council.

Initial projections pegged the arena’s opening for 2019.

__________________________________________________

Really? Initial  projections projected the arena opening in 2019? I do not remember that opening date being part of the campaign information during the election.  Five years after voters voted to approve building it? Five years is even longer than America's Biggest Boondoggle is expected to take to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

I thought we were sold on the idea that the entire funding scheme for this arena was in place at the time of the vote, a year ago.

I remember many people wondering at the time, but I am wondering anew, how in the world do you spend almost a half a billion dollars on an arena which only seats 14,000?  The new Cowboys stadium cost a bit over a billion and can hold over 100,000 event attendees. And that giant thing was built in less than four years.

I am thinking that America's Biggest Boondoggle may be getting some local competition for that coveted title.....

No More Mr. Nice Guy Regarding Pseudo Conservative Reactionary Republican Right Wing Nuts

Something has been bugging me bad for way too long, with me taking the easy route of just ignoring that which bugged me, rather than saying what I think about that which is causing the bugging.

Had I been a German in Germany in 1930 I like to believe I would have spoken out against the Nazi evil.

But, how can I think I would speak out against the Nazi evil when I don't speak out when I see similar evil in America?

Well, I am about to purge my conscience by speaking out against the evil amongst us Americans.

One does not have to spend much time on Facebook before one reads something that can simply be summed up as being pure idiocy.

Case in point, that which you see here. A posting by a moron named Steve Davis in which he shares the idiotic idea that Attorney General Loretta Lynch has mandated that the term "juvenile delinquent" can no longer be used, with the term "justice involved youth" to be used instead.

You live in the United States of America, you clueless idiot. The Attorney General has no power to dictate what words Americans use.

How can any grown adult be this stupid, to think something so moronic? Well, let's look at one of the replies to this idiotic Facebook posting....

David Patriot Lambertsen: Eat Shit and Die you worthless affirmative action anti-American anti-Military and Police hating POS - due your duty and indict the traitor Hitlery Clinton - oh I forgot If you do she'd rat out that worthless marxist muslim homo illegal alian grifter infesting the WH and destroying our Country.

Uh, isn't the above what is known as hate speak? Would an actual patriot speak of the occupant of the White House in this manner? A White House occupant who Americans have twice elected?  For months now I have noticed this David the Patriot person showing up on Facebook. I paid little attention. When I did notice he was saying incredibly inflammatory, stupid stuff, I figured he was a troll, trying to point out the absurdity of that which right wing reactionary nutjob types spout.

Then I realized he was an idiotic reactionary right wingnut. And then I realized the reason I was seeing this idiot's nonsense was because he was on my Facebook Friends List.

Yikes! I have a hateful, reactionary, bigoted, traitorous, un-American idiotic moron listed as one of my friends? How did I make this mistake? Well, I get one of those Friend Request things and if I see we share mutual friends I click confirm, without any more thought about it. So, when  I checked and saw this False Patriot on my FB Friends List I also saw we share 13 Mutual Friends. Several of whom I actually know and a couple of whom I hold in high regard. How can they be friends of this wretched excuse for a human being? I am beyond appalled.

I feel an existential crisis coming on. Which I will likely avert.

So, I went to this David Traitor Lambertsen's Facebook page to see some of his other traitorous, seditious, possibly criminal entries. Those follow for your appalled reading displeasure....

David Patriot Lambertsen: The University should cancell the scholarships for these dumb sub-human mongrels as they probably don't qualify to attend the University - the football team sinks anyway. There must be something wrong in MO.

David Patriot Lambertsen: He does have unsually big ears / but not as big as the monkey throwing turds in the WH

David Patriot Lambertsen: Any muslim with a green card or a visa must be immediately deported - tough luck about a sad story - and by the way it goes for the aunt and uncle of the worthless muslim infesting the WH.

And then there is this gem, screen capped right from the Facebook page of this shameless, traitorous, sad excuse for an American....

David Patriot Lambertsen: Just love talking to those young patriots. They are so kind to an old geezer like me. Especially when I start talking about being a Barry Goldwater Delegete (Young Republican) 1964.

____________________________________________

Okay, so this idiot was a "Delegete" (Delegate) to the 1964 Republican Convention which nominated Barry Goldwater, he being an actual conservative who actually understood what the word "conservative" means. Barry Goldwater would be appalled, disgusted and embarrassed by what many who call themselves conservatives opine about our current American president. Barry Goldwater was a decent man, with high standards, who was admired by all sides of the political spectrum when he reached the elderly statesmen stage of his career.

Barry Goldwater would rip the current so-called conservative Republicans to shreds. As likely would Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan would have no tolerance for the hate speak of a David Traitor Lambertsen sort. Ronald Reagan was a decent good man.

I am not going to un-Facebook Friend this David the Traitor Idiot.

It is not often one gets a window seat look into utter madness. I shall keep looking as long as I can. And I am no longer going to be a nice quiet guy when I feel my conscience is being troubled by evil....

There Will Be No Confederate Lives Matter Veterans Day Parade In Washington Tomorrow

I saw that which you see here on Sunday, in the Skagit Valley Herald, but forgot about it til now, the day before Veterans Day, which is a good time to remember.

This particular item sort of fits my ongoing theme of things I see via west coast news sources online which I likely would not ever see in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or most other Texas newspapers.

This past Saturday my old hometown of Burlington had its annual Veterans Day Parade. In the rain. For the first time a Native American was the parades's Grand Marshall, he being a Swinomish Tribe veteran of the Vietnam War named Chester J. Cayou.

One might see a normal Veterans Day Parade in Fort Worth, or other Texas towns. But it would be difficult to have a local Native American Veteran as Grand Marshall, due to the fact that long ago Texans ran most of the Native American population out of Texas, those that they did not kill. Only two or three very small reservations exist in Texas.

None in Tarrant County.

My old home county, Skagit, in Washington, has multiple tribes with multiple reservations. The aforementioned Swinomish, along with the Skagit and the Samish. Two of the Skagit County tribes own HUGE casino resort complexes, those being the Swinomish and the Skagit.

Meanwhile in Texas one of the few remaining tribes has recently gotten feisty about its plan to build a casino resort of the sort tribes have built in other states.

Also, meanwhile in Texas, I learned a few minutes ago via the highly esteemed Bud Kennedy, on Facebook, that tomorrow Fort Worth and a couple other towns in the vicinity are going to be having themselves very special Veterans Day Parades of the sort one would not see in my old home zone. Or the rest of modern, civilized America.

First the announcement graphic and then a couple comments to the Facebook post which will show you there are some sane voices in Texas, even though they may not be in the majority most of the time....

Oh my, this is just embarrassing for so many reasons. I really do not see this attracting very many people, either to be in these parades, or to watch them.

And now the reasonable pair of comments regarding the Confederate Lives Still Matter Veterans Day Parades...

I'm descended from Confederate veterans who opposed slavery and secession but served anyway. It's not at all clear to me that they'd want to be remembered for that part of their lives. Maybe, I suppose. But they'd surely not want their service *emphasized* over that of veterans from other wars. That aspect of this smells of malice to me.

And this one...

Those who fought for the Confederacy, including several of my ancestors, were traitors to their country and their Constitution. American soldiers swear an oath to defend the Constitution not destroy it.

See what I mean? Definitely not all Texans are embarrassing nutjobs. In other words, Ted Cruz is definitely not the Texan norm. More on Texan nutjobs in a following blog post....

Today Is My Favorite Nephew Joey's Happy Birthday

In August of 1998, the summer before I moved to Texas, my favorite nephews Jason and Joey took me to Las Vegas for a few days of fun, including getting trapped for hours at the top of the Stratosphere Tower, with no air conditioning, at 115 degrees.

Joey was 15 years old when we were stuck high above Las Vegas in a malfunctioning tower.

Joey turned 16 on November 10, 1998. I have already admitted, more  than once, that I am terrible at complex math problems, but, near as I can successfully calculate, I believe on this day in 2015 Joey is now 33 years old.

Last month I found my favorite nephew Joey standing on a McDonald's parking lot in Grapevine. Joey did not look a day over 29 at that point in time.

Hard to believe Joey is 33. Seems like only yesterday I got a call telling me my nephew #2 had arrived. Another boy. I lived in Bellingham, Washington at the time. I headed south to United General Hospital, located halfway between my old hometown of Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, to meet my new nephew for the first time. When I arrived Joey's mama, my favorite ex-sister-in-law, Cindy, was holding Joey.

I found the above collage of Joey photos this morning on Facebook, posted by some impostors claiming to be Joey's favorite Aunt and Uncle. I think this was some sort of typo with the typo-ist intending to type "favorite Aunt Dorothy and favorite Uncle Randy", which would make the favorite claim accurate.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to my Favorite Nephew Joey.