A Tale Of Burlington's Maiben Park Fix & Fort Worth's Heritage Park Fix Failure

Yesterday around this time I was having myself a mighty fine time having a chilly walk with the Indian Ghosts who haunt Arlington's Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Whilst I was doing my Ghost Walking I was pondering something I had read via website links emailed to me by Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason.

The website links were to articles about Maiben Park in my old hometown of Burlington. I grew up across the street from Maiben Park.

When I lived by Maiben Park it was a peaceful, safe place, always with a lot of kids playing.

Last year a teenager was murdered in Maiben Park. Homeless people were using Maiben Park as a residence. There were drug use problems. All sorts of problems none of which existed decades ago when I lived across the street.

The articles Jason sent me detailed what Burlington is doing to fix the problems of Maiben Park. This struck me as such a contrast with how things happen in my old home zone and how things happen in Fort Worth. For years now downtown Fort Worth has had a boarded up, cyclone fence surrounded eyesore, a park formerly celebrating Fort Worth's heritage, called, appropriately, Heritage Park.

Fort Worth's Heritage Park had very minor supposed problems which led to its closure, including homeless people using the park's water features for bathing purposes. Supposedly people felt there were security issues. It's been years now that Fort Worth has been unable to figure out how to restore its Lost Heritage.

So, what is little Burlington, population around 9,000, doing to fix the problems in Maiben Park?

Security cameras are being installed which will cover the entire park.

LED lighting is being installed to illuminate the entire park, including the area we always called "The Woods". Apparently The Woods had become popular with homeless people. The Woods is one of the few remaining stands of old growth forest on the floor of the Skagit Valley.

The restroom is being moved to a more open location. And redesigned. Yes, unlike most parks in Fort Worth, Burlington's parks have modern restrooms. Prior to the new one being built several decades ago, the previous modern restroom was built way back early in the previous century. Yes, modern plumbing has existed that long in other parts of America.

Those are just a few of the improvements being made to Maiben Park that I read about in the Burlington Leaders Propose Changes to Maiben Park article Jason directed me to.

Til reading the articles Jason directed me to, I did not realize Maiben Park now has a water feature for kids to play in. And that the Little League field is no longer used, with Little League, and other types of baseball, now being played in Burlington's complex of ball fields which have made the town a mecca for regional baseball games.

Reading the articles I learned that there was a lot of public input into the Maiben Park fixes. How is it little Burlington can bring about fixes to a park's problems, while a big city like Fort Worth dithers and dawdles unable to fix simpler problems in a park celebrating the town's heritage?

Very perplexing....

Go To Bellevue To Meet Louis Kahn Designer Of Fort Worth's Former World's Most Beautiful Modern Building

I saw that which you see here this morning on the front page of the Seattle Times online.

Louis Kahn is the architect who designed the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

I have blogged about the Kimbell Art Museum a few times, including...

Someone Thinks Fort Worth Is The Location Of The Most Beautiful Work Of Modern Architecture In The World

and

Shocked To Learn The Kimbell Art Museum Is No Longer The World's Most Beautiful Work Of Modern Architecture

In the first blogging I referenced the Wikipedia article about the Kimbell Art Museum, in which the article informed us....

"Fort Worth is home to the Kimbell Art Museum, considered to have one of the best collections in the world, and housed in what is widely regarded as the most beautiful work of modern architecture in the world."

Well, clearly the above is ridiculous hyperbole, and I so indicated. Soon the Wikipedia article was edited to  be more grounded in reality, which I blogged about in the second blogging, with the edited hyperbole now saying....

The Kimbell Art Museum, considered to have one of the best collections in Texas, is housed in what is widely regarded as one of Texas' foremost works of modern architecture designed by Louis Kahn and Renzo Piano.

So, I was curious if the Seattle Times Meet Louis Kahn, the modern designer you know the least about at the Bellevue Arts Museum  article mentioned the former most beautiful work of modern architecture in the world.

Well, mention was made in the following paragraph...

Kahn’s most famous buildings — The Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh — show a fascination with pleasingly layered geometric shapes, touchable materials and human scale. They reveal a creator less concerned with making sculptures to be admired from afar than making spaces in which people can experience light and motion as it unfolds over time.

The Seattle Times article failed to mention that the Kimbell Art Museum used to be widely regarded as the most beautiful work of modern architecture in the world....

Elsie Hotpepper Points Us Again To Texas Society Of Architects Bridge Boondoggle Info

Last week Elsie Hotpepper emailed me an email which only contained a link to a website, with no explanation as to why I should click on the link, which was perplexing, because I could see the link was to one of my blog posts.

Why is Elsie Hotpepper directing me to go to one of my own blog posts, wondered I?

So, I clicked on the link, was surprised it was to a post from less than a year ago, and further surprised by the info the post shared and the fact that I'd forgotten about it.

It was a blog comment made by Steve A, made to another blogging, which caused me to write the According To The Texas Society Of Architects The Boondoggle's Bridges Over Nothing Were Completed Five Years Ago blogging which Elsie Hotpepper directed me to.

I used Google's Blogger's new "Featured Post" feature to feature this post, which you see screen capped here and on the right column of this blog, if you are looking at the blog via a computer web browser, not a smart phone.

Following is the comment from Steve A which led me to the interesting article from the Texas Society of Architects about the Phantom Bridges of America's Biggest Boondoggle....

Steve A has left a new comment on your post "Up A Creek Again With The Trinity River Vision Boondoggle":

What's all the fuss? After taking up the "Durango Challenge" and Googling "Trinity River Boondoggle" myself, I discovered at the Texas Society of Architects website that the bridges would cost only $53Mil and would be complete in 2010. Accordingly, I want to see Durango pictures of the wonderful bridges designed by the same architect that designed the never-completed TCC River Campus. The article is WELL worth a read if you've never seen it before. Seriously, I guess that makes the project AT LEAST nearly a decade behind schedule and over budget by more than anybody has claimed so far since the bridges cost a lot more even though they "cheapened" them up. 

________________________

How did I manage to forget this bit of information about America's Biggest Boondoggle? Information documenting how far behind "schedule" this project with no project timeline is. How come the locals don't demand answers and explanations for the tardy progress of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision?

It's not like America's Biggest Boondoggle has been slowed up due to problems with the world's biggest tunnel boring machine and mysterious sinkholes, such as what has slowed up a much bigger project in another town in America.

Who Knows If Fort Worth's Bike Share Program Has Failed Like Seattle's?

What you are looking at is a row of bikes parked somewhere on the Seattle waterfront.

I did not know, til yesterday, via an article in the Seattle Times titled Bike share’s failure deflates Seattle’s self-image that Seattle had a bike share operation, like the one that operates in Fort Worth.

That would make this blogging sort of a variant of our popular series of bloggings about something I read via a west coast news source which I would not expect to be reading in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Apparently Seattle's bike share program has been rolling for only one year. When the plan was announced there was a lot of opposition. But, despite the objections, the city went ahead with the bike sharing.

I remember back when Fort Worth started its bike sharing program someone asked me if such a thing existed in Seattle. I remember saying I don't think such a thing would work there, due to it being very hilly and downtown is so busy with traffic and pedestrians, riding a bike would be hazardous. And that people in Seattle, who are into biking, already would have a bike. And that tourists staying downtown would not want to try and explore on a bike, as it would be too hazardous.

So, the various Seattle bike share kiosks were generating only about $30 a day, which apparently has not been enough revenue to make the operation solvent.

The Seattle Times article I read about the Seattle bike share failure was so different than an article one reads in the Star-Telegram, in that the Seattle Times article is very detailed, very critical, sort of self-deprecating and pretty much comprehensive about the issue.

The first five sentences in this Seattle Times bike sharing article as an example of what I mean by critical and self-deprecating...

Who would have thought Seattle’s bike share program would struggle? Probably anyone who’s tried to cycle through downtown. The news that Seattle’s bike share program is insolvent only a year after opening is, symbolically anyway, a wound to Seattle’s green psyche. It could be due to mismanagement. Or a lame rollout. These were some of the reasons offered for how a bicycling program could falter so badly in a place that fancies itself as Bike City, USA.

And the article, since being published yesterday, has generated, when last I looked, 360 some comments.

More than 360 comments!

Intelligent, well-reasoned comments, the likes of which one rarely reads in the Star-Telegram. Recently the Star-Telegram published a breathless article about a million dollar tacky piece of supposed art being celebrated by America's Biggest Boondoggle. One would have thought such a subject would have caused oodles of locals to opine. Instead, mostly crickets chirping.

Click the Bike share’s failure deflates Seattle’s self-image link and read the article and some of the comments and you'll see what I mean about the total tonal difference between the Seattle Times and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

What explains such a stark difference? A better educated population? A more progressive, democratic population? A population used to opining on public issues? Used to having their voices heard?

Being totally blunt, which really is not my style, but why is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram so dumbed down?

How is the Fort Worth bike share program faring? Has it been a success? You don't really see all that many people rolling around town on those rental bikes. Has the Star-Telegram had an article about how the Fort Worth bike sharing program is doing after it being in operation for a year or two?

The Cast Of Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price

I don't know why, but last night someone who goes by a one letter first name of "L" emailed me that which you see here.

A photo of Fort Worth Mayor, Betsy Price, who appears to be wearing some sort of stylish winter boot.

Or in some sort of cast.

Did Fort Worth's esteemed, extremely athletic, inspirational mayor have a biking accident, the news of which I missed?

The email which contained this photo included no explanatory text. So, I do not know if those are Betsy Price's daughters and son, or husband, she is standing with.

I see a strong resemblance factor among those in the photo, hence wondering if those are Betsy's kids, or husband.

I hope Mayor Betsy has herself a swift recovery from this injury, if an injury is the explanation for the stylish footwear, and that she is soon back on her bike, pedaling around town, inspiring Fort Worth's lethargees to get themselves some exercise.

But, exercise caution, lest you end up injured.....

Father Nathan Monk's Jesus Inspired Homeless People Help

I saw that which you see here this morning on Facebook, via Big Ed, who shared this message from Father Nathan Monk.

Last month I blogged about a panhandling homeless person and me Feeling Guilty When Anything Helps While Having Nothing To Give. Since I made mention of this panhandling homeless person I have seen him every time I drive by his regular location at the entry to the Target shopping center off Eastchase Parkway.

Last month, due to a federal mandate to do so annually, towns across America conducted a census of the homeless people living on the streets in their towns.

Many of the homeless people are veterans of one of America's ubiquitous wars, finding themselves abandoned and in dire straits, their situation ignored by the majority of Americans, who celebrate Veterans Day every year with a lot of ironic, pseudo patriotic hoopla.

While dozens of America's veterans commit suicide every day.

Below is what Father Nathan Monk had to say about opening doors to the homeless....

Earlier this week, I suggested that churches should open their doors to the homeless. I was lambasted by both the laity and clergy that this idea would be completely unreasonable. 

The main talking point that was thrown around is that I don't understand the purpose of the church. However, James said that, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God means caring for orphans and widows in their distress." As I began to argue these points, bizarre responses rose to the surface. 

The first was that people questioned how churches could afford to do this. How is it possible that you can believe that God provided a way for Noah to build an ark, sent birds to feed prophets, walls came falling down at the sound of a trumpet, a virgin gave birth to God, food was multiplied, coins were found in a fish's mouth to provide for the apostles, and the list is never ending...but you don't think that if you provided shelter for the homeless that this same God would make a way for you to do it? 

The next reason that I was given for why churches can't take in the homeless was that they might destroy the church building. I was always taught that the church was supposed to represent Christ on Earth. Jesus allowed himself to be stripped naked, beaten, whipped to the point of death, and crucified. You want to complain about a hypothetical destruction of a building that is supposed to represent a man who freely allowed himself to be destroyed? 

Finally, I was told that my ideas were liberal and socialist. That the purpose of the church and following Jesus was simply to worship him. That both the government and charities supply homeless shelters and the poor can go there. 

But Jesus said that how we treat those is exactly how we would have treated him. He even told us what he would say to those types of people, "Depart from me, because when I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." 

I am not certain what I believe anymore about faith or religion, but I do know what the Bible says. If you don't want to be like Christ, just stop calling yourself the Christian.

____________________

Well.

A lot of people seems to think they know Jesus, seem to think they follow the alleged teachings of Jesus, as written by man long after Jesus was killed. A lot of those same people are right wing nuts who think a socialist minded Jew could not possibly become the American president.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex zone has hundreds of churches, with some of those churches being enormous complexes, one or two even have their own airports.

I know many of the D/FW churches help with the homeless people problem, via donations of various sorts made to the various homeless shelters.

But what if a lot of the D/FW churches did what Father Nathan Monk suggests, and find room in their church facilities for a few homeless people?

You know that is what Jesus would do if he were currently a Texan.....

Swimming On The Last Morning Of January With Gar The Texan Unable

What with the high temperature the past couple days nearing 80 and the overnight temperature staying above 50, my pool doing criteria of an average temperature above 50 for 48 hours has rendered the pool doable the past couple mornings.

Time flies so fast. I think the last I was in the pool was Christmas morning. I am fairly certain the last couple days were the first pool bouts of the new year.

I do not recollect the pool being doable in January's past.

While for me the pool is doable, a few miles north and east of my location apparently pools are not doable when the temperature nears 80.

Yesterday, on Facebook, I saw Gar the Texan lamenting about his new pool not being doable. Gar the Texan and his latest wife recently moved to a new house, and that new house has a pool in the backyard.

Below is Gar the Texan's Facebook post about not going swimming in his new pool. Below that I'll copy the rest of Gar the Texan's cool pool lament.

Apparently Gar the Texan has a wetsuit, you know that thing you wear to go skin diving in cold water. Below is what Gar the Texan had to say about trying to go swimming in his new pool....

"I looked up my wetsuit rating and it says 55 degrees. Current water temp is 53. I put my arm in the water for half a minute. It came out numb. I need to rethink things. Perhaps the pool temp gauge is broken."

Someone reminded Gar the Texan that his latest wife is from Idaho, and is likely used to swimming in lake water heated in summer to the current temperature of his Texas  pool.

Now, in Gar the Texan's defense I must admit that he is a bit delicate. During the period of time in which I personally experienced Gar the Texan's delicate nature he had multiple incidents of what I came to call "episodes of the vapors."

The first time I experienced a Gar the Texan vapor episode was the first time I went mountain biking with him. The second time I experienced a Gar the Texan episode was the second and last time I went mountain biking with him. In that episode he had the most spectacular bike crash I ever witnessed, flying over the handlebars, then doing a somersault upon landing, and then suffering an episode of the vapors.

The one and only time I went roller blading with Gar the Texan ended with an episode about ten minutes into rolling. That episode had Gar sharing a bench with a pair of old ladies until he could recover enough to remove the roller blades and walk back to safety.

I am likely forgetting some Gar the Texan episodes of the vapors. I do recollect two hikes with no episodes of getting the vapors, one being hiking in Dinosaur Valley State Park and the other hiking at Turner Falls Park.

Due to the history of Gar the Texan having episodes of getting the vapors when doing a physical exercise type thing I am a bit puzzled as to why he has a wetsuit. Has he actually gone skin diving? If so, how does that work if an attack of the vapors happens? Seems like it would be scary.

Anyway, I think there shall only be a couple days more of swimming temperatures before the outer world resumes freezing, if the forecast is to be believed....

Non Tandy Hills Type Slippery Sauk Mountain Joey Hike

What with today being Saturday, and Saturday being the day I often go hiking Fort Worth's Tandy Hills, and what with there being what look like hills in the above photo, someone with extremely poor eyesight might think they are looking at the Tandy Hills.

That person would be thinking incorrectly. That is not a hill. It is a mountain. Sauk Mountain, located in the Skagit Valley of Washington state. Sauk Mountain is on the far west edge of the Cascade Mountain range.

I saw the above photo this morning on Facebook, via the first wife of renowned best selling author, Martin B.

Seeing this photo caused me to feel slightly homesick.

Sauk Mountain is one of the more easily accessed Cascade Mountain trails. If I remember right the trailhead was about 30 miles east of my abode in Mount Vernon. Slightly further than the four miles I drive to the Tandy Hills, but infinitely more scenic and more challenging to hike.

I have hiked to the summit of Sauk Mountain multiple times. In summer, when the high country opens up, free of the snowpack, Sauk Mountain draws hundreds of hikers on a good weather weekend day.

My last time hiking to the summit of Sauk Mountain was not on a good weather summer day. It was on a mid fall bad weather day.

My Favorite Nephew Joey and I had been doing a lot of mountain hiking the previous summer, like hiking up Mount Baker.

When Joey and I arrived at the Sauk Mountain trailhead there were only a couple other vehicles parked. And we soon saw that the owners of those vehicles were coming down the mountain, almost to the parking lot.

Joey and I decided to go for it, even though a few flakes of snow were falling. And it was freezing.

If you look closely at the photo above you can see the switchbacks of the trail which takes you to the summit of Sauk Mountain. You can also see that when this photo was taken some small patches of snow remained near the top of the mountain.

When Joey and I did that hike, that fall, there was already an accumulation of snow. When we  reached the last few switchbacks the trail was covered in ice, and slippery, but we kept on going til we reached the top.

And then the snow began falling in copious amounts. Around that time it crossed my mind  that I was being a slightly irresponsible uncle. I told Joey we'd go down the trail real slow, til we got off the iced over part of the trail. And that if we slipped and started to slide down the mountain, to just treat it as sled ride til a stop could be made.

Well, there was no slipping, we made our way slowly back to safety, where eventually the vehicle's heater warmed us up enough to stop the shivering.

Since I have been in Texas, Joey's mom, my Favorite Ex-Sister-In-Law, Cindy, has taken up the hiking sport. Cindy has hiked up many of the Cascade's most popular trails, including Sauk Mountain.

I do not know if Joey has ever told his mother that he and his irresponsible uncle hiked Sauk Mountain in an icy snow storm....

Blazing Trails To New Locations On Arlington's Village Creek

I had myself a different type of haunting experience in Arlington today at the Village Creek Natural Historical Area.

Years ago I was at one of the turtle viewing locations on Village Creek when I was startled to suddenly see a guy on the other side of the creek. How could someone get to this location, I wondered, what with the underbrush so thick, and what with it being summer, the time of year when the rattlesnakes, copperheads and other venomous critters are extra frisky.

Well, today I found my way to that location. In the picture above I am standing about where I saw that guy years ago. That thin gray line you see at the top of the photo is the paved trail that one accesses from the VCNHA parking lot, which I had been jogging on a few minutes prior. That opening you see in front of the gray paved line is the turtle viewing location mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Though the air was heated today to a summer type temperature, if you are talking about a Western Washington summer, not a Texas summer, it was not hot enough today to get the slithering reptiles in danger mode.

I got gas today. $1.43 a gallon. I used to regularly call my mom and dad when I got gas, but of late I don't do that so much because usually when I get gas I am not alone and it seems rude to call someone when one is not alone in the vehicle. So, I called today from a Village Creek NHA picnic table, but got no answer. A call later in the afternoon was successful.

Tomorrow is my mom's happy birthday. Happy birthday, mom......

This Trinity River Whitewater Rapids Plan Would Have Filled Dallas Potholes

A couple days ago, after Elsie Hotpepper caused me to be puzzled I blogged about that which puzzled me, asking Why Does Army Corps Of Engineers Not Like Dallas Whitewater Wild Rapids Blocking Trinity River?

Yesterday I got an email from Facebook telling me that Elsie Hotpepper had tagged me. Getting tagged by Elsie Hotpepper always raises my worry level.

This particular instance of Elsie Hotpepper tagging me was due to the Hotpepper wanting me to read a comment made to her posting about the Dallas Whitewater Rapids.

The comment was made by Korean War historian and Trinity River Watchdog, Hal Barker. The comment in its entirety, copied and pasted from Facebook....

Hal Barker: Indeed. It cannot be made up. Only the City of Dallas could come up with a project like this for the 8 kayak folks who want to take the 2 second ride. 

My suggestion originally was that, in lieu of a fake rapid, that the City offer all 8 white water kayak folks who live in Dallas and want to ride on the Trinity free tickets by SW Airlines to Colorado with an all expense paid vacation whenever they want.

That would have cost about what it cost to buy the design for the project, and left over millions for filling potholes.

But no, the City wanted a Colorado experience in Dallas. So here we are, the Corps going on a rampage, the City forgetting to tell their bosses that the doo-doo was going to hit the fan, lawsuits, screaming executives, and Hal Barker going after Corps of Engineers documents they don't want to give up. This is like a Trump reality show....