Freezing Around The Circle Trail In Wichita Falls

In this photo you are looking at what 32 degrees looks like, currently, at my location on the planet, heading north on the Circle Trail which meanders around Wichita Falls.

I did not repeat the mistake I made the last time I ventured out for an endorphin inducing bout of aerobic activity, with that mistake being insufficient outerwear.

This morning I dug my long underwear out of its hiding place, along with ski gloves and a ski jacket.

Tomorrow, if the weather predictors are predicting correctly, I will not need long underwear to be comfortable outdoors.

Tomorrow a south wind is supposed to blow, a warm south wind with the potential to heat up the outer world to nearly 80 degrees.

At some point in time, late Friday, or early Saturday, that south wind will cease, replaced by a cold wind from the north, causing the temperature to plummet dozens of degrees, with the latest prediction being 12 degrees, Saturday, at my location.

I wonder if my insulated ski pants are hiding in here somewhere?

Wichita Falls Born Rex Tillerson Secretary Of State In Trump's Clown Cabinet

Last night an incoming text message from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, had me wondering why he thought I was moving back to Washington the first month of the new year...

Are you moving to Washington in January?

I texted back indicating I was unaware of any current plan to move back to my old home state of Washington, additionally asking what prompted the question, to which Spencer Jack's dad texted back with...

I just learned an elderly white male from Wichita Falls, Texas will serve as Trump's Secretary of State.

To which I texted back with, yes, but the appointment is tentative, so please don't tell anyone til it gets confirmed. To which Jason texted back with...

I won't leak any national security info. I am hoping you will be able to keep your private email account, so Spencer and I can reach you if needed...

____________________

I did not know, until last night, that one of Trump's Clown Cabinet was from Wichita Falls, let alone that it was the Exxon CEO, Rex Tillerson, who Trump had picked to be Secretary of State, apparently due to the former Wichita Fallers history of dealing with Trump's BFF, Vladimir Putin.

Does Rex Tillerson now replace Dr. Phil as the most famous person to have come from Wichita Falls?

I suppose time will tell.

Rex must get confirmed first before he can do something notorious which outdoes the notoriety of Dr. Phil....

Freezing Wichita Falls Losing 60 Degrees On Saturday

Apparently my location on the planet, well north of being deep in the heart of Texas, is once again scheduled to go in to DEEP FREEZE mode.

A predicted high of 73 on Friday, then losing 60 degrees, for a low of 13 on Saturday.

THIRTEEN DEGREES.

That small number of degrees is among the lowest I have ever been  chilled to. If my memory is serving me correctly, and sometimes it does, the lowest temperature I have ever been chilled to was a minus 27 in the Eastern Washington town of Ellensburg, where I was matriculating at Central Washington University.

Minus 27.

That's 27 degrees below zero.

At that extreme temperature I recollect having to walk to school, due to no wheeled conveyances being operational. I recollect big icicles forming on the ski mask I used to cover all but my eyes and the two nostrils of my head zone.

If the forecast is correct we are heading towards two days where the temperature does not get above freezing. That means the faucets must be left dripping, the furnace must be left heating and other precautions must be taken so as to avoid breaking pipes.

I have experienced a freeze causing pipes to burst. It ain't pretty. Such a disaster happened the first time a deep freeze hit my new house in Mount Vernon. The pipe burst announced itself with an explosive bang.

I hope not to be hearing a similar explosive bang in the coming days....

Ruby & Theo People's Pool Party Birthday With Big Brother David

Yester morning I texted or emailed two thirds of my sisters to remind them that yesterday was our dad's birthday. Not that they actually needed to be reminded of such a thing.

My littlest sister, the one who lives in Tacoma, emailed back saying...

I figured I’d call on my way home from work.  We celebrated the twins’ birthday last night with a pool party.  Photo evidence attached.

I looked at the photo evidence and emailed back asking where this pool was located, along with asking a couple other questions in a couple followup emails. Following is a compilation of the replies....

The pool is in Tacoma's Hilltop zone.  It just opened a few months ago. In the spraypad pic, Ruby is on the far right and Theo is on the left in blue trunks looking at the camera with his tough guy face.  

David had fun too. And the pool has a current channel, like a lazy river, that is really fun. You feel like you are swimming super fast. And there is a lily pad thing to try to cross – Kristin didn’t make it very far.

Twins actual birthday is 12/17 and they are turning 6!!!!! David turned 8 in September. The lily pad thing is all the rage – Great Wolf Lodge has one too – but I’ve never tried it. I’ve seen 3 adults attempt this one and all 3 ended up in the drink. 

____________________

I made a composite image of several of the incoming pics, the result of which is what you see at the top. That is David in the middle, Ruby on the right, with Theo on the left.

Turns out the new pool is part of the Tacoma city park system. It is called The People's Pool.

The town I lived in before moving to Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, has several old closed public pools. Fort Worth has a population of around 800,000, with few places to cool off in the summer heat, hence foolish people floating on inner tubes in the polluted Trinity River thinking they are having a mighty fine time Rockin' the River while drinking beer and listening to loud music.

The population of Tacoma is around 200,000, a quarter the size of Fort Worth. Yet somehow Tacoma has multiple parks with modern facilities, including one of the biggest urban parks in the world, Point Defiance Park.

And I have never seen a street in Tacoma which did not have sidewalks on both sides of the street, often with a landscaped median between the sidewalk and the street.

And don't get me started on the Tacoma waterfront compared to Fort Worth's. Tacoma's waterfront water is crystal clear, but you probably would not want to drink beer while having a Rockin' the Water Happy Hour Inner Tube Float in it.

Too cold.

That and you would be sharing the water with creatures like salmon, seals, otters, orcas, octupi and crabs.

Just as I was typing this I got an incoming text message from David, Theo and Ruby's Aunt Jackie, who also is one of my sisters, telling me she and my Favorite Brother-in-Law, Jack are on vacation, meeting the aforementioned David, Theo and Ruby in Disneyland this coming weekend for the twin's Mickey Mouse Happy Birthday Party.

How come I never get invited to any of these birthday parties? My birthday presents were considered epic back when my original four nephews were David, Theo and Ruby's age.

Speaking of nephews, also just got a text message with photos from Spencer Jack's dad. Skagit snow photos. Must plug the phone in to the computer and look at that snow.....

Incoming Cold Report From The PNW

Incoming to my phone from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, with the snow photo you see here from WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation).

Text message accompanying photo...

FUD - Nice blog today about your dear ole dad.

The rest of your relatives are ice cold frozen in the PNW right now.

Some snow showers this morning here in the Skagit zone.   Most are concentrated in Whatcom County.

Heading down to the Phoenix suburbs is starting to sound appetizing.

Stay warm, FNJ

_____________________

Yesterday my location was heated to almost 70. So I was out and about with no additional upper outerwear needed than a t-shirt. This morning dipped again below freezing, so I was back in flannel to venture out to ALDI.

I do not know if the Phoenix zone is reliably warm this time of year. It is likely, though, that the Phoenix zone is warmer than Jason's location in the PNW and warmer than my location in what is known locally as Texoma.

Happy Birthday To My Dear Ol' Dad

Today is my dad's birthday.

The first photo you see here was taken in Arizona back in March of 2012, in a cafe in the town, if I remember right, named Superior. I do recollect, for certain, I had a very good cheeseburger at this cafe. That is not my mom sitting across from dad.  That is my favorite nephew's Christopher and Jeremy's mom, Jackie. Mom is hidden behind dad.

This would be the most recent photo I have taken of my dad. Let's go back in time and look at some other pictures of my dear ol' dad....

I do not know what dad is carrying in that bucket as he exits. He may be heading out to pick beans. I suspect this location is near Sumas, near the Canadian border in Whatcom County in Washington.

Dad's high school graduation photo. My dad was a basketball star at Nooksack High School. Dad passed on his athletic gifts to some of his children. But not me.

My dad looks like he is being a model in his graduation photo.

And then a few years after that graduation photo was taken, after a stint in the army, stationed in France, dad returned home to meet up with my mom in New York City and eventually make their way back to the west coast were eventually I was born.

That is me being a happy baby above, with my dad. This would have been in Eugene, Oregon, that being the location where I and my little brother, Spencer Jack's grandpa, Jake, were born.

Me and dad. I have no idea where this is, but I would guess it is somewhere in Oregon. A few months after the above photo was taken someone new entered the pictures.

That someone new was my little brother Jake, later to become the proud papa of Jason and Joey and grandpa of Spencer Jack. Who took this picture? I have no idea. It may have been taken during a trip north from Oregon, to Lynden, to visit our grandmas.

Again, I am guessing the below picture of dad playing with me and my brother was in Eugene, Oregon. That would be me on the left.  Little brother Jake was always a frisky little devil.

Below mom is holding Jake, likely to curtail that friskiness I previously mentioned.

We had a Radio Flyer wagon. I have long retained the memory of a Radio Flyer wagon but never knew it was a reality til I came across this photo proof. Many miles were rolled in that wagon. I recollect having fun pulling it. And pushing it with little brother Jake on board and steering.

Below we appear to be on a Washington State Ferry. Enjoying the Washington State Ferry system is something that is passed on from generation to generation in my family. For instance, Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew Jason, built replicas of the entire Washington State Ferry system. That is a lot of boats.

Eventually the bliss of our family consisting of just mom and dad and me and my brother came to an end with the addition of a sister.

Above dad is holding that aforementioned sister, named Nancy. As you can see, Nancy was a handful, and continues to be.

And then apparently one sister was not enough. Another was added.

I am fairly certain above we are at Ocean Shores on the Washington Pacific coast. Dad is holding our latest little sister, Jackie, who later became the mom of my favorite nephews Christopher and Jeremy.

Ironically, I have no photo of dad holding my third sister, in a photo with all her siblings. That third sister was the most exciting event of all the incoming new siblings. I do not remember the arrival of my brother or my first sister. I do remember the arrival of sister Jackie. It was a big, exciting deal.

But the arrival of my littlest sister, Michele, that was an epic big deal. I was in high school when that occurred. I remember the morning Michele was born, I called the hospital to find out if it had happened yet. There was a crowd around me as I called. I got the news and shouted out "It's a girl!" There was a reaction which had the person on the other end of the call telling mom it sounded like I was calling from an assembly of a lot of people.

Over the years I have lost count of the number of times I have been told I grew up in a Leave it to Beaver Father Knows Best Ozzie and Harriet type upbringing. I recollect Elsie Hotpepper saying such to me and me indicating I had no idea what she was talking about.

But now I get it. It's true. Way too many are not so fortunate to have a mom and dad doing the mom and dad job as good as my mom  and dad did.

Happy Birthday Pa!!!!

Trinity River Vision May Become Reality After Massive Water Bill

I saw that which you see here, this morning, on the front page of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram online.

So, the Star-Telegram apparently thinks that the Trinity River Vision COULD become a reality after Congress passes a massive water bill.

COULD???

After boondoggling along for most of this century the Trinity River Vision could possibly maybe become a reality?

Does that mean that, even with the infusion of about a half billion dollars of federal money, that that which has become known as America's Biggest Boondoggle may still not become a reality.

Not become a reality after wasting how much money? After abusing eminent domain to take how much property and disrupt how many lives?

Has anyone noticed if The Boondoggle is yet back working on its V Piers, the construction of which was halted way back last March, due to design errors?

Has the Star-Telegram made any real effort to find out what the actual reason for the stalled bridge construction is?

How many extra millions of dollars have been doled out to those employed by the Trinity River Vision Authority due to this project going on and on year after year, with little to show for the effort?

After all these years of Boondoggling is J.D. Granger now nearing retirement age? Will J.D.'s mother live long enough to see this vision become anything anyone can see?

And can anyone with any actual understanding of engineering explain to me how those V Piers are supposed to be able to support a bridge deck?

Cold Caribbean Wichita Falls Walk Not Available In Fort Worth

This second Saturday morning of December the weather outside is frightful, but even so I decided to layer on the winter outerwear, including ski gloves, and venture out into the icy wind hoping to have an endorphin inducing bout of aerobic fast walking.

Whilst walking north, with the wind coming up from behind, the frigid breeze did not vex me too much.

Then I got to the Circle Trail and headed back south, directly into the icy wind. This caused me to go into borderline jog mode to get as quickly as I could to a warm, wind free place.

The first part of my walk route today was on one of the paved alleys which meander all over my Caribbean themed neighborhood. The paved alleys make for pleasant vehicle free walking.

Wichita Falls has many modern amenities which were sadly lacking in the previous Texas town I lived in.

Fort Worth.

A day or two ago it occurred to me that Fort Worth's chronically absurd misrepresenting of itself goes all the way back to the town's naming.

There never was a fort in Fort Worth. It was a camp.

Camp Worth.

Camp Worth might actually be a more apropos name for Fort Worth, what with the town having the modern world's highest per capita number of outhouses, including most city parks not featuring modern facilities, or running water.

But, plenty of outhouses, some installed in very odd locations.

Another modern amenity I enjoy in Wichita Falls which is sadly, dangerously, frequently lacking in Fort Worth, is sidewalks. You know, those narrow paved trails which run along the side of roads so as to facilitate the safe transit of pedestrians.

Below you are looking at the point where the paved alley I walked today meets Haiti Drive.

As you can see, both sides of Haiti Drive have sidewalks. At this particular juncture I take a right and walk the sidewalk til I reach Weeks Park Lane, then walk that road's sidewalk to the south, past a couple houses, where I take a left and walk across the street to the Circle Trail which takes me back to my warm abode.

During my incarceration in Fort Worth I never did figure out why the town was so backwards. Did most of Fort Worth's citizens never venture to another American town, not even Fort Worth suburbs like Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Watauga, Dallas or others, to see that modern American towns have streets with sidewalks and parks with modern restrooms, with running water available?

The Fort Worth conundrum is very perplexing.

But, in the town's defense, I must say it is the impressive host to America's Biggest Boondoggle, currently stuck unable to figure out how to build three simple little bridges over dry land to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island....

Way Too Much Wind Chill On The Mount Wichita Summit

Well, I made it to the summit of Mount Wichita today.

In the abstract it seemed like a good idea to go mountain climbing.

However, the reality of such turned out to be not such a good idea.

When I drove to the base of Mount Wichita, around 11 this morning, the temperature was hovering around 35. The wind blowing supposedly made that 35 feel like the low 20s.

When I reached the summit of Mount Wichita the howling gale penetrated my windbreaker as if I had nothing breaking the wind at all.

I quickly made my way back to ground level and then  just as quickly made it back to the warm comfort of my vehicle.

The picture I took from the Mount Wichita summit sort of captures what a forbidding cold location this was today.

If I attempt mountain climbing again during this period of Big Chills I will likely do so attired as if I was going skiing. Or maybe just wait til HEAT returns....

Incoming Washington Snow Reports From Spencer Jack & Miss Linda

Incoming text and photo this morning to my phone from my old home zone of Mount Vernon in the Skagit Valley.

Text accompanying the photo....

Spencer Jack woke my up this morning to report overnight Skagit snow.

That appears to be quite a few inches of snow. Enough to cover the grass.

When I saw the "16" on Spencer Jack's Christmas lawn decoration it took me a second or two or three to guess what "16" referred to.

I am guessing Spencer Jack is counting down the days until Christmas.

Just as I stuck the period on the above sentence the phone once again  made its incoming text message noise. I figured it was likely from Elsie Hotpepper due to the fact I had text messaged the Hotpepper a couple minutes ago. But, the message was not from that particular Hotpepper, it was from the Washington Hotpepper known as Little Miss Linda, with that message's text telling me....

Brrrrrrr....from Mount Vernon.

Along with the Brrrrr, Miss Linda including a photo of the snow outside her domicile.

That does look very Brrrrrrr.

If the snow sticks the Mount Vernon zone has multiple great sledding hills. My old neighborhood in far east Mount Vernon was a mecca for sledding.

Meanwhile, at my current location on the planet the outer world is cold enough to support falling flakes of snow, if clouds were present to produce such a thing. We are hovering right at the freezing point, currently.

I think I will do some frigid mountain climbing today. I am assuming Mount Wichita is not slippery....