Spencer Jack Was Not Home Yesterday If I Knocked On His Door

Last night I had myself an extremely rare bout of insomnia. I went horizontal early due to the day having been a long one. I quickly passed out, but at some point in time in the middle of the night I began to relentlessly toss and turn. I have no idea how long the tossing and turning lasted.

I think the insomnia may have been caused by yesterday's warning signs that I may be heading west into a maelstrom of madness from which I will quickly seek relief.

On that note this morning's email found one from Spencer Jack and his dad, my favorite nephew Jason....

FUD,

We heard a rumor that you were traveling thousands of miles to visit relatives. If you knocked on our door today to visit, we weren't home.

Spencer Jack took me sailing this afternoon. He chose Friday Harbor to escape the extreme PNW heat wave.The air was pleasantly air conditioned there.

Anyway, if we missed you, try again some other time. Your dad always use to tell me, "Stop by anytime, 'we are always home,' unless we are gone!" 

Hope to see you soon!

___________________

A heat wave in the PNW? The temperature much have reached a high in the 70s for a couple days in a row. Friday Harbor, to which Jason refers, is the big city on San Juan Island. Friday Harbor is the last destination one comes to when one takes one of the Anacortes ferries to the San Juan Islands.

Visiting My Neighborhood Caribbean Libertines Before Playing A Hot Arizona Pickle Ball

Due to too many days lately of precipitation precipitating precipitously I had not had myself much outdoor endorphin inducing aerobic activity.

Til today.

I opted to push my way through the wet wool blanket of hot humidity and make my way to my cool Caribbean neighborhood.

I entered the Caribbean today via Haiti. Soon I headed south via Barbados, where I have frequently admired the artwork you see here, at the southeast intersection of Haiti and Barbados.

Those Haitian Barbados natives are quite the free spirited libertines.

Soon I decided the Caribbean was providing me way too much aerobic stimulation so I head back to the Circle Trail where I soon saw the big lonely tree you see here.

I doubt you can see the one big white bloom on the above tree. It is blooming on the upper right part of the tree, with its whiteness blotted out by a cloud. That one big white bloom indicated to me that this is a Magnolia tree. My mom used to call these Tulip trees. We had a Tulip tree in our backyard in Burlington, Washington, til one day it died due to a failed plumbing pipeline.

I should be seeing my mom in a couple days, sometime late Thursday afternoon. I may remember to ask about that long ago backyard Tulip tree. But my mom tends to forget stuff. I do absolutely need to ask my mom about something which has long vexed me, which I always forget to ask about. As in how did mom make her way across the country, all the way to New York City, to meet my dad who was returning from France, where he'd been stationed whilst in the Army. I know my mom did not fly to NYC. I can't picture my mom traveling alone across the country via bus or train.

After mom met dad in NYC they toured the town, then bought a car, which they then used to take a long tour of the country on a slow trip back to Washington. Mom and dad sort of repeated that trek the year my dad retired.

Continuing on on the Circle Trail I soon saw a result of the past few day's deluges.

Holliday Creek in Holliday Gorge turned into a roaring rapids, with an egret hoping to do some successful fishing.

Holliday Creek is the creek which got dammed long ago to create Lake Wichita.

I am bringing my laptop along with me to see my mom and dad. I do not know how much Internet connectivity I will be having. So, I may be not quite as connected, as is my norm, for the next couple weeks. I also learned today that I will likely be engaging in something called Pickle Ball. An activity conducted outdoors in the extreme Arizona heat.

It is probably healthy to get disconnected every once in awhile, but maybe not whilst one is extremely hot...

First Sunday Of June Drenching Downpour

Heading home from an early Sunday jaunt to Walmart I suddenly found myself driving slow through a downpour.

The windshield wipers were taxed to the max trying to clear the window.

I soon got ahead of the downpour, heading west on Southwest Boulevard. Took a dry right on Taft Boulevard, then another dry right to my covered parking zone.

Just as I turned the engine off the downpour caught up with me. I waited ten or fifteen minutes til the downpour seemed to be pouring down less and then I made a run for it. Through what amounts to a flooded moat.

This week I am heading west on the longest roadtrip I have tripped on since 2001. I am a bit apprehensive about this. I would prefer the driving to not involve any calamitous weather of any sort...

A Dark Stormy 2nd Day Of June In Wichita Falls

The photo documentation which you see here does not adequately document the fact that this second day of June of 2017, so far, is a rip roaring boomer, with rain in downpour mode.

Currently there is no wind blowing and no tornado sirens screaming.

In the view you see here you are looking north through downpouring raindrops, with the swimming pool visible through the jungle of foliage.

The lightning strikes are getting closer and the followup booms are getting louder. I probably should shut my windows, but I rather like the sound, and with no wind blowing the rain is not able to make its way to my interior space.

I just texted Miss Puerto Rico to ask if she is booming and flooding in the D/FW zone. So far no reply.

Earlier today I heard from another D/FW resident, whom I shall not name, for obvious reasons. Suffice to say this resident's initials are EH. Apparently EH has a new goal of becoming independently wealthy. Finding someone like Trump, who is in need of a new trophy wife, was discussed, with the idea discounted. Well, the Trump-like part of the idea.

Unless I want to risk getting struck by a lightning strike I don't think I will be going singing in the rain today. Not even under a bumbershoot.

Bumbershoots are lightning attractants when one is out in the open in a flat zone.

Maybe if the booming stops I will go on an under bumbershoot cover walk in the rain. This would be doable as long as the electrical activity ceases and the wind does not begin to blow....

First Day Of 2017's June Possibly Thunderstorming

The first day of June of the year 2017 looks to be potentially stormy, in more ways than one, at my current North Texas location in Wichita Falls.

Thunderstorms, possibly severe, are on the weather menu for today.

Whilst walking on the Circle Trail, from whence I took the photo you see here, I thought I detected an incoming drop or two.

I shall shut up now. Basically this particularly blogging effort is a test testing if my new computer is going to continue vexing me.

Tacoma Mountain Biking With Nephew Theo

On this final day of the 2017 version of May, what we see here is my nephew Theo mountain biking on the rugged trails of Tacoma.

If my calculations are correct Theo is currently *four years old.

*UPDATE: Theo's Aunt Jackie informs me that Theo is now six years old.

I had barely learned to walk by the time I was four.

I do not remember when I got my first bike, but I know it was a few years past four.

When I was four we lived in Mount Vernon, across the street from what is now Skagit Valley College, under construction at that point in time.

Being four in Mount Vernon would seem to indicate I learned to ride a bike after we moved a couple miles north, to Burlington.

My most vivid memory of riding a bike in Burlington was my little brother (Spencer Jack's grandpa) and me pushing our bikes to the summit of Burlington Hill and then coasting down at high speed with the high speed descent halted by a duo spectacular bike wreck in loose gravel which left us a bit bloodied.

Apparently now I have two nephews to go mountain biking with. Theo and Joey.

Below you get to watch full action video of Theo mountain biking. Theo's brother, David, and sister Ruby, make cameo appearances....

Lake Wichita Memorial Day With Big Brother & Long-Nosed Gars

 Last week I read 1984, you know, that dystonian novel by George Orwell that sort of missed its future foretelling mark when 1984 became the actual year, with 1984 not being quite as bleak in reality as Orwell foresaw it being.

And then over three decades after 1984 George Orwell's book was back being a book store best seller, along with borrowing waiting lists in libraries across America, and other parts of the world where the literate found themselves appalled to find the American president to be an Orwellian nightmare of doublespeak, doublethink and totally doubleplusungood.

The last couple days I have been having myself some computer aggravation. Every time I think I have solved the problem I find I am erroneous.

Feeling I had reached some sort of computer plateau I decided to take a break and join the throngs of Memorial Day memorializers at Lake Wichita for some sun time whilst enjoying the cooling breeze blowing from the lake.

I was not long at Lake Wichita, atop Lake Wichita Dam, when I saw that which you see above, which is the reason I mentioned 1984, because when I saw that which you see above I thought to myself it looked like what a 2017 version of 1984's Big Brother might look like.

Soon after seeing the Lake  Wichita Big Brother I saw the bucolic scene you see below.

These fisher people are fishing near the ruins of the Lake Wichita Pavilion.  All which remains of the pavilion, which succumbed  to fire in the 1950s,  are the wood pilings you see the fishing pole pointing towards.

As you can see there are also non-fisher people wandering about under the watchful eye of the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Another view of the Lake Wichita floating dock. That dock looks nice and stable today, but if one visits it on a windy day, when whitecaps wave across the lake, the ride on this floating dock can be sea sickness inducing. The last time I was on this dock when it was in rocking mode it reminded me of being on the Port Townsend/Keystone Ferry ferrying from the Olympic Peninsula to Whidbey Island during a stormy tidal change, with the ferry rocking so much walking was extremely difficult.

As you can see fishing and walking was not the only activity at Lake Wichita this Memorial Day. The people you see here are on the Circle Trail  on top of Lake Wichita Dam, heading north away from the Lake Wichita Big Brother.

Okay, I have mentioned the Lake Wichita Big Brother a couple times. Now let's see what it is this Big Brother is looking out from.

A fishy sign. Can you find Big Brother?

This Fish of Lake Wichita sign identifies all the fish which live, or try to, in this lake.

I have never seen anyone swimming in Lake Wichita. I know in the past, long ago, swimming in this lake was a popular summer thing to do. A streetcar system delivered  people to the lake. Long ago Lake Wichita was a popular resort-like destination, with multiple attractions in addition to fishing and swimming.

There is an ongoing attempt to revive Lake Wichita and restore it to some semblance of its former glory.

Methinks this effort should be accelerated.

I have seen the Lake Wichita Revitalization plans. If those plans come to fruition it will be a real good thing.  I do not understand why there is not a more vigorous effort to bring about this lake's revitalization. I've heard other towns in America fund such developments by having its citizens approve of some sort of funding  mechanism, rather than rely on car washes and selling memorial bricks to raise money.

If Lake Wichita does get revitalized and swimming again becomes doable I sort of would like to know a couple of those Fish of Lake Wichita are no longer in the lake. Like the long-nosed gars. Or the channel catfish. The other Fish of Lake Wichita look harmless.

I have never liked fish with whiskers. Or long sharp pointy noses...

North Texas 100 Degrees HOT First Time In 2017

The outer world has heated up to the century mark for the first time this year at my location on the planet.

With about an hour to go to get hotter, before the sun does its daily retreat, we may still hit the predicted high of 101, or higher.

My air conditioner turned itself on several hours before noon today. At that point in time I had not been outside and so did not know a heat wave had arrived.

Meanwhile up north, well, up northwest, at my old home location of Western Washington, the locals are sweltering with a heat wave of their own type.

Temperatures in the high 70s and low 80s.

The Washington hot hell on earth has sent throngs of Washingtonians, by the thousands, west to the Pacific coast beaches, such as Ocean Shores,

I learned of the Washington heat wave earlier today via Sampson and Deliah's Facebook report about joining the thousands trying to get cool via being near the Pacific Ocean in the Ocean Shores zone.

This is not a picture of Ocean Shores you are looking at below.

An hour before noon I ventured out into the heat, to the Circle Trail, for a period of short duration. What you are looking at above is what a 100 degree day looks like in the North Texas burg of Wichita Falls, looking east across Holliday Creek Canyon.

There is no ocean a short drive distant to escape to to beat the heat at my current location. There are a couple lakes. None of which has an ocean type beach. Or big waves. Or whales and seals. Or clams to dig.

I have seen seagulls though...

Dallas Settles Legal Pipeline Fight With Imaginary Bogeyman Monty Bennett

Shocking news, shocking I tell you, today in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Dallas settles legal fight with Monty Bennett over East Texas pipeline

Didn't Dallas get the memo that Monty Bennett is a notorious evil bogeyman hotel magnate who owns downtown Fort Worth's Hilton and Ashton  hotels?

For years the Dallas partner in water acquisition, Fort Worth's Tarrant Regional Water District, has fought the imaginary Dallas bogeyman who the TRWD scared voters with shameless propaganda spewed claiming Monty Bennett was wanting to steal Fort Worth's water.

When what Monty Bennett was actually doing was trying to convince the TRWD and its Dallas water partner, not to install a pipeline across his East Texas ranch.

God forbid someone in Texas is protective of their property and uses whatever resources are at their disposal to do so.

The Dallas City Council approved settling their fight with Monty Bennett, with one Dallas Councilwoman, Sandy Greyson objecting, opinionizing "it’s just infuriating that if you are rich enough, you can hold the city hostage for years and then get what you want. There’s something really wrong with that.”

Imagine that. If one has the resources one can fight, successfully, to prevent someone from impacting their property.

Usually this is a hopeless battle in the eminent  domain abuse capital of the world.

We have blogged about Tarrant County's chronic eminent domain abuse dozens of times.

Such as in a blogging from a couple months ago about The Fort Worth Way With RICO Racketeering in which we heard from one of Fort Worth's victims of eminent domain abuse, with that instance of abuse executed by what is now known as America's Biggest Boondoggle, which took this victim's business in ordter to dig a ditch and a bridge over the ditch, neither of which has been dug or built, long after this victim's property was bulldozed.

Bulldozed before the victim, unlike Monty Bennett, had had his day in a legitimate court system of the sort which does not exist in the eminent domain abuse capital of the world. Hence the taking and destruction of property before a legal settlement had been reached.

So, I don't understand how or why Dallas Councilwoman Greyson finds it infuriating that someone has the legal resources to protect his property from something he did not want to see happen to his property.

To do so, such as Monty Bennett did, is pretty much what used to be known as the American Way, where the courts protected citizen's property from seizure unless a clear case could be made that such a seizure was in the public's interest, with no alternative to the seizure, such as re-routing a pipeline.

To take a person's property, with that person having no legal recourse, other than trying to fight the seizure in a Kangaroo Court, well, that is how the Soviet Union used to operate.

Operating like the Soviet Union used to operate is not the American Way.

Sadly though, operating like the Soviet Union used to operate is, in many ways, is the Fort Worth Way...

Throw Back Thursday All The Way To Newborn Baby Spencer Jack

Today is Thursday. The final day of this sort in the May month of 2017.

It being Thursday, this particular day has also become known as Throwback Thursday, known as such for reasons, and by whose instigation, I do not know.

Is this Throwback Thursday thing a Facebook invention? It is on Facebook I first saw and continue to see Throwback Thursday photos.

This Throwback Thursday thing came to mind this particular Thursday when I was scrolling through photos and came upon the photo you see here.

I believe that is Spencer Jack I am holding, or appearing to hold. This would seem to indicate this photo is about ten years old.

Holding a baby when the baby is in newborn mode has always made me nervous. Such a tiny, delicate little bundle of joy.

Being the eldest of four siblings, I do not remember siblings number one and two whilst they were in newborn infant mode. I do clearly remember siblings three and four in newborn infant mode.

Sibling three is my little sister, Jackie, now the mother of Christopher and Jeremy. I do not remember Christopher in newborn infant mode. I do remember Jeremy in that mode because I was in the building when he was born and was sent out to buy bottles of celebratory champagne to lubricate the party which ensued in the fun hospital in which Jeremy was born in Everett, Washington.

Sibling four is my extra little sister, Michele, now the mother of David, and the twins, Theo and Ruby. I was not present for the birth of any of these three, nor did I see any of them in infant newborn mode.

I do not remember where I was when Spencer Jack's dad was born. Spencer Jack's dad is my sibling number two's eldest son, Jason. I think I met Jason soon after he was born, but not whilst he was in the hospital. However, I do remember driving from Bellingham to United General Hospital, located between Burlington and Sedro-Woolley, to see newborn nephew, Joey, for the first time. I do not remember if I got to hold Joey whilst he was in the hospital.

 I wonder when next I will be blessed with holding a newborn bundle of joy, if ever? I am almost 100% certain such a thing will not be happening on this particular last Thursday of May....