Holliday Rapids With Sunday Wind Blown Arizona Anniversary Disaster & Elsie Hotpepper

Yesterday, which was Sunday, the same series of storms which caused a wind disaster in Dallas, due to a blown over construction crane, caused me my most, or one of my most, dramatic weather events.

I was riding my bike, all was calm.

Rolling around Sikes Lake the air was so calm the lake was like a mirror.

But, I could see to the north an ominous wall of dark clouds moving in my direction, which seemed odd, what with there being no wind.

I left Sikes Lake and headed north across Midwestern Boulevard to the MSU campus. At the north end of the campus I stopped to check out progress on a construction project. I then headed east towards the Circle Trail. I got to the area where MSU has its annual gigantic installation of Christmas displays when suddenly the temperature dropped, the sky darkened, and a strong wind struck seemingly instantly.

I was trying to ride perpendicular to the incoming wind, which did not work, as in the wind would have knocked me over if I kept heading that direction. I did not know what to do. Big trees with big limbs were flapping like bird wings. I tried to see any close by shelter. There was none. Sunday the campus is deserted. Dirt and dust was blowing in my mouth, nose and eyes, along with other stuff hitting me.

Definitely scary.

And then it let up. A little. I decided to make like a high speed rabbit to the Circle Trail, which is open with few trees, about a quarter mile distant. I made it there, keeping an eye out for any flying branches.

On the Circle Trail the wind was behind me, making for a high speed wind assisted return to the safety of my abode.

And now today has been a calm blue sky North Texas spring day.

Something caused me to realize that it was about exactly two years ago that I drove to Arizona to see my dad for the last time. I did not remember the exact date. I went on a walk along the Circle Trail, took the photo you see above of Holliday Creek's current high water rapid status and then remembered in my vehicle there was paperwork which would give me the precise dates of the 2017 drive to Arizona.

So, I walked to that vehicle and found the warranty for the fuel pump that got installed when disaster struck me on I-40 about ten miles east of Flagstaff. The date on that receipt was June 9, 2017, which meant I left Texas the day before, and arrived at my brother's, post repair, in Scottsdale June 9, staying overnight til June 10, two years ago today, when I made it to Sun Lakes and my mom and dad's house, to drive my mom to where my dad was, with me seeing my dad for the first time since 2012.

The next couple weeks were among the most stressful I've ever made it through. I made it back to Texas on June 25, and got the sad news about dad five days later.

Hard to believe this is already two years ago, and that I have been back to Arizona so many times since.

Including a return next month, flying out July 10, returning July 27. I am traveling solo. I asked Elsie Hotpepper if she wanted to come along, thinking it would be good for her to experience modern America after what Texas has put her through of late. The Hotpepper, of course, is giving this some consideration, but she already has July plans to visit another area of modern America, as in Colorado.

Methinks Elsie would like the Valley of the Sun more, it's less elevated...

Half Million Bucks Finds Fort Worth Boondoggle Needs Re-Branding As Imaginary Flood Control

Several days ago Captain Andy Facebook messaged me with a link to the Star-Telegram article you see here, along with a message saying...

Apparently, the only problem at the TRV is that they are not marketing it correctly. What a waste of effort.

I knew to what Captain was referring because I had already read and been appalled by this latest Star-Telegram propaganda and so I replied to Captain Andy thusly...

And it might cost less than the estimated half million bucks cuz J.D. and his cohorts were so cooperative. I give up. The Fort Worth locals deserve what they get, and apparently have long been used to this type idiocy, or why does it continue? It seems so long ago now that I was criticized for criticizing those bridges. And calling the nonsense a Boondoggle. Like I already said. I give up...

To which Captain Andy empathized with...

I hear you. I thought Mary had a slim chance in hell. But when the other two guys jumped i figured Mary was toast. And then Marty and Jim won again. Well, ok. That's the Fort Worth way. But i still see the bullshit so i just shake my head and commiserate with like minded friends. As for your recent blog post, I'm surprised the biggest little skyscraper wasn't built in Fort Worth. Apparently we like to invest in con jobs.

So, a few days ago I am telling Captain Andy I am giving up pointing out the propaganda idiocy I read in the Star-Telegram, feeling like why should I care about the utter foolishness when apparently so few others do. And now today I'm back at it again.

There seems to be something up with this Panther Island review nears completion. What will it mean for the project’s future? article. The day after I first read it I went back to the Star-Telegram to see if anyone had done the rarity in this newspaper of making a comment. At that point I could not find the article. The link was no longer on the front page. Nor could I find it via other menu options. I then went back to the original link from Captain Andy on Facebook, which brought me back to the article, where I found there was now one comment. And it is a good one....

 Gulf States: "It was done in lieu of the cost-benefit analysis normally required."

So did they get a waiver to do this type of report? Even though there is no malfeasance that does not mean that there is not rampant incompetence. An experienced urban planner should have been hired from the start to run this project, someone with experience that had actually run a massive billion dollar project before not the son of the ex-Mayor.
But the fact that the citizens did not get out and elect new members to the TRWD Board that oversees this project goes to show that in the long run people do not care enough to get out and vote. So you get what you deserve which are unfinished delayed bridges and a project that will eventually be paid for by more bonds since the government will not fund a real estate development disguised as a flood control fix.

Did someone at the Star-Telegram realize the "news" in this article was a bit dumbfounding, and decide to remove the links to it on the website, but did not delete the article? Who knows? I copied the article, and saved it. I could share the entire thing, but instead I will just point out an item of interest, or two, as I scroll through the article...

Let's start with the first paragraph...

An independent assessment of the Trinity River project called Panther Island has led to at least a dozen key findings, but reviewers so far have found no red flags with the $1.17 billion flood control effort.

Okay, so this supposed "independent assessment" is what they are now calling the forensic audit which multiple local officials called for, to get to the bottom of the financials of what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle. Items such as how much extra money has been spent paying the salaries of those financially benefiting from the long delayed slow motion project, such as J.D. Granger, who is being paid over $200 K a year, plus perks. So this "independent assessment" is only assessing the imaginary island part of the Trinity River Vision? No red flags? Isn't that embarrassing homage to an aluminum trash can which has sat for years at the center of an uncompleted roundabout, connected to the bridges taking years to build over dry land,.a red flag indicating something is dire wrong with this project?

And then there is this paragraph...

Riveron, a Chicago firm with a Dallas office, has been digging into Trinity River Vision Authority documents and interviewing key staff since mid-April. Fort Worth officials are hopeful the review — meant to study the project’s feasibility, funding and management — will help the project land more than $500 million needed from the federal government to complete a bypass channel in the river near downtown. It was done in lieu of the cost-benefit analysis normally required.

Are we now supposed to believe this "independent assessment" has been done instead of the cost-benefit analysis the feds normally require when dealing with normal parts of America where projects like this are approved of by the public, via voting, and are mostly funded locally, via bonds, rather than pitiful federal welfare where the more prosperous parts of America pay for one of Fort Worth's boondoggles?

And then this...

Kevin Ruiz, a Riveron representative, said the review was nearly complete and the company would begin formulating a series of recommendations related to its findings. He spoke generally Wednesday without providing major detail, but a full report will be provided July 10. No malfeasance or signs of wrongdoing have been found, he said.

No malfeasance or wrongdoing? Is it wrong for a project's executive director to flagrantly have an extramarital office affair with an employee, and then give that employee sweetheart promotions, jobs like being a party planner, which is a well known aspect of flood control, thus creating a hostile work environment where employees vent their disgust to voices outside the TRV office, like me?

And then there is this doozy, which is what most have been reacting to...

Originally conceived as a flood control effort, much of the attention has been centered on how a bypass channel would create an 800-acre island downtown poised for development. Ruiz said the authority needed to return to a focus on “flood control and public safety” in branding.

No. It was originally conceived as a corrupt economic development scheme benefiting multiple Fort Worth insiders, disguised as a flood control project where there has been no flooding for well over a half century due to levees the rest of America paid for long ago. So, almost a half million bucks is being paid to these brilliant "independent assessors" to advise that America's Biggest Boondoggle can get back on track by returning to focusing on the imaginary flood control and public safety aspects of the project.

Oh, yeah, that's gonna go over real well. This "independent assessment" group must think Fort Worth is totally full of clueless fools ready to be conned yet again by utter nonsense.

Just one more blurb from this article and then go read for yourself the entire Panther Island review nears completion. What will it mean for the project’s future? piece of propaganda, while it is still available.

Because Riveron’s review has been speedy, it might come in under the $466,222 budgeted.

So, Fort Worth is spending almost a half millions bucks on a speedy review, which has been so speedy it might not cost as much as was budgeted. Sounds like such a bargain, spending that pittance to learn the solution to America's Biggest Boondoggle is to re-brand itself as being all about much needed flood control in an area which does not flood, while actual deadly flooding areas in Fort Worth are ignored.

And people wonder, well, actually I think the number is small, why I refer to Fort Worth as being a backwards town, that embarrasses itself over and over again, whilst never seeming to learn that it just ain't working to keep operating in what long time locals refer to as the Fort Worth Way...

Washington Clamming With Spencer Jack & Hank Frank's Grandpa

Yesterday my #1 Arizona sister told me our #1 brother, he being Spencer Jack and Hank Frank's grandpa Jake, had flown to his former home zone the previous day.

So, last night I text messaged SJ and HF's grandpa "I hope you are having yourself a mighty fine time up in the Paradise of the North".

The reply was the photo you see here.

Yesterday my #1 Arizona sister told me our #1 brother was having a great time clamming and oystering.

What you see Jake doing in the photo is butchering a clam. I'm not sure what the correct verb is for this. Butchering sounds a bit harsh.

I have never been good at clam digging. All my other relatives are good at it. Crabbing, that I am good at, maybe because crabbing is funner than digging to get a clam.

I do not remember going clam digging this century. I don't remember the last time I was on a clam digging expedition. I do remember my last crab experience. It was in August of 2017 at Birch Bay, in Washington, a short distance south of the border. Nephew Theo and I chased a crab until uncle Jake, to Theo's amazement, scooped the crab out of the water for Theo to pet.

I am almost 100% certain the location where Jake is knifing a clam is a tidal flat on Hood Canal. Or he may already be up in the Skagit Valley zone, which would make this tidal flat being located on Samish Island.

I am heading to Arizona, again, next month. I do not know, yet, if Spencer Jack and Hank Frank's grandpa Jake will be back in Arizona at that point in time, or still enjoying the pleasantly temperatured Pacific Northwest...

Her Boob Brought Lubbock A Chance Of Rain

Yesterday, via the local TV news, I saw a news story start up with a big wall of dust looking like what I have seen when I am in Arizona.

A Haboob.

And then the news part of what I was seeing told me that this Haboob was doing its Haboobing a few miles to the west and south of my location, that being Lubbock, Texas.

No dust made it to my location, as far as I can tell.

And then this morning, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy, on Facebook, I saw that which you see here, that being the WFAA ABC out of Dallas weather guy, or maybe he's a news guy, or both, reporting on the Lubbock Haboob.

Only the captioning turned that news into "HER BOOB WILL BRING US A CHANCE OF RAIN'S".

Mr, Kennedy identified the WFAA reporter as being named Jesse Hawila, who took the "HER BOOB" fiasco good naturedly, saying “Closed captioning hates me and strikes again... I said, the storms that created the “haboob will bring us a chance of rain.”

I've lately been a little annoyed at the weather guys on the local stations at my current location, that being NBC and CBS here in Wichita Falls, and ABC beaming out of Lawton, up in Oklahoma.

Yes, the weather here can be dangerous. But, when the skies threaten a possible tornado, if you are watching network TV, during a possibly storm you are warned with a graphic in the upper left, and a screen crawl at the top, which announces itself every few minutes with dialogue obscuring beeping.

But, the most annoying is when the local weather guy on the CBS affiliate breaks in to the regular programming. He did that the first time I tuned in to check out the James phenomenon on Jeopardy.

You're already aware that Doppler Radar has detected some possible tornado rotation, via the info you've already seen. And then this guy goes on and on and on and on, repeating the same thing over and over and over and over again, til it begins to seem like a Cry Wolf syndrome type deal, particularly when he goes "live" to his storm spotter, who shows us some clouds which do not look particularly menacing.

I have seen the local CBS weather guy get all bollixed up, losing control of his graphics.

I do not watch all that much TV, so I imagine I miss a lot of the inept Ted Baxter type moments.

Recently, I do not remember what I was watching, the inept Wichita Falls CBS guy broke in and could not stop coughing. This went on for several minutes. Highly annoying. During a subsequent interruption he apologized for the previous coughing fits, explaining he had been eating when he was told to go into Weather Drama King mode.

A few weeks ago, I think it was on CBS, the local weather guy broke in, started in with his "warning" and then something happened to what he was trying to show the viewers, which had that guy saying "Oh crap", which really did not seem to me to be a professional TV broadcaster type utterance. Another voice then said "We are returning to regular programming". A few minutes went by and the guy tried again, apologized for the previous foul up and then proceeded with his tornado warnings.

I suspect, given enough time, if I watch enough local Wichita Falls TV, one of these guys will surpass the Dallas WFAA guy's HER BOOB faux pas....

Visiting Raccoon In Wichita River Flooded Lucy Park

This morning I thought it to be a good idea to take a walk in Lucy Park on my way to my final destination by Sheppard Air Force Base.

I thought I had read that the recently flooded Lucy Park was back open, but when I arrived at the main entry I found the gate closed, blocking access, with water across the road a short distance away, but not nearly as much water as the previous flooded visit to Lucy Park.

A local television crew was working on a news segment at the closed entry. I did not stop to give an interview, but continued on to another access point to Lucy Park, that being the way in by the Duck Pond.

From the Duck Pond the road was dry all the way to my regular parking location by the Lucy Park log cabin and pool.

As you can see others also made their way past the flooded zone to Lucy Park locations, like the public pool.

I forgot to mention that flooded photo at the top. This was a short distance from the pool, near the suspension bridge which crosses the Wichita River. As I stood there looking at the flood, suddenly a critter came into view.

A raccoon.

The raccoon was swimming from the fallen tree towards the river. When the raccoon reached the tree you see sticking out of the water it disappeared.

This was my first raccoon encounter this century. The last time I had a raccoon encounter was in Yosemite, at Curry Village, on the night the Cheers TV show finale aired. I don't remember what year that was. 1992 or 1993 seems about right.

The next photo shows more of the entire raccoon scene. The aforementioned fallen tree is on the left, The flooded suspension bridge entry is in the middle.

Continuing on the Circle Trail to the west side of Lucy Park I walked until the trail went under water.

The above scene looks peaceful.

Green, wet and peaceful.

I do not remember the foliage at Lucy Park looking so lushly jungle-like on any previous visit. This must be due to all the vegetation being well hydrated by the copious amounts of rain.

Downtown Wichita Falls Dodging Lightning Bolts With Littlest Big Blue Skyscraper

This morning I had a book or two which needed to be returned to their place of residence, the downtown Wichita Falls Public Library.

So, with the weather outside being only somewhat frightful, what with a few lightning bolts with occasional raindrops, it seemed at the time a good idea to take a walk around downtown Wichita Falls.

It had been a couple years since I had walked by the World's Littlest Skyscraper, which is the towering edifice you see here.

I wonder why Dubai does not try to take the World's Littlest Skyscraper title away from Wichita Falls?

The World's Littlest Skyscraper is close to the Wichita Falls Farmers Market. The market was open today, with a few vendors and few shoppers.

Downtown Wichita Falls has had some aesthetic improvements since I first saw this downtown three years ago.

When one walks around the downtown one sees a lot of vacant buildings, some with what looks like good restoration possibilities.

I don't know if anything, restoration-wise, could be done with the pair of vacant buildings you see above. The open space behind the still standing storefront on the right looked like it could somehow be made into a functional space for some imaginative use. Maybe the building on the left could become a saloon with the open space on the right a beer garden.

Downtown Wichita Falls is an extremely eclectic mix of architectural styles. To my eyes the older buildings look good. The modern buildings not so much. Such as the short skyscraper you see below.

The locals call the above building "Big Blue". This building has been a work in progress as long as I have been in Wichita Falls. The exterior of Big Blue has a lot of issues in dire need of fixing.

From what I have been told this was an older building which was updated. To make the updating cost effective blue cladding was stuck on the old building so as to easily facilitate modern plumbing and wiring changes. This has never seemed like a plausible explanation to me.

Near as I can tell most of the locals like Big Blue. To my new to town eyes this blue building sort of sticks out in an obtrusive eyesore sort of way. Methinks removing the blue cladding would be a real good idea.

There is another attraction near the Wichita Farmers Market. A railroad museum.

The railroad museum has what looks like a graveyard of vintage rail vehicles, from locomotives to passenger cars.

I need to return to downtown Wichita Falls sometime soon and check out the railroad museum and maybe takes some photos of some of the impressive looking old buildings, some with explanatory historical markers.

Hotpepper Haltom Hold'Em Burlesque Revue

Haltom City is a Fort Worth suburb which recently has been enjoying the restoration of the classic Haltom Theater, with the theater hosting a wide variety of performers, which one can enjoy whilst consuming vittles such as cheese sticks, wings, tacos and nachos, along with cooling libations.

This coming Friday, June 7th to be precise, the Haltom Theater is presenting the Haltom Hold'Em Burlesque Revue.

The first time I ever witnessed such a thing was years ago at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver. With the most recent such experience being the Crazy Girls Revue in Las Vegas.

I don't remember at which casino the Crazy Girls did their revue, other than it was on the opposite side of the Las Vegas Strip from Caesar's.

I strongly suspect that the Haltom Hold'Em Burleque Revue will not be quite as risque as those I saw in Vancouver and Vegas.

I have heard it rumored, but have no way to confirm the rumor, that Haltom City's Elsie Hotpepper is the headliner in the Haltom Hold'Em Burlesque Revue, performing Elsie's interpretation of Sally Rand's ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance, which Ms. Rand made famous at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

I can not remember the last time I saw Elsie Hotpepper's interpretation of Sally Rand's fan or bubble dance.

Sadly, I don't think I will be able to make it to Haltom City on Friday for the show....

Anonymous Leads Us To Fort Worth Bridge's Falsework

I know what you might be thinking looking at the photo you see here.

That being thinking that this photo is a look from a new angle, looking at one of the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District bridges, with the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Fort Worth hovering above one of the bridges which may one day connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island.

Well, you would be incorrect if you were thinking this was one of America's Biggest Boondoggle's bridges which have been stuck in slow motion construction mode since 2014, with the current construction completion date some point in the next decade.

What you are looking at is not a Fort Worth bridge in the making, what it is is an elevated track for a Link light rail line heading into a tunnel in a suburb of Seattle. Which would make that part of the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Bellevue you are looking at. The absence of any old buildings in the photo was likely a good clue this was not Fort Worth.

Bellevue is a relatively new town.

There is a good reason this photo was of interest to me. We will get to that particular "falsework" subject later in this blogging, but first I want to make note of the article in the Seattle Times in which this photo appeared.

The article's title is Don’t derail Sound Transit 3, Seattle and is a classic example of the differences I see in a real newspaper, such as the Seattle Times, and the extremely lame reporting I read in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, about similar subjects, such as local public works projects and the ongoing status of those projects.

The subject in this Seattle Times article is the current project status of the Sound Transit 3 part of the ongoing Link light rail construction in the Puget Sound zone.

One does not read any sort of detailed examination of the current stymied status of Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision public works boondoggle, which the public did not approve of via the voting method, unlike how things actually get done in modern America.

Fort Worth's pitiful excuse for a newspaper has never told its readers what exactly are the design problems which have caused the multiple construction halts to these simple little bridges being built over dry land.

Read the entire Don’t derail Sound Transit 3, Seattle for the full experience of the difference between a Star-Telegram article and a Seattle Times article, and also make note of the dozens of cogent comments on the subject in the Seattle Times.

Back to that aforementioned "falseworks" subject mentioned above.

Last week, Wednesday, May 22, 2019 to be precise, I blogged yet again about Fort Worth's bridge boondoggle, and in that blogging I asked a question about those bridges which generated an interesting question, which, when I thought about it, raised more questions.

First the comment, and then my questions...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Tale Of Two Town's Bridges":

"Why are all those vertical pilings required to help hold up the bridge deck, one can not help but wonder?"

Those supports are called falsework.

Wikipedia says that falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support a permanent structure until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself.

_________________

So, apparently that is falsework holding up that Bellevue section of the Link light rail under construction. And that is falsework holding up the road deck of one of Fort Worth's pitiful freeway overpass-like imaginary signature bridges we see above.

That looks like a lot of falsework helping those imaginary "signature" V-piers hold up that road deck.

Falsework seems like an ironically appropriate term to apply to Fort Worth's hapless slow motion Trinity River Vision project.

So, is removing that falsework the source of one of the many delays in bridge building? Are the project engineers not sure those imaginary "signature" V-piers can hold up the road deck?

Without Fort Worth having a real newspaper there is no legitimate journalist finding out what the actual problems are which have caused these simple little bridges to be a construction congestion nightmare for years.

I remember in the previous century when the now long gone Kingdome was being built in Seattle. There was a point in the construction where there was this thing called an "O ring", which all the ribs which made up the dome's roof came together. The design called for the "O ring" to be removed with the roof's concrete ribs then coming together in compression, holding the dome up.

The original construction company was not confident this would work, and balked at pulling the "O ring" until further design analysis indicated it would work as planned. Eventually the original construction company continued to balk, and was replaced by a construction company willing to pull the "O ring".

And it worked.

But, myself, and many others, really never forgot that controversy and any time I was in the Kingdome I would look up at the high point of the ceiling, where those concrete ribs came together and wondered what would happen in a strong earthquake.

I have long wondered regarding what sort of foundation those Fort Worth bridge's V-piers are built upon. I don't remember HUGE amounts of dirt being removed and big foundations being poured.

I have also long wondered how it works to have these little bridges built, and then to dig a ditch under them, without compromising the structural integrity of the bridge.

These are the sort of questions the citizens in a town with a real newspaper would get the answer to.

I can't imagine a town like Fort Worth building anything complicated, like a domed stadium, or a transit tunnel, without the project turning into a hapless boondoggle...

Arlington #1 Fittest Town In America While Fort Worth #88

If you are thinking that whom you are looking at here is Elsie Hotpepper, on the right, and her mom, enjoying the great outdoors at Fort Worth's downtown Water Gardens, well, you would be thinking incorrectly, since I am almost 100% that the Texans in this photo are not Elsie and her mom.

Then again, I have not seen either in over a year.

The size level of people occupying various American towns came to mind recently via an in depth study by the American College of Sports Medicine which used a wide range of various criteria to determine the fitness level of the population populating America's Top 100 towns.

Of course I assumed a Texas town would be at the top of the list, or the bottom. So, I was not too shocked to see Arlington was determined to be the fittest town in America. With Seattle coming in at #2.

Then I took a second look and saw that the Arlington at the #1 spot was the Arlington in Virginia, not the Texas version of Arlington.

The Texas version of Arlington does not have a large enough population to make the Top 100 list, but many other Texas towns were big enough.

Such as Austin, with the Texas capital being the fittest Texas town on the list, at the #42 spot, followed by #44 Plano, #60 Lubbock, #61 Dallas, #72 El Paso, #73 Houston, #76 Garland, #78 Irving, #80 Laredo, #82 San Antonio, #88 Fort Worth and #91 Corpus Christi.

What a shock that Fort Worth is near the bottom of this list. Unfortunately one of the criteria was the percent of a town's population having a city park within a 10 minute walk. Along with the number of parks per capita. Perhaps having too many outhouses also factored in. Along with the majority of Fort Worth's streets having no sidewalk on to which to walk to one of the town's few parks. 

Well, basically Fort Worth did not do well in any of the fitness criteria.

You can read the entire report to see how towns ranked in the Top Ten of various criteria categories, including Bike Score, Best Air Quality, Personal Health Rank & Score, Community/Environment Rank & Score, Exercise, Aerobic Activities, Strengthening Activities, Park/10,000 Residents, Parks Within 10-Minute Walk, Walk or Bike to Work, Use Public Transportation, Walk Score, 2 or More Fruits per Day, 3 or More Vegetables per Day, Farmers Markets.

What a shock. Fort Worth showed up in zero of those lists of the Top Ten in any of the categories.

I remember way back when I first moved to close proximity to Fort Worth it was difficult to adjust to seeing so many people so much bigger than the people I was used to seeing on the west coast.

Soon thereafter I remember reading that many Europeans referred to Americans as the Balloon People. Had I read this whilst still living in Washington I would have thought it rude, and not understood why those Europeans would think such a thing.

I remember flying up to Washington in February of 2004, picked up at Sea-Tac, brought to a gallery in Seattle's Pioneer Square, where I watched the throngs pass by and I memorably remarked that it looked as if everyone has had the air let out of them, so used to, by then, seeing so many plus-sized Texans.

Last October, for the first time since 2002, Big Ed left Texas, well, other than going to Oklahoma, which is Texas-lite. Big Ed rode with me to Arizona. I remember telling him he was going to be surprised at seeing so many deflated people, with so few looking like candidates for one of those "People of Walmart" photo collections, unlike what he was used to seeing in Texas.

Ironically, when people in Arizona saw Big Ed for the first time in years one after another remarked that Texas had made him skinny. Thus began a three week effort to fatten him up.

I would have thought the Arizona towns I have visited in recent years would show up higher on this List of American Cities. However, Chandler where one of my little sisters lives, along with my favorite brother-in-law, is the #68 fittest town. Mesa, where one of my other sisters winters in an RV concentration camp, is #66, fitter than Chandler. Phoenix at #71 and Gilbert at #83 are even less fit, almost as misfit as Fort Worth.

Chandler, Mesa and Gilbert have multiple parks, multiple public swimming pools, miles of paved trails, streets with sidewalks,and plenty of fresh fruit, often free for the picking.

So, I have no idea why those Arizona towns ranked nearly as poorly as Fort Worth, a town with few parks, zero (some claim three) public swimming pools, few streets with sidewalks, and the only fruit I know of free for the picking is maybe prickly pears.

Anyway, read the American College of Sport Medicine Fitness Summary for all its interesting insight...

Final May Wednesday Tornado Storm In Fort Worth

When I got vertical early this morning I thought I would be spending the day in Wichita Falls, hunkered down whilst yet one more thunderstorm blew in to town.

But, around noon I found myself heading southeast on Highway 287, heading to Tarrant Parkway in North Fort Worth.

Rain was already dripping when I headed to D/FW. By the time I got to Decatur the rain had turned copious, with lightning bolts added. But not much wind.

Reaching the Fort Worth outer limits the phones began getting noisy with weather warnings of the tornado danger, take cover sort.

Exiting the 287 pseudo freeway I made a quick stop at the Tarrant Parkway Target. A couple minutes later, leaving the Target, people were standing outside the entry, alarmed by the tornado sirens which had erupted whilst we were inside Target. Rather than making a dash for their vehicles most people just stood there taking photos of the scary looking clouds with their phones.

I opted for the mad dash option.

I ran to my vehicle and continued on, got to my destination, took care of that which brought me outdoors on such an inclement day, and then headed towards the nearby WinCo.

But, before I could get to WinCo what one might refer to as ALL HELL broke loose. Power went out, killing traffic lights. I made it to the Costco parking lot, with Costco a short distance from WinCo.

It was whilst sitting in that Costco parking lot I shot the video you see YouTubed below. We had no way of knowing if a tornado was nearby, or what to do. Shopping carts were blowing by in Wizard of Oz mode, along with multiple litter projectiles.

After several minutes of extreme storming it calmed down a little. So, I made my way to WinCo, which still had power. I was able to get my regular WinCo supplies, such as their grind it yourself peanut butter.

And then it was time to head back towards Wichita Falls. For a few miles it looked like the drive home might be calm. And then, well before Decatur, rain started up, with a thick black wall of clouds ahead, shooting lightning bolts. Soon we were inside that thick black wall, stopping to gas up in Decatur. By the time we reached Bowie regular clouds appeared, soon with more blue, than gray, visible above.

Anyway, I was glad to get back to my home location. I'm getting way too old for this type activity. And below is that aforementioned video...