Happy Holidays From Arizona's Cade Weston

The Happy Holiday card you see here arrived in my mailbox yesterday, on Friday the 13th. I was quite pleased to see this rather happy Happy Holidays card.

In the center of the card we are seeing Cade Weston, the youngest member of the Slotemaker-Jones-Weston clan.

The Cade Weston branch of the SJW clan live in Arizona, the town of Chandler, to be precise.

Cade's parental units are my Favorite Nephew Christopher, usually known as CJ, and one of my two Favorite Neice-in-laws, Carissa.

Time flies by way too fast.

I may be wrong, but I would guess Cade to be not quite two years old. Last I talked to Cade's grandma, my Favorite Sister Jackie, she was having fun tending to Cade, who was having his first walking attempts. 

I assume by now Cade is a skilled walker.

I'm so old I can remember when Cade's grandma first walked. It was a big event at the time.

Cade sure looks just like his dad did when he was a small fry. Cade's dad was such a fun little kid. I have been told Cade also takes after his dad in that being a fun little kid aspect.

Cade's dad is known as CJ, due to CJ being the initials of his first and middle name, Christopher Jay. Cade's middle name is Christopher. 

Cade's one and only uncle, Jeremy, is known as JR, due to his full name, minus the last name, being Jeremy Ryan.

Are we already calling Cade "CC"?

I do not know. I suspect such may be the case...

A Look At Why Fort Worth Is Not One Of The World's Best Cities

In the past week or two I have seen mention made of a list made of the 100 Best Cities in the World.

The first time I saw this mentioned was in the Dallas Observer, which was observing the fact that Dallas ranked only #56, with two Texans towns thought to be better than Dallas, with Houston at #40 and Austin at #53.

The second time I saw this global list mentioned was in the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, online, which began their article with...

Perhaps your city claims one of the best new restaurants, or best overall restaurants in the country. Maybe it was even named one of the best U.S. cities to live in.

But the true test of greatness is on the global scale.

Resonance Consultancy, a real estate and tourism consulting firm, has released a report ranking the top 100 best cities in the world. Three Texas cities earned a spot on the list.

There are more American towns on this list than any other country, with New York at #2, San Francisco at #12, Los Angeles at #14, Chicago at #12, Seattle at #19 and on to many other American cities.

Fort Worth, Texas is not on this list.

Fort Worth is never on any of this type list.

I lived in Fort Worth for a few years before moving to my current Texas location. It did not take long living in Fort Worth to come to the realization that the town had some sort of civic inferiority complex. I assumed this had something to do with being paired with the bigger, more well-known town of Dallas.

That Fort Worth inferiority complex manifested in many ways. Including what I came to call the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Green With Envy Syndrome. So called due to that newspaper repeatedly printing an article about some perfectly ordinary thing, claiming that that perfectly ordinary thing was making towns, far and wide, green with envy.

Yes, I know, this sounds ridiculous, but it happened. Over and over again. The syndrome seemed to cease after it was rendered into an embarrassment.

I remember the worst instance of Fort Worth embarrassing itself was the time some Washington, D.C. lobbying group included Fort Worth in a list of ten American towns determined to be the best at the Urban Village concept.

That time the embarrassment did not come from Star-Telegram hyperbole, it was the city government that embarrassed itself. Initiating a citywide celebration celebrating being so listed by an obscure Washington, D.C. lobbying group.

I am not making this up, it really happened, with celebration central happening at Fort Worth's Gateway Park.

During this celebratory period of time, I happened to be up north, in Tacoma, a town which was also on this list of ten best towns with the Urban Village concept.

I had reason to visit with Tacoma's then Deputy Mayor. I asked him if Tacoma had a citywide celebration after receiving this esteemed honor. He laughed and said, no, we politely thanked them and that was it. Why do you ask, the Deputy Mayor asked?

Because Fort Worth had a citywide celebration when they got the same esteemed honor, I told him.

You are kidding, said the Deputy Mayor. Nope, really happened, said I.

Fort Worth has long had a history of what one might characterize as delusions of grandeur, manifesting in multiple ways.

Like the time a sporting goods store opened in Fort Worth called Cabela's. With Fort Worth touting the belief this store would give Fort Worth the #1 tourist attraction in Texas. Not occurring to anyone, apparently, that suggesting such seemed to indicate Texas was a tad weak in the tourist attraction area, which is definitely not the case.

Texas has many attractive tourist attractions, way more attractive than a sporting goods store. San Antonio's Riverwalk comes to mind, as does Galveston, and Big Bend, and much more.

Within a year the Fort Worth Cabela's was no longer the only Cabela's in Texas. One opened in Buda, down south by Austin. And then another Cabela's opened in the D/FW Metroplex. 

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has never fessed up to being party to the bizarre top tourist attraction in Texas con job.

When I see one of these type lists, listing towns by some criteria, with Fort Worth never being on the list, I can not help but wonder how a long time Fort Worth native, subjected to the local hype and propaganda explains it to themselves.

Fort Worth needs to fix a few problems before it can have any hope of ever being on a list of the best cities on the globe.

Such as, fix Fort Worth's downtown, currently a ghost town on the busiest shopping day of the year, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, a ghost town due to the fact that downtown Fort Worth has no stores of the sort one might do their Christmas shopping in.

Knock of calling a multi-block area of the Fort Worth downtown, Sundance Square. There is no square there. Years after spouting there being something called Sundance Square, a couple parking lots were turned into a sort of square type location, then called Sundance Square Plaza.

This type thing is not the type thing a town wearing its Big City Pants does.

There are two semi-unique attractions in downtown Fort Worth. The Watergardens at the south end of downtown. And Heritage Park at the north end of downtown.

Elsie Hotpepper recently confirmed for me that Heritage Park is still a boarded-up eyesore, a status it has had for over a decade. Which is sort of an adequate metaphor for Fort Worth. A park purporting to celebrate Fort Worth's heritage, doing so by being a messed up eyesore.

And then there is what that Heritage Park eyesore overlooks. Another thing which makes Fort Worth a laughingstock, not worthy of being on any Best Cities listing.

Fort Worth is now in its third decade of a pseudo public works project, originally known as the Trinity River Vision, before morphing, over the years, into the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision.

This Vision purported to see an area in danger of being flooded, even though such had not happened in over half a century, due to flood control levees preventing such. The Vision claimed this to be a vitally needed flood control and economic development scheme, which is so vital it is now limping along in its third decade.

Cities worthy of being considered best in the world do not have these type dawdling, ill-conceived, ineptly implemented projects.

A failed project, currently, after all this time, basically only seeing three little bridges, built over dry land, to connect the Fort Worth mainland to an imaginary island, awaiting a cement lined ditch to go under the bridges carrying diverted Trinity River water.

We could go on with more details regarding Fort Worth's Trinity River Vision Boondoggle, but we won't.

Because it is lunch time...

Return To Endorphins Via The Wichita Bluff Nature Area

The outer world the past couple days has been cloudy and cold.

Real cold.

As in, for instance, yesterday a strong wind had the temperature of 39 feeling like 31.

One degree below freezing.

So, yesterday, weather wimp that I be, I did not venture into the outer world for my regular endorphin inducing aerobic activity.

Til today.

A clear blue sky, and zero wind, had today's hiking time temperature of 54 degrees really feeling like 57 degrees.

Relatively balmy, compared to yesterday.

The photo documentation you see above is a look, looking northwest, soon after entering the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, via the Circle Trail, from the Wichita Bluff Nature Area western entry.

The next few days are forecast to be similar to today. This alleviates, for now, my SAD Seasonally Affected Disorder...

Microsoft Takes Me Back To An Enchanted Rock

The chilly photo you see here showed up this Sunday morning in my email, a Microsoft OneDrive Memory from this Day.

That which you see behind me, in the photo, is known as Enchanted Rock. One of the most scenic locations in Texas.

Enchanted Rock is located in Texas Hill Country, a few miles north of Fredericksburg.

I do not remember what winter month it was I first visited Enchanted Rock. It may have been in December. I do remember my second visit, a couple years later, was over Easter weekend, with Enchanted Rock being quite crowded.

Enchanted Rock is in a Texas state park known as Enchanted Rock State Natural Area. 

Natives residing in the Enchanted Rock zone, back when undocumented aliens began invading the area, thought the rock to be enchanted by spooky spirits. Thought thusly because of the weird noises the rock made. 

Modern science of the geology sort came along many years later to explain that the weird noises were made by contracting and expanding granite fissures in the rock, occurring during extreme heating and cooling events.

I have been on Enchanted Rock when it was cold and when it was not cold and have not heard any weird noises.

The hike to the summit of Enchanted Rock is not too difficult. There is no trail taking you to the top. You just sort of make you own route.

I would like to make that trek to the top of Enchanted Rock a third time. It is only a few hundred miles to the south of my current location...

Do Not Let Your Texas Deviance Thrash Pecan Trees

I saw the sign you see here, yesterday, in Hamilton Park, across the street from the area I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

I have seen many a pecan picker picking pecans off the ground, in both Lucy Park and at Sikes Lake.

I have not seen any pecan pickers picking at Hamilton Park.

I do not go to Hamilton Park too often, which is likely why I have seen no pecan pickers picking there.

Hamilton Park does not have many trees. I assume some of the few must be pecan trees.

It seems like a lot of bother to gather up pecans, from the ground, then process them by whatever means one must. Shelling the pecans, then roasting them, I presume.

The result of the effort must be worth it, judging by all the pecan pickers I have seen picking.

As for this prohibition against thrashing a pecan tree, I do not know what that means. Shaking the tree to shake loose pecans? Pecan trees are not small. It would seem to be not too easy to shake a pecan tree.

And why does the sign, at the upper right, say, TEXAS DEVIANCE?

Possible Wichita Falls Great Christmas Light Fight Contender

Last year Wichita Falls was the location of the winner of a contest known as The Great Christmas Light Fight. If I remember right, the first-place prize was $50,000.

No, above you are not looking at this year's version of last year's Great Christmas Light Fight. 

The Great Christmas Display you are seeing here is located on Hamilton Road, across the street from Hamilton Park, in the neighborhood I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

I do not know if this Christmas Light display on Hamilton Road is accompanied with music, like last year's winner was.

I suspect if this house on Hamilton Road enters this year's Great Christmas Light Fight it will be in the running for the top prize.

I need to point out that my photo documentation was only able to capture a fraction of this entire Christmas display...

Day Three Wichita Bluff High Speed Hill Hiking Calorie Burning

Day three, on this fourth day of December, back on the Wichita Bluffs, hiking the Circle Trail into the Wichita Bluff Nature Area from the west.

As you can see, via the view from the Wichita Bluff summit, looking east at the stunning skyline of beautiful downtown Wichita Falls, clouds have obliterated the clear blue sky which had been the norm for several days.

My regimen of amping up the burning of calories, via high-speed hill hiking, seems to be working. I have made note of some shrinkage of the poundage gained from excessive Thanksgiving food consumption, consumption which went on for more days than just the Thanksgiving Thursday.

A lot of people seem to be currently enjoying getting exercise on the Bluffs, which is made much more pleasant when the temperature is not in the 100-degree zone, which happens way too often during the period of time known as Summer...

Back Burning Calories On The Wichita Bluffs

It was back to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I ventured on this third day of December.

Yesterday I accessed the Bluffs from the west, today I accessed the Bluffs from the east.

Accessing the Bluffs from the east, the Circle Trail follows the Wichita River, til it doesn't.

Which would make that the Wichita River you see beyond the stand of giant weeds.

Hiking the Bluffs two days in a row is part of a campaign to shed the poundage gained by excessive calorie consumption during the Thanksgiving period of excessive calorie consumption.

Along with burning calories the high-speed aerobic Bluff hiking causes a lot of endorphins to get released, which is always a pleasant thing to experience.

I have about three weeks to shrink enough to fit into a tuxedo type suit. I do not know if I can make that happen. But, I shall try my best...

Perfect December Hiking Weather On The Wichita Bluffs

It was to the Wichita Bluff Nature Area I ventured on this second day of December, to hike the Circle Trail to the Bluff Summit's Picnic Pavilion.

As you can see there is nary a cloud blotting the clear blue sky.

Upon arrival at the Bluff I realized I was overdressed, as the outer world was not feeling as cold as I thought it to be before exiting my climate controlled zone. 

So, I shed the gloves and hooded sweatshirt and found the temperature to be totally pleasant with only a t-shirt being my upper outerwear.

As I sit here typing I have been hearing the tornado sirens blaring. It has been a while since I have heard the regular Monday tornado siren test. Why? I do not know. The sirens are too loud not to notice.

Due to the recent overnight below freezing temperatures many more of the leaves in the trees have gone into color change mode than prior to the freezing. Such as the tree you see above, located near the Bluff's summit.

Along with the changing color the fall falling of the leaves has begun, leaving the ground carpeted with leaves, at some locations, something I experienced a lot a couple days ago hiking the Lucy Park backwoods jungle.

Leaves falling to the ground is different in Texas than what I used to experience in Western Washington.

In Texas the leaves dry up and disintegrate. In Western Washington the leaves would slowly decompose, turning slippery and messy. 

The annual leaf cleanup at my Washington abode was not a pleasant task. But, had to be done, or the roof drains would get clogged...

2024 Texas Christmas Decorations Complete

It took a lot of tiring effort, but, eventually, on this first day of December, I got my Christmas decorations fully installed.

As has been the case for a long time, a brown ceramic cactus is my Christmas tree. 

The Christmas Camel came from my Grandma Vera.

The Christmas Stocking, hanging off the Christmas Camel, was a crocheted production of my Grandma Slotemaker.

I suspect it would please both my Grandmas to know their crafty works are my Christmas decorations, well into the 21st century.

I do not remember, for sure, where I got the Christmas Cactus. My best guess is it came from Wall Drug Store in South Dakota. I bought a lot of stuff at Wall Drug Store.