The World Is Messed Up!

If you haven't noticed in the age of social media and other light news lately, the world is messed up! It also seems to me that during the course of my lifetime, things have gone from the good-old-days to the terrible-days-we're-in. That's just my observation, mind you, but I'm fairly confident that there are more than just a few out there that feel the same strains that are pulling on society.

What brought this up---you ask?  Well, I'd like to say nothing in particular but as it turns out--- it's every thing in particular. Neighbors against neighbors. Workers against management. Governing bodies against constituents. Political party against political party. Military against military That is, of course, the tip of the iceberg, the blunt end of the sword, the short end of the stick. The Howdy and the Dowdy of it all. Which, saving the best for last is or was the Howdy and the Dowdy. Just yesterday, I said to my self, "I wish I had my digital recorder with me. These drive times could be used in creating a comedy routine."

The things that I see while making my rounds is the point of this. I begin to see things that the average person would not even know was going on or what a parked car could mean in a parking lot. I don't even mean to imply that it is all nefarious. But, in today's world, being cautions and not walk up on something is a much more keen safety awareness than ending up being shot. Having a bit of street smarts is far better than having none.

 Years ago, when I came back to Dallas, I'd walk up to the drugstore to pick up a refill rather than drive less than a mile each way. I enjoyed being out in the fresh air and just taking in the sights and sounds of a big city that I love.  As I came back to my mom's place, I'd see these tennis shoes hanging from the telephone wires. I'd never seen that before. When mom would come home, I'd mention to her about the funniest thing that I saw today. It was my mom who told me what tennis shoes over a telephone cable meant. It blew me away, actually. I remember saying to her, "you got to be kidding me?" Not totally  about the shoes over the wires as much as my mom knowing what it meant more than I did. But she had been an officer of the court and appointed to serve as a probation officer.  It was then that I started paying more attention to things than ever before. Rather late in life, I might add.

The first taste of my awakening was when I came back from Brasil and at Miami's airport when we cleared customs, I saw just how ignorant American's were to the rest of the world. Remember thinking then, also, that "this is not good". As it has turned out, we have gone asleep at the wheel, just like the TexDot guy said to me a couple of years ago when we were talking about the high tech equipment going in on LBJ635. He had said,"The people of Dallas don't even know it's to late, already." Since then, I have observed more examples of what he was talking about and to me, it is frightening. There are people next door (figuratively) that still think that if civil war broke out or some type of martial law invasion would happen, they would still have time to go to the bank or think life is still normal for them. In other words, they are not aware that conditions could be like the Mel Gibson movie, Mad Max.  Not in America!

Meet David. Senior Citizen. Retired from Army at 63

David  kayaks every week for a few hours. Including unloading and loading his kayak onto his trailer and stowing equipment.

David is 85 currently. He is a Legion of Merit holder.

They're Back!

A week or so ago, thoughts turned to the return of the pelicans to the lake. After checking the log from last year, it was noted that the pelicans returned on Columbus Day, the 12th of October.  Also, I had spotted a big blob of white a ways out from Sun Set Bay's dock on the logs that wash up on an ever increasing sandbar. But, it was only today, that I could, for my own satisfaction, confirm that the blob of white was indeed the core group of 16 pelicans, mixed with this years fledglings. The old male that knew the way down to Texas has been the leader the past couple of years, at least. It is my guess that with the cold already setting up north along the Canadian border, the "old man" took the rookies and headed out to claim the lake for another season. The older birds will bring what's left and come on down fairly soon, I would think.

There was snow in Montana last week and Idaho got a 9-inch snow fall already in the boarder towns that have ski lodges. With the trees already turning and dropping leaves here, it has been a general consensus that fall is coming early this year. Even the Farmer's Almanac at the checkout at Lowe's points to a pretty good winter up north. The National Weather Service has also indicated that the Great Lakes were going to have a rather "old fashioned" winter this year. That's cold and snow from early November through May generally. Been there, done that already for a number of years. Some of you will remember reading already this month on this blog where I mentioned the flipping of the leaves on the trees showing up. Our first 50-degree night time temperatures are due next weekend as a fall cold front settles in on us next week.

My doctor's office called  today around noon to tell me that they had messed up on the quantity for a refill and they had just corrected it with the pharmacy. While it wasn't that bad heat and humidity wise, I decided to head out early and swing by the pharmacy and come on in early today. There were pictures to load and to edit. It has been a busy month for pictures and the doctors. Plus, saving on gas as the price begins to fall isn't a bad ideal either. Gas today was at $2.449, down from the $2.599 when the hurricanes were shutting down the refineries in Houston during Harvey's rage.

Plus, as a bonus...meet my new friend that I discovered today. Enjoy

The core of 16 have arrived from up north.

New friend by accident
Beautiful white peacock. Look at the second, more traditional plumage up against the tree trunk in the background.

Big Bird and Little Bird.

My Fav Airlines Pulls Yet Another Rabbit Out of the Hat.

It's no secret that I have long admired the quirky and humorous billboard ads around Love Field. They go up and down Mockingbird Lane on either side of where Cedar Springs becomes Herb Kelleher Way at the main entrance to Love Field. I love humor and I cannot drive down Mockingbird without a chuckle, which I appreciate.

Last year during the holidays, the parking situation at Love was bad. The increased traffic coupled with the renovation and enlargement of the terminal didn't help much. Never-the-less, it became an immediate attention grabber that something had to be done. Quickly, Southwest started their LOVE lots and shuttled employees to the terminal from those lots. Then, they created long term lots at a much cheaper rate to give the parking garages a quicker turnover. In short, the problem was eased a bit quickly.

The aftermath was this: construct a new and larger additional garage. That's why you see the big tower cranes at Love now. In an effort to kinda keep tabs on the Southwest growth in physical plant, Southwest opened a new operations center across Denton Drive from their Corporate Headquarters. That building had not even seen a few paint chips and scratches before the groundbreaking of the new training facility north of the operations center. Well, it was just common sense that new equipment would need to be placed in that center because of the flight training simulators for pilots and a mock-up for flight attendants, too, but then, it became apparent from just general observation that something else was going on in that new, and not yet finished building. When the big holes in the HQ building and the operations center on the second level appeared, it was pretty much an architectural guess that walk ways or sky bridges were in the works because the Love Field Train Station is in between HQ building and the operations center. And when the expressway like support went up in between the operations and new flight training facility, that same guess that would be the support to span the sky walks. Suddenly, there appeared one on the east side of Denton Drive at the end of the corporate HQ building and that sealed the fate of the sky walks suspicion.

The parking garage for the flight training facility is unusual. the normal look of one of those is to see the uneven floors caused by the ramps going up the many levels. That wasn't there. It still needs to be investigated but I would think that either the ramps are in the middle or there is some automated lift. I saw a lot of those in Brasil (yes, in Brazil it is spelled with an s instead of a z). the facility has a back  entrance from Harry Hines Blvd. in the medical research district as well as the main entry point off Denton Drive.

In the meanwhile, things have a way of revealing themselves to those of us that aren't impatient. In time, most questions are answered automatically, albeit but the fine details. Still, the over all picture is always the most important and in photography when you do a close up, most of the time, you will do a wide angle to show the relationship to the subject. That's still true with general observations when trying to figure things out. Which brings me to my point at the end of this flight. All that additional space in the new training facility might be for---get this--- SWA University. How did I come up with that? Simple and using Southwest own words: "Check out these training wheels" that I found parked in an out of the way place. I learned long ago to never fail to check out those kinds of paces for the real taste of business savvy.  I'll keep you posted.

Yes, do check out these SWA University training wheels!

What A ride!

Here's that skywalk hub. Left to Operations. This way to HQ

                        and right background is training facility as it is now getting its sky walk.

Last Weekend of Summer in Downtown Garland

The Marketplace DFW that forms a horseshoe of vendors of farmers & artisans, on the square in downtown Garland, is nearing the end of another season with the last two trip to Garland on October 7th and 21st. The final weekend this year will be in Mesquite on the 28th of October. The schedule alternates one week Garland one week Mesquite each Saturday from April through October.

Usually, there is something that always catches my eye and this week it was several things. The old Library buildings that held the Theater company is now gone and the empty space is a grassed over green space with some interesting outdoor past times. The first thing that caught my eye was the arrangement of colorful slat-back chairs in the center of the green space. I had to try them out! I love those chairs. Many may know them as adirondack's named for the mountains in New England or Cape Cod's beaches. The classic is, of course the white and the red. Some like the cedar stained. But, they are very comfortable and I do enjoy them. These, along with the view, might find me here more often when the cooler fall weather sets in just around the corner. The ping pong table and the corn hole bean bag game boards (there were a set of three) were interesting as well.

When I started my walk around the horseshoe, some of the vendors I recognized from trips past. The thing that I look for is the unusual, the well displayed and organized tables as well, of course, something of a bargain or new source of healthy foods and the like. Then, I go sit down and just observe where the people gravitate toward. All in all, this weeks pick would be a thumbs up to the Wholesome Farms and Gardens of Van Alstyne, Texas. Wholesome Farms and Gardens 

A  blue gingham table cloth covering the table. It reminded me of my paternal grandmother's kitchen table. She had both the red and the blue. The blue was always my favorite. Next, the young man at the booth was polite and knew his product well. I ask a few basic questions and he answered those questions straightforward and articulated his take on the products well. The egg cage was a clever and creative display of fresh eggs and he proudly produced the carton of fresh grass raised free range chicken eggs in brown shell. When I ask about the meats that he had mentioned in his presentation, he immediately produced  packages of fresh ground beef and pork brats frozen and did not hesitate to mention the companies that dressed out their beef and made their brats for them. I ask if they raised the beef themselves and he answered that clearly as well. Yes, they raise their beef on their farm in Van Alstyne and then provided me with a folded 8 1/2 x 11 pamphlet printed on both sides with information on what we discussed and contact information phone number, Email, website and both face book and twitter social media addresses. The well cared-for frozen meats were solidly frozen and when people take care to store there products on the road well, they do the same when producing them as well. That impressed me a lot.

♫ Slat-backs in Fall Colors for relaxing--they ain't for sale! ♫

♫ I like this company! ♫

Chalk Board for Freshness!

Being an old marketing guy...this guy was a winner hands down. With the holidays coming along soon, I have a heads up on some healthy eating of locally grown foodstuff that I already feel comfortable with even before trying it out the first time. As Arnold is so well know for: "I'll be back!"

Shotgun Shells,Tire Donuts, a Virgin Fog Cutter

It almost seems like a scene out of a James Dean movie, doesn't it? I've always said that being an Urban Photographer was the treasure hunt of all treasure hunts. You go looking for one thing and come up with something you never expected to find and that fits like a piece of a puzzle into the whole scheme of things.

Going to the doctor on Tuesday set me back a couple of days. Day before yesterday, I never left the house. It was the last day for a while of low humidity and fall-like temperatures. In short--it was my kind of weather. Then, this Equifax thing jammed up the Internet and consumed time to get nothing but a hold pattern more like a plane circling than waiting for a customer rep. Seldom do I give up, but I also know when to cut my losses (time wise) and I hung up. But, the point is that it was a big waste of time and that threw off my schedule. So, yesterday, I had to get back out and do some shooting. These days of 10 or 15 meager shots just didn't cut it to fulfill my goal. The majority of my portfolio is shot in Spring and Fall. I have tried to increase the Summer and Winter stock but the fact remains that Spring and Fall are my kind of weather and my kind of scenes. However, again, I bring to mind the words of the fictional character on the Golden Girls, Sophia, who always had the cookie cutter answer that never went out of style when she would look directly into the camera and say : "You never know!"  That would apply here because I have really been working this summer to increase the stock of Summer shots that are published and it has been a good summer for me in doing that.

Next week will slow me down again with another doctors appointment. It seems like you never can regain the lost time, even when you try to work harder to make up for the time lost. But, I do enjoy doing what I do. It's a hobby that pays back some of the cost, too. I was reminded a few years back that Urban Photography doesn't always have to be the best shots, too, but that doesn't mean I  don't try to be better with each click of the shutter. The example pointed out that there was  a very important time in American history unmarked of the actual spot where President Kennedy's plane was parked at Love Field. When Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the new President following the death of John F. Kenned, no actual location was ever marked. One reason was because Love Field had been upgraded with runways and taxiways, the tarmac was never marked that day after the Dealey Plaza shooting. And, because of security and other reasons, the general public was not allowed out on the tarmac. There were not a lot of camera shots out side but plenty of the swearing in ceremony aboard Air Force One. As it turned out, there was one local photographer who had an image of the plane that could be used to pinpoint the actual location. Today, there is both a marker on the tarmac and a placard inside the terminal window looking out to the placard on the tarmac. So urban photographers do catch things that most others do not.

This weekend, I plan to go down to Lee Park and shoot the empty base where the Robert E. Lee on horseback statue sat until yesterday afternoon. I had shot the area with candles all around when Tony Romo, then quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys had gotten married. That is another story that I feel some comments coming forward, but the time isn't now. So enjoy the oddity shots with a bit of humor from the past that still rears its head today.

Fog Cutter N528VA cleared to make departure turn onto runway 13R at Love Field. The horizon of the plane is adjusted to cover the line of sight from the tail to the top of the construction cranes, not the horizontal plane of the runway.

Shotgun Shells left on the ground. When as a kid I went bird hunting with my uncle, grandfather,and dad, back in the early 50's they picked up there shells even then. This shows how people today could care less.

Most teenage drivers that lived on the wild side could recall those days of doing these donuts on the pavement. This is atop the new Sylvan Bridge that crosses the Trinity at Trammel Crow Park. It's where the long semi-circular ramp comes into the top to the bridge at a T-intersection where there is lots of room to do crazy things like this. There are cameras there.

A Couple of Images With Some Humor

Some of you have read where I have said before that sometimes, my car takes control and leads me to things that I would have missed otherwise. There  probably isn't anything taking control of my car but me and just driving while being more observant, or my guardian angle is helping me to find these things while I drive, which I don't discount.

Yesterday was another one of those 'on the way to the doctors' days. Afterwards, I would be in no mood to go out shooting. As it turned out, the appointment lasted well into the second hour and the results were not what I had hoped for, although, there is still hope.

The first image was discovered on Sunday. That seems to be the day that I do the most construction boom shots because generally, the work crews are fewer and the congestion around the sites are not as bad, especially when in the downtown and uptown areas. If you have ever been to Dallas, you know already that cows and horses are everywhere. There are statues in bronze of full Mustangs, cattle herds, concrete cows, neon cows, cows on rooftops, cement cows with advertising and Ft. Worth has the nickname "cow town". Go figure. Anyway, looking for cows is not a hobby, but when and if I do, roof tops are the limit....or at least they were until this past Sunday. Low and behold--- sitting on top of a 150' tower crane on the counterweight end stood a full size Texas Longhorn sculpture. I looked at it from several angles and although it is a bit out of range for my glass, I had to get the shot. Now, people cannot call me crazy. It also gave me a heads up to watch for this cow again. I would like to find out more about the reason why it was there in the first place. Of course, every thing has its day and the old adage "when pigs fly" can now move over for "when bulls spin on tower cranes".

The second image was one of those where I drove by, saw the image, turned around and came back to get the shot. While Communion Alters and Tables hold a significant meaning for me, it was still humorous in the context of the setting. It is very much a part of urban art today. Some will see it merely as a junk pile. Others will see it in other lights. One must, without knowing, suggest that it could be a Hurricane flooded church that received help from a congregation here in Dallas or that the congregation here in Dallas simply received a new Communion Alter or Table. Either way, there are probably a few wives or husbands that got a to-do list done with a little reminder of : THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.

The bull is on the counterweight end of the crane over the building.

Urban art with a powerful reminder.

Click on image to enlarge. The bull may also need to be viewed at 50 to 100%

Sometimes Cost Gets In The Way---

But, other times, that cost getting in the way opens new doors. Welcome to our new home!

Over the years, I have not been shy to accepting change. In fact, I have always embraced change. Sometimes, more than at others admittedly, but all-in-all, change is a good thing.

It's been a very long summer for me. It's been one of the hardest summers in nearly a decade and a half. My goal this year was to not only become more creative with new material, but to also increase the number of images that get published. Those that chat with me daily on the road have often heard me say: " Once you created the beast now you must feed it."

 Some 57 years ago, when I pushed down that first shutter button, That beast was created. It  grew over time. Then, one day, when retirement set in, that beast finally reared its head and was more hungry than I had ever anticipated. My instincts should have known because I am a numbers kind of guy. If my goal was to sell 100 acorns this year. I didn't stop until I finally did. Then what ever that number was--next year, I was going to top it. And the following year, I was going to top that number. Over all when I retired, I paced myself for the first couple of year, but then, that Irish-Scottish blood running in my veins began to re-energize me again. Just as it was beginning to stir that need to not sit in a rocking chair anymore, I had a set back with a health issue, then I lost mom.That sidelined me for a bit but it gave me time to think---to focus---(I hate that word in how it is being used today). By the time that I was back to a more normal routine, doing what I loved all along was my guiding light and I picked back up that camera that I had set aside after loosing mom and began to take on that love of photography more seriously than ever before.

The joy. The satisfaction. The love of life. The beauty of nature. The evolution of urban engines continues to drive me until the bitter-sweet end of this life. When ever that may be.But know this: Life is worth every second on this old planet. Faith tells me that it will be even better afterwords. But for now, I look back at my portfolio of some 6,000 published images and I see the world in a much different light. A light of hope. A light of challenges. A light of giving. A light of sharing. A light of eternal salvation. Every single light beams from me when I pick up that camera and a glimpse from the corner of my eye draws me to a setting where the camera takes over and captures that image in the click of a shutter. I still find things in images that I took 16 years ago that I never saw the first time. A picture isn't just an image to look at and awe at. It's a story that is read over and over again and one that you learn life's lessons from. I often think what the bible would be like today if it were a collection of images that covered Genesis to Revelations. Changing how we look at things if we can look back and see things that we never saw the first time would be technology to the max.

So, explore the new pages and know that the taste of discovery is delicious. I'm in the early hours of doing that my self. I still have to relearn how to publish this thing!!

Supermarket Panic Food Fight

Well, the deal with Amazon and Whole Foods appears to be over. Already Amazon has cut prices at Whole Foods. That's old news. But---there appears to be a bit of chaos showing up at supermarkets.
It appears that the grocery industry, including Walmart, either haven't figured out the next move yet, or they are still stunned by the Amazon deal that appears to have caught them off guard.

Yesterday, I went to two Aldi's. The reason for two was that I was out and could pick up dry and non-perishable items on my way to the lake and then get the cold things on the way back home from the other side of the lake. It turned out to be an adventure. I shop Aldi's for the items that are main stays like coffee and crackers. They have the best prices in town on those items. Yes, even better than Walmart, which isn't hard  to do because over the years Walmart is not really that cheap. People seem to think that they are, but if you look at what they are buying, and you know prices, like I do, then you quickly see that those people are really paying through the nose and either don't care or do not do comparative market analysis before they buy.

Aldi's have kept their coffee prices at the lowest from the very beginning here in the states. But, the label change caught my eye. Then, the size of the can. The price was back down to where it had been for years after a small boost upward. So, before making the purchase, I checked out the can. It was less weight than before by three ounces, but still a very hot deal at the listed price. There instant coffee, which I also buy, held at the same price, which is also the lowest price around town. Buy good 8-ounce coffee for under $4.00 is a deal.

When I stopped at the second Aldi's, the eggs were $0.59 a dozen for grade A large. The limit was 6. I loaded 5 dozen into my cart. The expiration date was October 8 and my plans were to boil a dozen and a half for deviled eggs and hard cooked eggs for lunch. Protein and tasty items like eggs are helping with the weight. No, I'm not going to clog my arteries. First, the new reports out give eggs a new life and my test have been super for more than a year. Plus, I like deviled eggs made with mustard. Don't clog your arteries with that mayo stuff!☺.

I stopped at El Rio Grande Latin Market and got two watermelons. The price on those were $1.99 each. And, big, beautiful peaches were $1.29 per pound. Thee made a pound and a third or $0.58 each.

Now, what I learned about the grocery panic this past week.

Kroger's is Retiring the Senior Citizen's Discount on September 5th. It must be their ideal of something funny with the play on words like "Retiring Senior Citizens Discounts" I've been telling my store's manager for months that Kroger was loosing grounds on the price point. Apparently, the managers are being rotated like their prices. Kroger announced new, lower prices. So far, their lower prices are on things that I certainly don't buy. When the manager would try to make a mute point, I didn't hesitate to mention that I can go just down the street. There is Aldi's in three directions, Sprouts in another Fiesta, Albertson's, Tom Thumb and  as well. I have shopped the digital coupons at Tom Thumb and Albertsons the past two months and Winco has blown the socks off the meat prices, frozen and canned goods ET AL.

I used to think that it was expensive to eat healthy. It just takes a bit more planning. It still blows my mind that organic cost more when organic is actually less costly to produce. Yeah, I know. My account can also show me on paper where it cost me more to live without air conditioning than to turn it on. Accounting can do wonders with numbers, but all-in-all, organic is still grown with less cost.

So, back to Aldi's. The eggs were different prices at two different Aldi's and the coffee was at different prices at those same two store. Either pay more for eggs and drink cheaper coffee or drink higher priced  coffee and pay less for eggs. I have not seen that at Aldi's before. I've shopped Aldi's for a long time, too.

Here's a comparison on one item at Kroger's and Aldi's using the senior citizen discount.

Kroger brand saltine crackers $0.99.                  Aldi saltine crackers        $0.79
less senior citizen 10%                .09                   no discount                        0.00
Kroger cost                                  .90                   Aldi cost                            0.79

So, already half my core grocery for September has been spent outside Kroger's

There seems to be some strange things going on in the Aldi, Kroger (Walmart doesn't even figure in because of quality) food fight. Kroger's is saying don't worry about your senior citizen's discounts being retired (there is that play on words at Kroger's again) because of all the 1,000 new lower prices at Kroger's. Already, I see that the discounts that are going away at Krogers will move me on down the street. My first purchase in a grocery store was 65 years ago in a Krogers. It's not that the customers are not loyal. It's the supermarket leaders that are not loyal.I honestly believe that Kroger thought when they started the senior citizens discounts a few years back that seniors were not that tech savvy and would use it that much. Well, they got a shock and now, they want to do away with it. My savings for the year past was $251.00. This year already, I am already at $245.13 for 2017.

Another German Grocery opened its first 10 stores in the U.S. in June. Lidl. I can't wait until they enter the Dallas market. Yesterday, it was like shopping in a European market in the El Rio Grande. The cafe tables were filled and hustling and bustling as I bought my melons and peaches. The days of the old style grocery is coming back with modern technology. The prices are going to drop and keep dropping. The El Rio would be a cultural shock for some. The different smells would scare some because we Americans are spoiled. For me, culture is ever thing and to mingle in such an atmosphere while shopping allows you to get out of that comfort zone, which I learned long ago is not really a comfort zone, it's a spoiled brat zone. I didn't see one person on their cell phones or using their cell phone to scan an isle and it was nice. It was very nice.

09/02/17: edited and added text. Removed the word Walmart in one paragraph where it was redundant.