Move Over New York

The electronic arm of the Dallas Morning News, the DallasNews, ran an article earlier this week about the rapid growth that we are experiencing here in the Metroplex and a side bar article mixed in about the even more expansive growth in Houston.  We are the fourth largest area in the country; New York and New Jersey is third.

Dallas came in at 131.000 in the count period in 2013 to 2014. Houston:156,000 in the same period. When you look at the New York and New Jersey numbers in comparison, they added just 91,000. That's 105,000 plus/minus more above each reaching New York's numbers in both Houston and Dallas. That is 287.67 people per day arriving in each  city of Houston, Dallas, The Woodlands, Arlington.

No wonder vacant land, from single lots to open fields, are under construction. For the past month, I have been counting  houses in the framing mode. The numbers add up more than the fingers on both hands, always!

The new homes on just single lots number more than the fingers on each hand in Dallas. That does not include the 300-500 apartment complexes that are going up en mass and the 8-10 unite condos that are squeezed onto 2 or 3 acres.

DallasMorningNew article

 

Shinola Detroit

If you haven't yet heard about Shinola Detroit, like me, you have missed a lot. It was by accident that I stumbled upon the most amazing shop to open in the Dallas area in sometime. Oh, Uptown has some interesting shops. The upscale malls have their gig as well, but even when you are outside,looking in, the romance of the Shinola Detroit shop draws you in. The gravity pull is a delight because once inside, you are not disappointed. Not even the slightest.

The staff were friendly, warm and welcoming. There wasn't that bottom-line mentality, although with this fairly new start up in major cities, the bottom-line mentality does come into play. The shop is spacious. Floor space is airy and vaulted. The 38-star American Flag, which probably should be in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn hangs respectfully from the second floor to the first floor with only inches to spare. I was informed that the owner is willing to sell the flag to a collector. It should not be a hard sale.

The shop is unique because the products are all made in American and if not made in Detroit, they are at least assembled there. Those familiar with Detroit will recognize the Midtown Cass Corridor near Wayne State University.  Bikes, watches and leather goods seem to make up the collection in the store that I discovered in downtown Plano.It was the bicycles that caught my eye because I am of the generation when those bikes were common place. One of the staff explained the watch and when I ask about the clothing in the one-story room, the explanation was once again delivered with class and dignified explanation. In short, this shop; this concept; this product line; this desire to announce that you were fanning out from the once great, yet declining and mismanaged city that  lost nearly half its original population of over a million proud people and yet stands ready again for greatness, is not only gutsy, its a quality American greatness was built upon. Hip.Hip Hurrah. Hip,Hip Hurrah. Hip,Hip Hurrah, for Shinola Detroit. May you grow and be well rewarded for your courage.

One of the store windows at Shinola Detroit.

Today Is National Ice Cream Day In A Month Of Refletions.

Every July, for a whole lot of years, I reflect back on the past year. What I reflect upon bears the weight of past mistakes as well as decisions from everything from finances and services that I purchase to answering questions like," am I driving enough miles to even keep and maintain an automobile"; especially, being in a city with a rail service as nice as Dallas'.

Overall, each year, my goal is to be a better person than the year before. Seldom, do victories get celebrated. It's just not in my makeup. Mom would tell me over the years that ,"there are those who will vigorously try to claim as their doings the things you do that others like, but they will also be the first to cast stones on you when you celebrate a victory or accomplishment." She was right.

There was a story today about Anderson Cooper selling not one, but both properties on St. George in Quioque, L.I., New York; one with an island, the other without. It glimmers with the words of my mother that I just described. Here's the comparison.

First, there is a "-ish" question of whether he actually lives in the Hampton's. So here you go. If you come in by the front door route he's on Moriches Bay. If you come in by the back door route, he's on Shinnecock Bay. Who actually cares. It's the tip of Long Island and it really doesn't matter one bit. People are so jealous they split hairs. The people with the money don't really care one way or the other and don't split hairs. Frankly, I like their way better. And, Anderson has three plums in his hat straight out the gate! He's a Vanderbilt by blood. His mother is a world renown fashion Queen, He's a Yale grad. Even if the rumors are true that he is a CIA operative in training as a news reporter, He looks like a CIA operative so what?

Many years ago I had a group of friends that lived on Long Island from the easterly borders of Queens to Southampton. The Syosset connection was a steel importer that I purchased from and sold to over the years. The Westbury connection was a warehouse operation, The Levittown connection was a 30 Rock Gems Dealer that taught me how to play cribbage and the Southampton connection was a Contractor Supply guy that shored up all the big-money houses in the Hampton's with steel beams into bedrock! The houses will still blow away in a Nor'easter or Hurricane but at least the foundation will still be there! The Riverhead connection trains dogs. All make up a composit of good as steel New York People over all.

Second, giving up the properties for  nearly 7 million would be hard especially if you loved the water and the trade currents that bring cool summer breezes. On the other hand, moving into the mountains into a Manse that while stately, isn't any thing close to what his grand father's father, railroad magnet Mr. Vanderbilt, built in the mountains in North Carolina. It still remains the largest house ever built in this country. The fact that his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, has a fashion empire in addition to being an heiress, really does not factor into the debate. Anderson has a degree from one of the Ivy League schools. Yale, in fact. I've flow into New Haven, via Bridgeport via Boston Logan . In fact, I still buy my hats from a hat shop in New Haven that has been selling hats from the same store front for over 100 years. Then, I wake up and find myself down in the hold of a ship inspecting my shipment of steel from a European mill. It's all relative. But being in a house c.1906 in the mountains of Connecticut just east of the Appalachian Trail, appeal more to me than being at sea level or slightly above. It's still 100-miles from the city plus a few. You just trade one for the other. The point is, some would trade the other way. As it happens in Anderson's choice, I would have to go along with the mountain property over the sea shore. The crashing of waves gets old after a while. Wind blowing through the trees is music of the Austrian Philharmonic wind section.


Finally, I don't begrudge Anderson Cooper one thing. I see him as another human being that will now be voting in Connecticut or maybe still New York. After all, he lives in a fire house in the City, too! He simply has a few more options than most people and options are a good thing. So in between  here and the last paragraph, I scooped up a big bowl of  Death by Chocolate ice cream. It is National Ice Cream Day, don't forget, and I reflect on that every year as well. It makes no different if it's a Friendly's Ice Cream in New Haven or a Braum's Ice cream in Dallas. I like to reflect back on why I like ice cream every year, too.

Manhattan

I have been reading a lot of history lately. Old History. Big Bang history. Cosmic dust old. Universe old. The most interesting of late has been one of  the many space telescopes view of the back side of a black hole never before seen. For years articles have appeared about the planetary nursery of planets blah blah blah. Of late, the increased space rock watch that is now more of a concern than in the past makes me wonder what scientist have discovered that they are not telling  Now that really worries me. But, the article about black holes where  matter flowing into them is  being called food gets even more frightening  since the discovery of the back side of one actually showing that food being spewed out as it begins to forms new stars is really quite amazing.

 At the same time, I have been reading a lot of futuristic stuff. Like Saturn's moon, Titan is the only other rock that we know about that has flowing liquids. Or, the black hole of our galaxy, The Milky Way, that is 100 times the size of our sun. Or, that there is another galaxy that will collide with our own galaxy in a few million years or so (don't want to be around for that).  You though that  when I said futuristic, I was talking about some action figure of comic books fame.

All this got me to thinking. Serious thinking. How my views of life and goals made, achieved, readjusted or missed have once again changed from the days of my youth, early adulthood, mid-life and currently. When the space race began, going to the moon was a three day trip. Now, the talk of Mars is a three year trip. I'm sorry, but travel time needs to be more speedy.

In the grand scheme of things --and seeing what we see overall as the big picture, most likely is just a view of a pin-head size world that we are aware of-- that does not frighten me as much as I though it might. What really frightens me is the degree of arrogance  display for our 400 years on this side of the Atlantic. When you stop to think that the weekend home of Queen Elizabeth II, Windsor Castle, was first viewed and laid out by her distant relative, William the Conqueror of 1066 fame and that every King and a few Queens since have made significant contributions to that 13 acres of Perpendicular Gothic style buildings, or its parks or twin farms. Windsor Castle will not stand forever. It almost ended with the fire in 1992. The point being is that we will all come and be long gone after what we build and accomplish on this earth. Really, 13,000 years from now, who is really going to care unless they are an anthropologist or archaeologist.  The second point is that life can change in the blink of an eye but only a small (and I mean small) sample of anyone in the future is really going to give a rats ass.

So while be build great architectures on the island or a show house in the Hamptons on yet another island and write and perform the humanities we love and enjoy on an Ivy League Green or an English campus cloister our only hope is somewhere out there in this amazing cosmos, there really is our creator.