One would have been on a suicide mission to go anywhere near White Rock Lake today. Rethinking that---it's a two-day affair. The half marathon and full marathon are tomorrow. Today was a day for all the other stuff like the walks etc..It was never more than 40-44 degrees the entire day with a wind and a heavy drizzle that just did not let up. Of course, my blood has become thin again but it was down right cold and I dressed in Great Lakes layers! If you want to stay warm in the cold, you learn quickly what the secret to that is and its dressing in layers. So, you may still look like the Michelin man, but you don't feel as bad as you look! And, you are warm. Imagine that!
I did see one guy out with no jacket...just a long sleeve shirt. Rugged or less smart than most who will not go out like that. And---it's a two-way street. I found out many years later that my neighbors were talking bids on how early they would see me out in shorts or how late in the year before I stopped wearing them.
I've been on the beach in South Carolina in shorts and a wind breaker during almost every month of winter. I don't have a picture to prove it but one year when I was down there, I was on the beach that was snow covered in my shorts and a wind breaker. So, here in Texas, its almost the same location on the horizontal plane as South Carolina. They get a trade current that comes close in to shore with warm water and snow can be gone by noon and the tennis courts are full in the afternoon.
So, it's not a big deal until you get to be a fossil like me taking blood thinners and the like. Then, even here, the cold begins to feel cold. I get a lot of looks when I go out sometimes. I just say I'm from the Great Lakes and all is well! It would be a different story if they knew that I was from the South originally. Sometimes, it is just better to make the declaration and keep moving.
The second suicide mission would be to go anywhere near North Park Center, the creation years ago by Stanley Marcus. Traditionally, one could sit through the changes of a traffic light for at least three full cycles. Today, it was most noticeable that there were entire lanes that only had one or two cars in them at the lights and I got through the intersections on no more than two cycles at the worse. It hit me while I'm sitting there in traffic that e-commerce has this year finally made some dent in the number of people shopping brick and mortar. However, like me, there are those die-hearts that like going to Stanley Marcus's flagship store and mall build for that store--- Neiman Marcus, or Nordstrom's or Macy's. The Galleria was the next stop and it garages were filled to the max. Premier shopping at either place. But, as stated, I do believe that the foot traffic will be down this year being replaced by e-commerce.
All the while the heavy drizzle continued to fall. So, on the way home, I cut through a couple of neighborhoods looking for a street plastered with wet leaves-- the making of a great car sled.
What I found was rather pretty.
I did see one guy out with no jacket...just a long sleeve shirt. Rugged or less smart than most who will not go out like that. And---it's a two-way street. I found out many years later that my neighbors were talking bids on how early they would see me out in shorts or how late in the year before I stopped wearing them.
I've been on the beach in South Carolina in shorts and a wind breaker during almost every month of winter. I don't have a picture to prove it but one year when I was down there, I was on the beach that was snow covered in my shorts and a wind breaker. So, here in Texas, its almost the same location on the horizontal plane as South Carolina. They get a trade current that comes close in to shore with warm water and snow can be gone by noon and the tennis courts are full in the afternoon.
So, it's not a big deal until you get to be a fossil like me taking blood thinners and the like. Then, even here, the cold begins to feel cold. I get a lot of looks when I go out sometimes. I just say I'm from the Great Lakes and all is well! It would be a different story if they knew that I was from the South originally. Sometimes, it is just better to make the declaration and keep moving.
The second suicide mission would be to go anywhere near North Park Center, the creation years ago by Stanley Marcus. Traditionally, one could sit through the changes of a traffic light for at least three full cycles. Today, it was most noticeable that there were entire lanes that only had one or two cars in them at the lights and I got through the intersections on no more than two cycles at the worse. It hit me while I'm sitting there in traffic that e-commerce has this year finally made some dent in the number of people shopping brick and mortar. However, like me, there are those die-hearts that like going to Stanley Marcus's flagship store and mall build for that store--- Neiman Marcus, or Nordstrom's or Macy's. The Galleria was the next stop and it garages were filled to the max. Premier shopping at either place. But, as stated, I do believe that the foot traffic will be down this year being replaced by e-commerce.
All the while the heavy drizzle continued to fall. So, on the way home, I cut through a couple of neighborhoods looking for a street plastered with wet leaves-- the making of a great car sled.
What I found was rather pretty.
 |
| wet and slick |
 |
| spared by the car tires so far |
 |
| Some yards were completely free of leaves as the landscape companies had already departed. Other, looked like this and actually--- this is what I set out to find. I love leaves on a lawn in the fall. I don't get the smell of burning leaves here---just the smell every where of BBQ cooking city wide!!!! I'd rather have the leaves burning in the fall. |
