Carrollton Festival at the Switchyard----

 was street to street people, vendors and rides. The size from last year was a quadruple balloon in size. 

The weather was great. The sunshine was fantastic and it was a town square of lawn sitters around the gazebo. The stage area had not only music but dancers included. Carrollton police table had old-fashion suckers that I have loved since first touring the

Spangler Candy Company's facility in Toledo, Ohio. It was fantastic, too. Even the fireman at the table said that he liked them more than any other he had tasted. 

 

Day of the Dead Festival is Coming Up on November 2nd.

 There is a bit of a history lesson and religious festivals in different cultures. Growing up, I had always thought that the celebration was on the day after Halloween. But, later on in life, I discovered that it actually on November 2nd each year. The confusion that arose comes from the close association to Halloween and All Saints Day on November 1st.

It goes like this:

October 31st is actually, All Hallows Eve

November 1st is Day of the Children and All Saints Day . 

November 2nd. Day of the Dead Festival

It was an honor for my business host to take me along to his own families graves out side Mexico City. It was an honor for me to be ask to come celebrate with his decease family members and his own family celebration. I am better for the experience overall and my host honored me by bring me along to the celebration for his family on the Day of the Dead. 

Denton, Texas

 I rode the A-Train from DART's light rail Green Line to Frankfort and then caught the A-Train to Denton.

My trip to Denton to Cartwright's for lunch and my second ride on the A-train was an update on how much downtown Denton has changed. The trip was one of the enjoyable trips this past summer.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of me almost getting blown away in a tornado (again!)

 Second year anniversary and some of the businesses and homes, churches and schools have not all been rebuilt. The shopping centers are making great strides, of course. St. Mark's School made way quickly to rebuild. Thank goodness, it is a premier school. Yesterday, Dallas County School Supertendent Dr.Michael Hinojosa,said it best: you look at the school and they are doing fine, leave them along. If you look at another school and they are having trouble, you give them lots of L-O-V-E! 

North Haven Garden Center was destroyed, re built and was hit again by another tornado the following year. It's always been a special kind of place for me in that Mom loved that place. It was only a few blocks from her neighborhood and I had drive back in the old neighborhood just a week before the tornado struck. It was in the patch of the tornado that was on the ground through north Dallas for 36 minutes. There were 9 tornadoes that day in north Texas. 

 

                                               Home Depot Destroyed and since been rebuilt

                                                   Shopping Center Preston and Royal

Just prior to this house being hit,   my front door blew open. As I got up to close it, I could see the funnel cloud. It crossed the street at my corner.  This house had about 4 minutes before being hit.

Seeing the pictures from the space station showed the path like a scar on the earth---which it was. 

Here in Texas we have two major tornado seasons. One in the spring and again in the fall. Although, tornados can strike any time of the year. Several years ago the Christmas tornados hit Rockwall. That year there were a total of 40 tornadoes. The average hovers some where around 20-25 I believe hearing.

Fire Danger Increases For Texas

 

The National Interagency Fire Center has issued its prediction for increased fire danger across the U S. The link above is for a view of the map. Not only is it helpful, it's also very interesting because it uses the NOAA's satellites. Stay Informed!! In these times, it is paramount. 

Fire Danger Maps

When the page opens, look to the right column that says: In the spotlight. Scroll down to Outlook and click. That will open up a series of U S maps.

 

It's Bound To Have Happened

Up until yesterday, there had only been one day of 100 degree temps in the Dallas Metroplex this year. For the hottest time of the year for us (last two weeks of July and first two weeks of August) that is a good thing. Today, brought in the second of those 100's and for the next 7 days, it will be 100,102,103, with heat indices of 105 to 110 (That is just bite the bullet and get through it) .

The way we handle that is like most people of Australia---you close up the house and stay inside until after sunset, then you venture out. The only problem this year is that the over night lows are stuck at 80-81 degrees F. Not bad, but, with dew points in the 70s it's still feels like 100 at 10 o'clock. That heat index is a killer, especially from 105 to 110 degrees F and the weather service has posted warnings.

That big High is moving back over us for the weekend and the hottest days of the summer will rule this weekend before it slides on out of here. It has blocked the Jet Stream and all the storms that can bring rain and cooler temps is running all across the Great Lakes latitudes.

This morning, I made one lap of the lake and birds and butterflies were trying to stay cool and a couple of ducks were fishing under the docks of the marinas where it was cool shade. On the lap out of the lake, it was a quick stop at Aldi's for some Moose track ice cream and a water melon (my second of the season). So, it's inbound and down while this heat cooks every thing from tires to pavement. The water trucks were out watering down the runways at DFW to keep them cooler. When plane tires hit that 140 degree surface at 135-50 MPH, rubber is left on the runways in greater amounts and besides that, the plane weights and hot surfaces can cause buckles that can shut down runways. Therefore, spraying water on the runways is not a waste of water by any means. It is something that must be done. I watched the web cam of the the 18's being sprayed as I cooled down in the AC with an ice cooled drink of water in a glass bottle that I keep chilled in the freezer. It makes a difference on the length ice cubes stay solid in the glass.

It looks cool.

He seems cool.

His first summer in Texas

The Pop-Up Store Treasure Truck at Amazon Rolling Through Town

It looked like a carnival in the parking lot of the old Buckingham Mall at N.Plano Road and Belt Line Road. It took going through the light, changing lanes, turning into the strip shopping center, coming out at the light on N. Plano a block farther down, crossing into the parameter road that goes around what is left of the Buckingham Mall, where I could come back into the part of the parking lot where the Treasure Truck was parked. It took a lots of maneuvering to get there, but it was well worth the effort.

Visibility was at 2 miles and the rain had just begun

The setup

The product of the day! Thanks!

The Treasure Truck .  Text "Truck" to 24193 to get offer-Day Notifications. # treasuretruck

Click on anyone of the images to enlarge all three images. Then, chlicking on the image will adance to the next image.  

One Pelican Struck By Car on Garland Road Bridge

This morning, on the east side of the 78 Garland Road bridge at the dam, one of the big American White Pelicans was struck by a car. Seeing it on the roadway was unfortunate. When we share the park, it is also with the wildlife.

Yesterdays Rains Runoff.

In one of these images, after closer inspection, it looks as if a dog is on the island.

Web Engineer

Original Hypermart USA Disappearing By The Truck Loads

Most have not noticed that the car agency that sat at the corner of  Shiloh and Garland Road at McCree was replaced by a big flower planter  with the City of Garland Logo on the side. Nor, if they did notice, most did not know that Garland has been planning to make it the Gateway to the City at LBJ 635 although there are no service roads on that stretch of 635 at the moment.

But, that is about to change with the project to widen LBJ from Interstate 20 to where the High 5 had ended, a billion dollar plus re-due for LBJ's third section, as the I-35 stretch to the west side of the High 5 has just completed. It's been a big debate over toll lanes and the final plan promises no toll lanes on that stretch of 635. That puts Garlands Gateway Project front and center.

In the mean while by the by, in May,2008, Walmart Stores closed the forerunner to the Super Center that had been built as an experimental store and called Hypermart USA. That store today is considered to be the store that fostered the rise of the Super Centers for the retail giant. It was a 26-acre plot of land with a store that covered inside, five and one third acres of sales floor space. Sitting vacant for 12 years, the building began to fall into disrepair like all buildings that die on the vine...they wilt away and are  reclaimed by nature if someone doesn't step in and change their demise. Already, weeds and grass were filling cracks in the parking lot by nearly two feet in some places.

The City of Garland purchased the building from Walmart for a little less than $7 million last year and Walmart had to demolish the structure. That officially began this week with a Garland City Council member slinging the first strike with a 12-pound sledge hammer followed by a track back hole typically used to level structures one would not think that they could The process is scheduled to take about 5 weeks to complete.

Garland will develop the property in relationship to their planned Gateway Project. It was a "do it now or miss the opportunity" kind of thing. Ironically, that city council member that got in the first strike with his sledge, had run for the city council post specifically because of the elephant eye sore that covered the 26 acre track of land.

There are two arches across the front and two even larger at each end of the building.

The destroyer following the escort.

The job begins here as the red tin roof tumbles in 20 foot sections

Far Time More Than I Care To Remember

--- this same thing has happened. One weekend last winter when it was cold and gray and rather miserable, I started at the beginning of my archive and started scanning through my images. When I found one that was not longer there physically, I'd say, "that's gone now!" and would hash mark a talley of images that I had taken that can only be archive files and memories now.

Sunday, I found yet another one.

This is the old Casablanca Restaurant. The number of breakfast meals eaten there, let alone the number of cups of coffee consumed there are uncountable. My friend, Malek had two restaurants in the downtown area, but I liked this one because of the atmosphere. As recent as July 8th while just ending my period of Annual Mourning I had photographed the new paint and colorful windows that had been done not so long ago. Now, I have these images to remember how life moves onward and time waits for no man.

This was infront and along side the old and new Sheds at Dallas Farmer's Market.My time eating there was prior to the destruction, rebuilding and renovation of the old farmers market.

 The old Casablanca Restaurant.

copyright all rights reserved dallaspaparazzo.com

 This image is available on our site at Alamy. Use the block Black A link and when it opens click above the search bar where it says dallaspaparazzo and search "colorful windows".

Still Amazed Today

This is not an Air France but it is under the Emirates Paint Scheme an A-380 (same type)

This is also an A-380 operated by Qantas and still not an Air France but again, under the paint scheme of Qantas the air frame is still an A-380 my friend! Big! And. it was certainly not around in mid 1950s when I spent those lazy summer days looking up at air plane's contrails, which I still do today! Thank you very much!

My grandmother's were born at a time when the telegraph  (the electromagnetic one of 1832) invented by Samuel Morse; the telephone of Alexander Graham Bell's doings (1839) were all but 50 years old. At the time of my maternal grandmother's death, she had witnessed men walking on the moon. She saw the first cars made by Henry Ford in 1908 as a young girl and I remember when my paternal grandmother and grandfather got their first Westinghouse refrigerator and both my grandparents had telephones in their houses. Although, my maternal grandparents lived next to their grocery store seperated by a wall and a doorway and had a wall handcrank phone I wished that I had today.  I also remember my mom and dad getting our first television in 1952 and we didn't get a color set until 1962. I can remember using the old Translux teletype and getting a newer one with a CPU monitor. It took a half day to have my first cell phone installed in my car's trunk and the hand held portables were the size of the first walkie talkies. Big! I recall my optomologist encouring me to get contact lens when they first came out. I wore them for a staggering 44 years afterwards! I can still see a hawk or an airplane miles away from the cornea molding.

But, most of all, as a young boy, I remember the long hot summers spent sprawled out on the grassy hilltop up the hill one lot from our recently built brick house watching the contrails of jet aircraft (then, not much older than I was at the time) wondering where they were going. I still look up today at jet contrails and wonder where those jets are going, although I do know a bit more about cross-country vectoring today than I did then.

This morning, while checking the images that I had running on the live news feeds from the weekend, I ran across an image from a photographer in Essex ,England, UK. It was an image of a big Airbus A-380's contrail flying over Essex in Southeast England in one of those infamous vectors that airplanes fly. As was reported, the man knew that the A-380 was from Charles deGaulle/Roissy Airport in Paris going to LA here in the states. The contrails were beautiful against a deep blue sky and it reminded me of those summer days as a kid stretched out on that hilltop looking at contrails and wondering were they were going.

Then, it hit me, that today, with the technology at hand, I could look up that flight and see were it was before it even landed. Which I did. That is absolutely amazing for us mortal humans. Yeah, I know. I am reminded all the time that the government has stuff that would rock your socks off, blah blah blah,blah-blah.

Here is the scoop if anyone wants to go look at the live news feed image then get on flightawares or flight radar and  follow what's left of the flight before it lands. I just think it is stunning to see that image and sit down at the computer and find where in the world it is withing a 7-minute delay and where it is going. After all, it is an A-380 and that within and of itself is astonishing.

The images (there are 2) GNF9JX-RM and GNF9kl-RM by Timothy Smith on Alamy.com, click on the live news feed in the search box (images) and scroll down to the live news feed.Sorry, they will roll off the cycle in 48-hours. You can purchase the image while there if you so desire. Mr. Smith would be happy, I'm sure. I would be if my image was purchased from a blog post like this. ☺♪☺♪♫

The flight is that of Air France #66 that left Charles de Gaulle/Roissy at 10:30a.m. CEST en route to Los Angeles International/LAX with arrival due at 12:06pmPDT 30th August 2016. It is a daily flight. That is why they call it scheduled airlines ♪☺☺♪.

The flight was at 40,000 feet at 490kts air speed or just call it .85mock. Anything over 600 MPH is pegged as mock speed anyway. Or so, I am told by those who know such things and remind me that MPH is a thing of the past. AARGH!!!!

So, not only is it amazing that one can figure out these things....it is most amazing that now, I have proven that a dream of a child's wondering of where that contrail is going can know be known thanks to a guy totally unknown to me on a different continent than myself, taking a picture of an airplanes contrail and having the know how to post it on a live news feed that I use myself. And where now I can this 30th August 2016 finally answer that question and dream of my childhood many years ago.

I must say, however, that not knowing where that plane I watched as a child was going 60 years ago was awesome then, as it still is today, but knowing today is still a childhood dream as it was then.That will never change and I am glad of that fact.

 

The Massai Culture Right Here In Dallas

Generally, there is a plethora of places from which ideals can be drawn. My ideal well has always been full and seldom sees a drought. Those moments of inspiration do come from that thought well so to speak. They always have. Mom, was creative like that and mine comes from here side of the family tree. Today, opening the door and stepping outside after all the rain and flooding, big puffy billowing clouds against a blue sky awaited me. In just that instant, my thoughts raced ahead of my shooting list to the Dallas High 5.

Dallas High 5
For one, the High 5 is a very unusual forest of concrete pilings that stretches out beyond the project itself and travels west for about 11-miles to another massive interchange of roadways at LBJ Freeway and IH-35E. Of course, the High 5 was built first in 2001 to unstress the high volume of traffic on the LBJ and U.S. Highway 75, Central Expressway.The ground zero point was the old tight-wound traditional 1950s cloverleaf. Then, boom! This giant piling came jetting out the center of that clover leaf and the High 5 was born for Dallas traffic commuters. To this day, my GPS can pinpoint that actual piling and in my head, the vision of  all that came after it is like a Red Box movie.

My first stop was in the mid cross over in front of Texas Instrument's North Campus complex. There is an office complex there where generally Saturdays will find very light use of the parking lot and having inquired with security a long way back if using one of the  out-of-the-way parking spaces would be okay. So, the word was, yes, and then the security guy added, if you need to use it sometime in the future, the area were you described would be okay unless there was a fire or police emergency in the building. Thanking him, I filed that away until today.

Meeting the Maasai Grill people
Moving on, down to the heart of the High 5. Ground Zero..The Center of the Mix. Or, as has been noted at the Starbucks from time-to-time, where the Red Light Camera winks way to much at LBJ and Coit Road. So just before getting to that intersection, a new sign grabbed my attention. Pulling into the parking lot and going inside, I ask a gentleman if I could park there for about 15 minutes or so. Explaining that I needed to take a few pictures of the High 5 and just don't have anyplace to park. He said yes and after wards, I went back inside to thank him and showed him a few pictures of his business that I had taken. It was the high point of my the day.

 He and the lady behind the counter  are native Kenyan people. They are Maasai people. They are Maasai culture. Mom taught me about cloth years ago and I have long admired the color of the cloth that the Maasai people wear.  The restaurant, bar and lounges name was inspired from the Maasai people. Their culture is current and up-to-date. The Tribe in Kenya are well known and associated with Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are known in the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania for more than 150 years as cattle hearding people. It is to the ancestorial Tribe as my Genesis 1:1 beginning is to me.

The menu will feature authentic Kenyan Food, music and dance.

The Menu
On the menu is samosas, chapatti's goat meat, ugali, pilau and much more are offered. They are located on the north side of the west bound service road between SB Central at LBJ and WB service road at Coit. The address is 8059 LBJ Freeway. Go enjoy  authentic Kenyan Maasai food.

Link to a history and culture
Maasai Tribe Information

This family was so nice. They will enjoy greeting you to sample their Kenyan culture

The rock garden greets you as you make your way to the door.

See that truck in the Express lane? The restaurant is immediately on the left on the service road WB. 8059 LBJ at Coit

That pole is pointing to 8059.

Final Totals from Rain Event

With the last reporting of .03 inches of rainfall at the 06:53 reporting by the National Weather Service at Dallas/Ft.Worth International Airport, the keeper of the official rain gage for the Metroplex, here is a breakdown by the 6-hour reporting totals.:

October 22 18:53-------------0.39-inches
October 23 00:53-------------2.18-inches
October 23 06.53-------------0.33-inches
October 23 12:53-------------1.70-inches
October 23 18:53-------------0.16-inches
October 24 00:53-------------1.46-inches
October 24 06:53-------------1.33-inches
October 24 12:53-------------0.09-inches
October 25 06:63-------------0.03-inches

Total rainfall 10-22-to 25
06:53 reporting hour is         7.67-inches

NB-- notice that there is no reported rain fall at the October 24 at 18:53 or at 00:53 on the 25th. No rain fell at those reported hours but fell after the 00:53 hours reporting. That is the marked decline of the storms  rain fall as the cold front moved across and the moisture from Tropical Depression Patricia was pushed farther south toward the Gulf and the Houston area.

October is traditionally the wettest month in the Metroplex. Up until this time we had no rain but a recorded trace for October. The past three days was everything it had been hyped to be as you can see from the totals.

Double that and then some just south of us  and totals were showing up as 17.67-inches in Corsicana, Texas. The rushing waters washed a BNSF train of gondola cars right off the tracks and put it on its side.

No rain is forecast until this coming week-end. Oh! Boy!

Update on the Rain Totals

At the 12:53 update at Dallas/Ft.Worth International, 4.60 inches have been recorded. Currently, we are in a dry period wave. That just means there is much more to come tonight, tomorrow and Sunday.
Hurricane Patricia, the largest Hurricane ever recorded with winds at 200 MPH and a Barometer registering at 25.97, the lowest pressure ever recorded due to move inland. It will then cross the mountains of Mexico and get picked up by the jet stream, bringing the moisture into Texas. It's gonna be a weekend under the roof.

Total Support of Dallas' Park System Has Now Been Downgraged.

Dallas wrangled the voters a couple of times to get their way-- their way being $31.8 M in cash and an agreement  to get $2M more annually in perpetuity-- in a deal with Rowlett and City Council over tax revenues from the sale of Elgin B. Robertson Park. Two trips to the ballot box got harder to figure out what was really going down with each trip, even after doing the research. At some point it really is easier to believe in the old adage: Don't fight city hall, but my total support of Dallas will be downgraded after this slight of hand. When I saw the first Rowlett rezoning signs I knew the city had done their magic trick.There's another phrase  that could be used, but I was raised with more tact than that.

Accepting the fact that there will be no more photos of a migrating snowy owl; no more watching the guy exercise his 12 foot Python in the open field; no more fantastic shots of sailboarders laying out their chute lines in those grassy fields, is a big disappointment for sure. The increase usage of White Rock Lake has increased lately, but White Rock does not have the open expanse of water that Lake Ray Hubbard has and was accessible as a city park for boaters and fishermen or just a fantastic view of the lake by visitors that pulled off I-30 for a break.

Last week,while making  a trip out to see what was happening a line of cars  and mine were meet with fences. Earlier trips just yielded the re-zoning changes which announced the official sale of discovery. But the latest trip was meet with fences steering you only to the existing marina and boat dock after you figured out what the signs were telling motorist. The rest of the park was totally fenced off now that the sale has gone through.The developer has staked his claim quickly.  At least my vote to keep the park makes me  proud of that fact. It wasn't a jewel so-to-speak. It was a diamond in the rough and Rowlett gets to keep the diamond!

Here are two links to published articles about the pre-sale and the post sale of  Elgin B. Robertson Park.

1.http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2013/04/dallas-voters-would-be-wise-to-authorize-parkland-sale.html/

2.http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2015/02/26/dallas-sells-lake-rayhubbard-park-for-31-8m-paves.html

Both articles are a bit murky and one needs to have followed city council broadcast on Wednesdays to see how murky things got.  

Boaters were saying that Dallas simply never took care of the park.

There were people who were stunned the city sold the park. They pointed out situations like this since the sale.

People said they didn't understand the wording on the ballots when they voted to keep the park.One man said he felt that because of the wording on the ballot that he wasn't voting the way that he wanted to vote. I felt the same way, myself.  Fishermen were not happy, either.

Diagnosis: Moment in Maine

It was an October morning, on the coast of Maine in 1975, when I first noticed the symptoms. Two weeks later, the symptoms returned.  Over the next thirty years there were moments that came and went and I continued to ignore the symptoms until 2005. By then, it was a full blown disease.  I live with it every day, now. I can still recall that fateful morning sitting on a cliff before sunrise in the mist and fog hearing lobster boats put,put,put as they went about their daily trips of putting out lobster traps. The sun's glow began to light the morning sky before  that beautiful ring  of nuclear  fire crested in that rainbow-like arch and I could feel the heat on my face.I know now that it was then, that the disease had entered my bloodstream.

In 2005, the time had come to acknowledge the disease. It was a difficult thing to do. But someone had already made the statement that I was feeling. Although it was an Anonymous statement, it said exactly what I already knew about that Moment in Maine. So I can use that Anonymous statement :

"Once photography enters your bloodstream, it is like a disease." --Anonymous

Yes, the disease is photography and I work at it daily to keep my eyes sharp. With that said, I will begin to post on the side bar a column from some of the best photographers that have this disease, also. It is to be hoped that you will enjoy reading their quotes.

A Man Takes Time on a Hot Roof to Smile for the Camera

Under the Pink Umbrella--Life is Good.

Columbus Day Parade

It seems that the Continental Bridge Pedestrian Park is getting quite the work out. The Columbus Day Parade was held Sunday, starting on the east end of the bridge park, winding its way to the west Plaza area, where a member of the Italian Parliament gave a brief address. It was a well done event!

The Color Guard

Strike Up The Band. You know that Purple is the color of Royalty, don't you?

Texas Horse Park  Riders and this was no laughing matter!

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

There are gadgets invented, created (not all equally) and sold every single day of the year. We hear about some of the most promising if not the most exciting. The information overload would be just out of the universe if all of it was paid attention to when it came out.

Once upon a time, I was invited to attend a motivational speaker's presentation because at that time, he ran the hottest direct mail advertising company in the US. For nearly a week I got to pick his brain about how he had made his company one of the most recognizable organizations in the country. I never forgot the pointers that he left with me.  Not that I have been interested of late. I have been running a test experiment for nearly five years now putting into play the new technology that wasn't there when Whitt  did his thing so successfully in the early 70s.

Yesterday, I got to see, talk and observe a demonstration that kept my brain going well into the wee hours of this morning thinking about the possibilities of what this device can and could do from here on out. The problem now is more bifurcated as to what end one would want to be involved. One, do you want to use the technology and device as it is currently and develop it to its fullest, or two, do you want to be on the horizon of where this thing is going?

So, Dos Equis , with a Stay Thirsty Grant,  I'll photograph the Dallas outdoor sidewalk patio's with  the Dos Equis interesting people and blog about them  on my blog, your blog and twitter!!

This is not a toy, it's a work horse for Photographers

Legally, it can fly at an altitude of 400 feet in open terrain.

 

Dos Equis, I need a Stay Thirsty Grant because.......

http://heinekenusa.com/tag/stay-thirsty-grant/

Edited to remove copy and add the copy below.
I just learned, there really is a Stay Thirsty Grant Contest by Heinekenusa and that doesn't change a thing.  I don't need 25k, I just need a video camera and a drone !  The creative juices are already generating a list of uses for photography.
 

Good Signs After A Hard Winter, Thus Far

A few days ago, I went to check on the hive of bees that had swarmed in late fall along a trail were I do my cardiac walks. I was somewhat concerned that the coldest winter in 40 years might had taken a toll on the hive.  At first, I grew more concerned as there were not any bees coming and going from the hive. In the fall the bees had covered the entire knot-hole on the tree trunk. Soon, I began to see bees coming out of and going into the hive. In total there were not that many bees, but the hive was alive and well and the bees had survived the winter thus far. There are pictures in the archive if any of you  missed the initial post.

My second concern of winter's wear on wildlife were the Monk parrots that have an established colony of 70 to 80 birds. Today, I saw four. They looked very healthy and somewhat less noisy than in the past, but the missing birds of the colony were every evident. Most likely, more did survive but several people were telling me today that they had been looking for the Monks, too, but had only seen the same four that I had seen. In the past, I have read reports from New York and San Francisco that  had large colonies thinned out by mother nature but the strong had survived hard winters in the most unusual of places. I'm hoping that the WRL colony of Monks will venture back to the lake as the weather becomes more favorable toward Spring. While the little parrots are noisy, they are part of the character of the lake and missing them completely would be a loss no one wants to see.

The early part of the this coming week, it's time to see the cardiologist again. Last week, because of the ice and sleet and snow, the day before, I had cancelled my appointment because driving was not going to be worth the head aces. As it turned out, the weather was right on target and it was a nightmare avoided. This coming week it is going to be in the 70s. Spring is barking for the calendar to turn March!

Monk Parrots

Last falls colony numbered in the 70-80s. Today, there were only 4 sported.

 16/02/2014. Corrected for displacements.

600 Months After JFK

Downtown Dallas was abuzz with people from all over the globe yesterday. While the larger crowds seemed to be at Dealey Plaza,naturally, the crowds are only going to increase over the next several weeks. City Hall drew people from LA taking pictures of the flags on the plaza. Five different  Quinceaneras  and their Court of Honor filled the area of Pioneer Plaza where the cattle drive bronzes cross the stream. It was a mix of tourist and locals all intermingled in the way it is supposed to be.

The tour business was active, too. Three stretch limos were unloading and reloading. An entertainment bus did the same. Then came the escorted tour of segways  followed by the little red trolley that advertised "see Dallas in 75 minutes". The heart beat of Dallas on Saturday was, without doubt, in downtown.

The  couple from LA said that they had been on a tour of AT&T Stadium (Cowboys) in Arlington earlier. They ask about restaurants. While I usually don't recommend , I mentioned a couple from high end down to just good cooking. Others had also recommended the good cooking and they reached their decision right there on City Hall plaza under the flag poles and headed out to have their dinner at Sonny Bryant's. The traveling were also traveling while visiting Dallas but they were eating, as well. That translates into tourist dollars and I don't know a Chamber of Commerce anywhere that doesn't like that concept.

Traffic on North Central Expressway ( NCX, 75, Central Expressway) was at a crawl from the High 5 south to North Park. 635 LBJ was a mess because of the final paving occurring on the new re-do from Coit to Preston Road. It will be the first stretch of the 11 mile project to be complete. Is it going to help? Most likely not. I don't think traffic in Dallas will ever catch-up with the growth. And imagine if the DART Rail wasn't at the stage it is currently. The only think keeping pace with the traffic is DART Rail and TRE to Ft. Worth and A-Train connects to Denton. In the perfect world, DART would already be running out of DFW (although this time next year they will be about to turn the key) and neither the TRE or DART would have a line running in Arlington where both cities could ride to a Rangers, Cowboys, Six Flags day and leave the parking where the car is--at home!  But, I suspect that the parking vendors and others don't want that. It is a capitalistic society that we live in today. The political arms still pull the strings and pulls them when  they want them pulled.

From an observation point, Dallas is ready for the 50th Anniversary of JFK's death here in Dallas. I would have liked to have attended the ceremony, but I didn't have the luck in the drawing for tickets. There have been only three events that I can recall where I was at the exact moment the event occurred. JFK's shooting, Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon and the attack on the World Trade Center buildings.  JFK: I was in my high school history class 1200 miles away when the CBS report came across the intercom; the moon landing: I was crossing the Ohio River at Cincinnati and the attack on the World Trade Center: I was at the mail box on my way to work when one of my neighbors ask if I had been watching the reports on television. But, it is the JFK weekend that found me glued to the television and actually seeing Lee Harvey Oswald being shot on television by Jack Ruby. Today, when I pass any of those buildings, Parkland, the old police station on  Harwood, or Dealey Plaza, it still brings back that entire time frame of mourning and disbelief and the stunning and shocking fact that our President had been killed.

I ask this question two years to late!

All this leads to one simple question of though. We all have seen the spot where Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on board the president's plane and I wondered if that spot was ever actually reported on  a map or some historic sign that LBJ became President on this spot? Realizing, of course, that it is inside the secure area of Love Field, I've never heard a report of where that plane was parked while the president was in his motorcade. I know where Air Force One parks at Love Field in modern time, but where did they hanger the plane at Love Field on that fateful day in November 50 years ago this month? It appears now that someone did ask that very question but not until two years ago for the first time since that deadly day.

 I'm just two years late on this one, but that is still enough to keep me in the running for asking "historical" questions! I'll settle for that. Staff Writer David Flick of the Dallas News did an article on 21 November 2011. According  to that, I was just under two years, then. Some 48-years passed without anyone asking the question. Ironically, it was a photograph that led to the actual spot at Love Field being located in gps coordinates for history sake.

One of many limos arriving and departing Pioneer Plaza for quinceaneras and their court of honor

Tourist were arriving and departing the area in large numbers

A Rose from the Rose Garden of Perkins Chapel  at the Joe & Lois Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in memory of JFK