The Story Tellers of White Rock Lake

If trees could talk, there are a few trees at White Rock that have probably seen it all from  their growth  stand. It occurred to me not long ago that another severe ice storm like we just dodged, or straight-line winds could bring these old story tellers down to the ground and reduce their massive, scared trunks to firewood.

There is a story about the old Pecan tree that stands on the Cole farm in Highland Park that is decorated every year. KERA has run the story as fillers many times over the course of its creation. But  people that live around the lake; regular visitors to the lake or even a one-time visitor visiting family here in Dallas looking for some place neat to sight see, also notice some of these old haunting trees with their rabbit-holed trunks. Their twisted, sometimes sawed off, even bent, and mangled branches have their own character that are just as old as the Cole pecan tree, if not older in some cases.

The project sprang up when I was looking for something of significance to shoot at White Rock Lake. First, one thinks of buildings. Some good, some bad, but they have been shot over and over and over .Eventually, the list came to be titled, "old trees"  The odd thing is that during the summer, when leafed out, it's easy to miss some of the character of the tree itself. But, in late fall and early winter when the leaves start to fall and branches are bare, one can see the real beauty of the tree from an age stand-point. The character just blossoms.
Here are just a few of what I found today.

The trunk is split from the base up the trunk for nearly 15-feet.I would guess that a lightening strike hit the tree more than just once.



The trunk is straight but it has been mutilated by weather, disease or lightening.

Another tree that has overcome lightening strikes, wind damage, and who knows what else.

These old trees have a ghostly character that only age can bestow on this old story-teller. The wood would be interesting to inspect. Old wood like this is filled with so much character, no wonder people search the planet for old trees like these for a variety of reasons. Many, just walk by the old tree and never notice its character at all.
 

Unusual Road History

It began as a note to myself while the construction on the White Rock Lake Dam and Spillway was underway about two years ago. That note said that I should remember to do a post on the dam and spillway after the construction was complete.  My attention had been drawn to an unusual  piece of granite that was inscribed some time in the past. It was just sitting there along  a sidewalk partially leaned up against a wrought iron railing. It looked a bit odd compared to the typical historical marker that the State of Texas uses to mark historical points of interest. One of those was about 15 feet farther up the sidewalk that gave the history of White Rock Lake Dam and Spillway but the white granite marker was even more interesting to me. It also had a half-mooned bowl that could be a water fountain or  who knows what else. It was just plain cool. The inscription was indeed historical and it was clear that the marker was going up at the dam and beloved spillway that has drawn people to view the dam after a major rain storm for years. It is an impressive site.


"Central National Road of the Republic of Texas was created by the Texas Congress on Feb.5,1844 to establish a five-man commission to select a right of way, see that it was cleared, and supervise the building of necessary bridges." 1

1."CENTRAL NATIONAL ROAD," handbook of Texas Online (http://www.Tsha.online.org/handbook/online/article01),accessed November 24,2013.Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution

The history of White Rock Lake

The new renovation to the dam and spillway

When Things Go Awry

The  Oxford Dictionary declared the word of the year to be  Selfie.  That just says it all.  It shows how self-centered we have become as a society. Otherwise, the word would not have made it into the Oxford under the rules of usage.

Yesterday, another small airport fooled a pilot and he landed his very big plane. Recall a day in July in 2012, when two Florida runways on the same heading fooled another pilot and he too, sat his very big military aircraft down on a very small and short runway. Or many years ago when a commercial pilot landed on a short and narrow taxiway at the old Denver Stapleton . So if I can remember three  such situations in 40 years, there must be more, maybe ( don't always believe everything you read). But here's a run down on this latest one.

Once upon a time, a giant cargo plane named Atlas Air 4241, also known in aviation parlance as GTI4241.Giant, departed an airfield (LIBG) in the heel of Italy known as Grottaglie/Taranto headed to JFK in New York. It is a modified Boeing 747-400 Quad. It's a little more than a 10 hour flight. Upon leaving New York, at 07:26 PM EST,  it was heading west to McConnell AFB, Kansas.

 McConnell, (KIAB) is a very large facility. To the north end of the airfield is also Cessna Aircraft facility. To the west side of McConnell is attached the Boeing Aircraft Company facility (Spirit) where the Boeing 787 is assembled. Atlas Air is also known as Boeing's Dream lifter that hauls huge sections of fuselage pieces from Italy to the Kansas facility. These  three facilities are snuggled in the curve of the Kansas Turnpike which is also Interstate Highway 35 from the first exit in Kansas

Atlas Air 4241 Giant landed in Kansas at 09:26 PM CST last night and quickly found out it wasn't Kansas anymore. A nightmare was what it was. The craft had landed at Colonel James Jabara  airport(KAAO) in error. It is 9 miles north of McConnell and it gets worse. The runway is in the 6100 feet length range while the Giant needs 9100 feet to become airborne with a full load of cargo and fuel.  The plane sat on the runway overnight. 

Finally, after watching two guys, one  in bright yellow top and the other in a full suit bright yellow, wait under the nose wheel while the engineers give the go-ahead. The men finally clear the runway and get out of jet blast range, the Giant heads down the runway at Col. Jabara's Airport. And finally, without eating up the 6100 foot runway and who knows how much grass.......while still on the runway, she lifted skyward to the relief of many people. Earlier a few cargo containers were trailered to be land delivered to McConnell.  It was 13:16 PM CST , the craft made a longer than scheduled journey south and then brought her inward to an approach at McConnell. It could have been a bad day but people tend to pull together when times get tough.

There was another Giant in Charleston, S.C. at Charleston  AFB scheduled to McConnell around 3:10 this afternoon, but the flight plans disappeared and the departure board showed no sign of the flight.
While the fleet did have a couple of flights over the Atlantic from Belgium and from Brazil, nothing else was showing.

With Selfie being the world of the year, wonder how many Selfies  are made in the cockpits? 






 

Dallas Prepares for the 50th Anniversary of the Assination of President John F. Kennedy

Originally, I had wanted to attend the 50th Anniversary ceremonies to be held on Friday, November 22. Of course, the city limited who can attend. Never-the-less, in this day and age, I understand the city's concerns I just don't understand why they stop people from remembering someone that changed this country. Especially on such a historical day. Jackie's dress won't be released to the public for viewing until 2116 or some date I won't live to see. I could have seen this one, however.

So yesterday, I tried to stay away from downtown but my car just kept steering me to go take a look at Dealey Plaza, although I have seen it hundreds of times before. I was surprised to see empty parking meters within a block on Houston Street. When I started to drop quarters, I was even more surprised. Twenty-five cents gets you 12-minutes of time on the meter. Now I know why the meter spaces were empty. One hour of time was a big $1.20 for up to two hours (if I dropped another $1.20 behind the first). It's not bad overall. Some of the garages get more as do some of the lots for all day parking. The Sixth Floor Museum was charging $5.00 at their lot.

It was a good thing. There was a group of Asian businessmen touring with their American host. People were thick. Some guy coming down Elm Street near where the "X" is marked on the street was blowing his horn at the tourist. My mother would say, "there is always one in the crowd to put a bad image on all the good." People did look up from their conversations and I did see a few shake their heads.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, the fences and barriers start to go up. The extended weather forecast for Friday doesn't look good, either. Cold, windy with gust to 25 Mph, rainy. If you believe in Karma, then Mayor Mike Rawlings has got some bad Karma for limiting who can come to the ceremony! I have only met him once. Tom Lepert , was a more likable  figure. As a former CEO of Turner Construction, the man knew how to plan, budget, build and lead. While Mayor Rawlings  is okay as a person, the best way to describe him is that the former CEO of Pizza Hut left off the peperoni on his pizzas.

Yes, I said earlier that I understood why the ceremony had to be limited to some degree. But to me, it's like putting the cart before the horse.

Looking at The Texas Book Depository from Commerce Street

50 years ago, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge wasn't there.

 

Competition Begins for Slots at Love Field

The settlement of the Justice Department's law suit in the American and U.S. Airways merger is hardly 48-hours old and already Delta Airlines says that they want the two slots that Southwest Airlines will give up at Love Field.

Delta Connection arriving Love Field

If You Love Numbers, Today is 11-12-13

Before the Arctic cold front roars through North Texas, a trip to the grocery store was a chance to put down the book and run by the lake on another beautiful fall day. And since one grocery store is on one side and the other on the opposite side it was not a chore.

I've always been a good shopper. Saving money at the grocery store is not a task for me. It's a competitive  experience. But, it also helps to know pricing and marketing techniques. For example: a simple can of black pepper. On a normal day, I will pay $2.29 for 1.75 ounces. It's not a good price for pepper but it's a good price compared to what else is available. Since I was going by a particular store where I shop maybe once or twice a year, yesterday, I was hungery  for sizzle steaks and onions. Sizzle steaks are not a popular product here in Texas. It's basically a northern thing and stores up north slice, bag (two pounds at a time) an quick-freeze.

So, I stopped at the store where I seldom shop. No only did they have the aforementioned, they also had the biggest can of black pepper you could believe for $1.99. Four ounces! A bit more than double from what I had been getting at 1.75 ounces.

I bought a bag of sizzle steaks in bulk. They are not true sizzle steaks but they come as close to what I cook that I have found in Texas. They need to be sliced about half again as thin to be true sizzlers. Also, the shoulder blade cut roast were packed two in a package for half the price that I had been paying from my regular store.  There were several items that were what I would consider way out of line. But, I found enough that I'll be back again with a list in hand. I get a kick out of the Walmart commercial where the guy takes the woman with her Kroger receipt in hand on a comparison shop on how much she could save.  Of course you never hear about the items where Kroger was much cheaper (and they can be on many things) than Walmart! And you never will. I've found things at Kroger where they were a bit higher than some stores, but shopping is an art and you must watch deals, know prices and follow the rules of avoiding  certain areas of the store.  

What makes me irritated the most is when a store advertises turkeys! Oie Vey!

 One store listed a price per pound, but only if you purchase $50.00. Another had their little twist to get you in the door. I found my turkey for $0.59 per pound but I had to dig for it in the freezers. But my irritation  comes from a sign that says 10-15 pounds here and 16-22 pounds here. I found mine at the very bottom of the 16-22 pounds.  It was a 10 pounder! Don't you just love that part of holiday shopping?  But, with a hard freeze tonight before our first frost, I can slow cook the roast today. That puts steam in the kitchen and warms up the house with warmth in temperature and in smells! Oh! I'm also making yeast rolls  today, too. That will really add to the smells of fall and pre-holiday days.

At the lake, what appears to be the wedding alter from a Kelt wedding over the weekend stood out against a deep blue sky.

A Pagan Wedding Alter with sprig of  Hemlock

 

The straw wreath

The Overview.
Yes, it was hand made and made with modern screws and power drivers!

Free Enterprise Evidence

Wednesday afternoon, I drove over to Love Field to see the President's plane and motorcade. This would be my fourth for President Obama's arrival. The difference between this visit and the three previous was actually three-fold in differences.

For one, the previous trips the President has made were in early afternoons. This trip was late afternoon with the President's plane touching down almost on the dot of 5P.M. Sunset was a bit shy of 5:30, so the late afternoon sun was already casting long deep shadows.

Second, a strong cold front had passed during the early part of mid morning and the winds were coming out of the northwest. What that means to regional airports is that the airports are "flipped". When an airport is flipped by ATC (Air Traffic Control) it changes the approach and departure patterns. So normal landings at Love Field on 13L and 13R become 31R and 31L. The previous times, the President's plane has made that long graceful approach from the approach dogleg out over 635 into the runway that runs behind the Frontier of Flight Museum and the fork of Lemmon Avenue known as 13L. But, because of the wind direction on Wednesday, Air Force One made its approach over downtown in between Cedar Springs and Denton/Maple Avenue or 31L.

Finally, the one thing that really stood out on this trip more than any other trips in the past that I have attended was an enterprising young man selling a full pole of cotton candy! Now, who says that the President hasn't created free enterprise and job creation?

A gentleman buys one for his lovely wife.

A little self indulgence is needed after a busy day

Landing on Runway 31L at Love Field.