Short Post and Demolition Update

It's late and with the intense heat (90 degrees at 11p.m.) everyone is inside watching movies, playing video games or any other way that causes AT&T to cut the bandwidth! What normally takes a couple of minutes is taking what seems like hours tonight.

With the worse of the heat days to be tomorrow (Saturday), I went to Aldi's to fill in a couple of things that if I would run out of anything, I'd have enough to get by until Monday, which is supposed to be a "normal temperature for this time of year, or about 87 degrees and the humidity and dew points will be lower.

Before coming in , I ran by the old Hypermart to check on the demolition progress. The entrance canopies have been dropped except for the west end. Slowly, it's disappearing and a bit of history goes with it each day.

The two center entrances have been cleared of their canopies. The other one looks just like this.

The west end entrance still stands

The  east end entrance

 In closing, I can't believe that today is the first of June already and we have had 12 days of 96 degrees. The drought report shows North Texas in moderate drought conditions again. It isn't set in cement but it looks like a l-o-n-g hot supper already.
 

DeHavilland CV-28 Caribou

Navi

Formation Take-off

Friendly Wave From The Pilot

It was a thrill to see this Vietnam era cargo and paratroup aircraft taxing on the runway at Addison Airport on Sunday. There were several others, but this one was such a trill to see on a runway and taxiway and not in the Museum.

Check out the Cavanaugh Flight Museum at http://www.cavflight.org

DeHavilland CV-28 Caribou Troop Jump, cargo, med evac.

Navy Trainer

New Sub-Culture of Creativity

It's not been a slow process. In fact, it has been a rather rapid development in a sub-culture. That culture is of the new industry Rent-and Leave Anywhere bike program. The program started last fall and quickly grew into 5-figures of bikes around the city doing just what the title directed. Rent, then leave anywhere. And the riders did! Thus, the new sub-culture of creativity.

I've talked to several of the guys that are employed to wrangle the bicycles from all over and put them back into service were they are needed. One of the workers told me that he had one on top of a telephone pole. One, was up in a tree---a fairly big tree at that. And, of course, the downside of creativity is destruction. Bike locks have been broken allowing anyon, especially the homeless, to ride the bikes for free anywhere. Seats have been damaged, tire wheel rims have been run over by cars. Pretty much, anything you can think of including the element of surprise called, "biking". That being where a dozen or so of your friends (room to debate that one) rode bikes over to your front lawn and deposited them in said yard.

Today, while looking for something besides crowded parks and BBQ smoke, I came across a rather "cute" creativity mark that I have not seen. And, of course, those are never where they are handy to photograph. This one was on a median island upside down resting on its seat and handle bars. No harm done to the bike (Lime Bike is thankful for that) but making a statement none-the-less.

Making a statement one way or another? Or is it just creativity with no harm done?

The cost of this stunt to Lime Bike is very minimal and I know that they are thankful for that.

At the end of this week, the arches are still standing to the Hypermart USA, the precursor to the Walmart Super Centers.The store closed in May of 2008 and Walmart opened a new super center 2-miles away as the crow flies. The 26-acre site has sat empty since the closing. City of Garland has purchased the property for a Gateway Projecdt for the city.

The Correct Way To Display A Half-Staff Flag.

In my travels around the Metroplex the past few years, I have notice (and said nothing until now) about the way the American flag is being and has been displayed. One of the first things that I recall about a grade school civics class (they don't teach Civics any more, I understand) was the "rules" to display, handle and light the American flag either by itself, or in companionship with a state flag and a vocational or business flag.

With in the past two years, one situation caught my eye with direct contradiction. There is a shopping center with a United States Post Office Branch sharing the same lot of the shopping center. Just so happens, the shopping centers flag was in line with and only twenty to thirty yards away from the Post Office's standard.  One flag was at full staff (the shopping center) and the Post Office had their flag at half staff (which was correct) The post office gets official notices when to raise or lower a flag to proper staff.

I inquired to a Bank of America branch directly across the street as I had noticed that their flag was at an improper staff height,too. The branch manager told me that they have no control over the flag outside their building as the  property realtor takes care of the flag. Which is about the same thing that the shopping center next to the post office had claimed as their excuse why their  flag was at the improper staffing. Even though I already knew the procedures that the Post Office follows, in being fair, I did inquire at the post office and the supervisor did show me the paper that I had expected to see as I have seen them from the Post Office before.

In light of the many deaths from police, fire and local government officials that have passed away, the flags have been running up and down the flag pole like the ' hickory dickory dock, the  mouse ran up the clock' when flags every where in this country should be the same coast to coast. But, as witnessed, that just is not the case anymore. Now, I ask myself every time I see a flag at half staff," Who died?" Never had to ask before, It was treated as a real news item!!

Local government and businesses hear something on the news and they drop the flag without any official directive today. It's pure disrespect in trying to show respect. And no one wants to take the time to inquire. The Government Printing Office has free booklets that explain the procedure. Yet, everyone that I have seen displayed wrong pretty much does their own thing.

Today, I even found the flags on the town square in downtown Garland not only displayed improperly, but in this case it was in violation of USC Section 18 statues.

Then, on the way to follow up on the destruction of the Walmart Hypermart USA building that the city of Garland purchased for their Gateway Project, and I do recall a little rift going on in city council about tearing down an armory that had the Mayor in some hot water...I found for the first time in many years, a set of flags properly being displayed and it was a facility of the Garland Independent School District. Kudos to them. They seem to be the only ones who did their homework!

Improper : On the square in down town Garland

This is the same as the above image, but to use as an illustration, note that the Texas State Flag is higher than the American flag. That should never be and this is an improper display.

This is a PROPER display using the three flag system. The same as Garland was using down town. Note the difference. The American Flag remains a flag length higher than the state flag or the vocational business flag. Also note that the American Flag is in the center with the other two flags on either side.  Someone at Garland ISD learned the procedure well and they should be commended by an American Leigon or VFW post if not a recognition from the city council or some civic group like Rotary or Optimist or Exchange Club for their responsible respect to our flag.

This is the PROPER display and  it clearly even looks more respectful than the Improper handling of the downtown Garland flags. 

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

Mowing the Big Lawn

To five guys that work at DFW International Airport, it's just another day on the job. Maybe! The one thing that is so different about this job is that like at home, the grass grows daily. And this lawn is the size of the island of Manhattan in New York.

With seven (7) active runways, miles of taxiways and more miles of access roads to things like fuel storage tank farms, or ILS farm for landing etc.,etc., the mower gang has 747s and A-380 coming in over their heads as they work. Some as close as 50-75 feet above their heads.

Airplane geeks, like me an thousands of others, love to get as close to the action as possible. Especially if you are a photographer. Just look at the people that hold on to the fence but still get jet blasted away on a little island beach community known at St. Maho Beach on the Dutch side of Saint Martin where the big planes land packed with vacationers coming to the Caribbean island.

I would take DFW any day of the year.

Cutting the grass

A new marker at Founder's Plaza

Yes, just cutting the ole lawn!

Slow Day at DFW

Say what you will, but Boeing 747s are still my most favorite plane and I hate to see airlines retiring them by fleet numbers. Thank goodness for air cargo carriers.

China Air Cargo

One of the regular cargo carriers at DFW

Beautiful Plane