Election Anxiety? It Will Be What It Will Be

 No, this is not another blogger offering expert advise. There are enough of those as is. But, I'm not one to dismiss the fact that there are those who are having high alert feelings in their bodies today over the elections last night. I learned a long time ago not to worry over things that you have no control. I did my civic duty by voting and now, my control is like water rushing under a bridge, mixing in with all the others that did their civic duties. Be thankful that we live in a country where we can vote. At least; I am. 

Now, the rest of this week will be mid to upper 70s with sunshine. The need to get out and walk a trail with my camera is growing stronger by the hour. The past couple of days has been spent getting ready for the cold snap that is coming next week. And, wouldn't you know it---I have two days back-to-back of doctor's appointments. That guy---Murphy-- who wrote the Murphy Law thing, is like a snowball rolling downhill. It seems that there are some days when you just can't outrun that on-coming snowball. I just have to make sure that if I encounter that rolling blob of snow, coming down that hill ,that there is an alcove or something that I can duck inside as it passes. It is also aptly noted that those laws were never penned by Mr. Murphy. Makes me wonder sometimes, just what side he was on---the snowball's, or mine.

This is one area of my old shoot wheel where I have not been able to access via bus or train. The irony of that! It is on both the BNSF and Union Pacific Lines. I'll have to work on this because I have found some interesting things on this out-of-the-way no man's land. Flora, Fauna, railroading things that hold some special interest, like new radar guns that count cars, read car numbers etc.etc. Hi-Tech stuff as well as some fun things like a BNSF engine on one track and a Union Pacific engine on another side-by-side that looked like the lineup of a quarter mile hot rod race. Imagine that!

 

The Discoveries Continue

 Now that the final surgery is behind me, I had wondered just how long it would take before I could regain what I had accomplished just before my surgery. As  I have reported,  my daily walks had increased and been maintained at 5-miles per day. Then, I got the call from the surgeon that I had been scheduled for the last of my surgeries that never got finished since last November because of the pandemic. As our great Governor had halted surgeries, it was costly to me in many ways besides financial. The absolute worse Governor Texas has ever had cost me something that can never be replaced. Psychologically, the damage has been a lot to bear and I am working to put even that, behind me, now. Missing part and all.

Yesterday, I put on my pre-packed backpack and headed to the bus stop. Then, on to the rail station. As it turned out, I had planned to go North, but ended up going South. I had just missed a train. Getting off short one stop before where I had planned, there is a walk alongside the tracks (safely, of course) that goes into the new Trail System that tied into the Katy Trail. It is that part of the new multi-million dollar cable stayed bridge that crosses Mockingbird Lane and the SMU/Mockingbird Station complex. About two miles from where I got off at Mockingbird. The discoveries that I made along the way were very much like I have been making over the past years from my shoot wheel. Just before my surgeries, I had discovered that from the bus and the trains, I could pretty much match that old wheel that I had made from my car. Knowing now that I duplicate it, if not increase it, the joy that I get from photography was satisfied enough that I could pretty much count on it being sustainable. 

Sure, I ran into a couple of little detours that are part of a large construction project, but that was okay. I can live with those little short falls. When finally able to board the train, once again, I headed North. I was bound and determined to go to the Parker Road Station, the end of the Red and Orange Lines. Along the way, I also noted some places that I will return to---mainly, Downtown Plano. The others will be at the renamed Pres. Geo Bush which has been renamed City Line because of the State Farm Office Complex that is thriving with business, retail, restaurants and trail systems. I'm thinking already that the spring of 2021 should be good-to-go. Hopefully. One never knows today. 

On the way back South, I got off at my regular train stop to catch my bus home. I knew something was wrong from the very start. The buses were not hitting like they should and there seemed to be some kind of confusion going on. Even the platform clocks that announce the different lines arrivals had stopped, dead. Long story shorter, the bus that I normally catch was over an hour and a half late. On the way home, when I finally did catch the bus, we passed it sitting on the side of the road. It had, for some unknown reason, been emptied out and even the driver was gone. These types of things will happen on the bus and rail systems also. Just like a well maintained car can stop running for some unforscene reason. After all, it was Halloween.

                                                                               Beauty

                                                                             Mischevious

 

I Cannot Remember When....

 the last time the weather turned so bad, so soon. But I can tell you that I 'forecast' an early fall. Mind you, I never mentioned the ice storms, the 5 days of cold rains, winds and chill factors in the twenties. It seems that we were caught in the middle of two power house systems  406 miles apart. Winter storm warnings with snow accumulations in the Panhandle and Hurricane warnings along the Gulf. All I can say now is, "good riddance". Hurricane Zeta was, unfortunately, a killer with three people loosing their lives. We still have the entire month of November of Hurricane season to navigate through. 

While I can usually play dodge ball with the weather, I can not express it enough that the old human body needs time to heal. Ten days ago, I just wasn't making the progress that I needed, then along came these two weather systems and I made like an old bear and headed to the den burying myself under comforters and sleeping 10-11 hours a day. Now that the weather is finally moving out and the average daily highs in the 70's are slowly beginning to return. So, the next few days following the ghost and goblin event, finally, I will be able to get out with my camera and begin my 5-mile walks again. Frankly, I can't wait!! 

In other news, if you are new to Texas, tomorrow is the last day for early voting. If you don't vote tomorrow you will have to wait for the long lines of Election Day, Tuesday, November 3rd. And frankly, I can't wait for that to be over with either. This has been the most dirty election that I have seen in years. I'm not talking about the major figures of Frick and Frack. I'm talking about the congressional battles that have been just absolutely awful. I plan to use the good weather and the walks to de-tox my brain and get rid of all the negatives that have been seeping into my brain from all the PAC money ads. Normally, things like that don't bother me. I'm not saying that they are bothering me now. What I am saying is that there has been a lot of junk stashed by osmosis and it's toxic and I have to get rid of it. A walk, a camera, fresh air, sunshine, and the autumn scenes will go a long way to put me back together, both mentally and physically. 

 Early Voting Ends Friday, October 30th in Texas.

Game 5 of the World Series Clear Cut Fish Hatchery by ONCOR

 It's a good thing that the new $1.2B stadium in Arlington has a retractable roof. The temps have hovered at 39-41°F all day with gusty North winds and rain; freezing rain. Winter Storm Warnings were issued last night until 1 PM CST today, and that's just what is at the edge of the Metroplex. Go 406 Miles to the SE and you run into Hurricane Warnings. Hurricane Zeta is expected to make landfall somewhere around the mouth of the Mississippi.The direct hits that the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama residents have put up with this season is something else. 

Just when I was doing so well and walking up to 5-miles per day, got put on hold on the 15th with the last of my surgeries finally complete. It has been a slower recovery with an unexpected problem, but the doctors got it all worked out and just the past two days I have been moving more normal since the surgery. The only thing that is holding me back now is the cold wet weather and two upcoming follow-up visits to the doctors. 

The decree level of getting back out there with the camera has been elevated in the past two weeks. It appears that ONCOR, the delivery arm of TXU energy clear cut a 3 acre swath through the heart of the old Fish Hatchery, which is a sanctuary for wildlife, from snakes to coyote to bobcats to raccoons etc.etc., not to mention the waterfowl that find a safe haven in those old fish hatchery ponds. I've even seen beavers in there. Those hatcheries had their own eco-systems. Some of the ponds were filled with mulch according to one of my friends that has been out there since the cutting.

Of course, ONCOR was quick to say that they have the right to clear the right-of-way. That point is true. The dirty part was that they failed to notify the city that they were going to do it until they got caught. They have a history of butchering trees along alleys and even front lawns. It just makes me sick to see the images that D magazine posted. The area was a great get -away from urban noise where you could think--actually hear yourself think--- just a few miles from downtown. I know for a fact that wildlife and plants will be back. The problem is if nothing gets more established guidelines in place, the problem a decade ago has been revisited and will be revisited again. After a while, the wildlife even moves on looking for better places to live undisturbed lives. 

So, while I am looking forward to getting back out there, I'm not looking forward to what I will see that didn't have to be.

                                                                    Fish Hatchery Canal

 

The Absolute Best Home-Made Bologna Sandwich Ever Made in Dallas

 It must be explained that I have been going to the Parkit Market for 20 years for one thing. I would not dare go anywhere else and expect the same. In the 52-years that it has been open, it has won awards up this side of Lover Greenville area, down the other and around the Big D, especially according to D Magazine. The other thing is that the place is run by the entire Todora Family but the glue to all was  Mrs. Todora. Ann. She passed away this August at 98. She didn't accept second best. It was always top notch right down to the most keg beer business that they served to the student population of SMU over the years. Students went there for everything; food, pop, pretzels, chips and the like. And when you missed mom's cooking, you could always talk to Ann and some how, it got your though the year. 

One of the sons that I dealt with most of all was John. He brought Ann to places where I shopped like Sam's Club and that was where I saw Mrs. Todora mostly. She was particular and when it wasn't up to snuff, regardless of what it was, she let you know. Frankly, she was just like my grandmother, which is why that I think that I respected her the most. 

So, today while I am looking at the archive of pictures, I ran across an image that I had taken there several years ago. It started out in the lower portion of the third section of the Lower Greenville Avenue area. But it was clear very early on that it was going to end at the Parkit Market at Greenville and E University Avenue. 

The guy that I knew I had seen mostly in the Parkit Market but I knew that he lived in the lower Greenville so as I passed through the area that particular day, I ran across Alan.This is where I have to set the  stage once more. Just picture your college days in one of the biggest party area only several days from the big day, St. Patrick's Day. So when I saw Alan on his skate board with a Pony Beer Keg on his shoulder, I knew I had a future story that I could use later and that the images were going to be iconic for every and every in a day. So not to upset this safety and blind side on the board, I held back a bit and knowing where this trip was going to end, I could run up and down the side streets.  He spotted me and got into his silly mode. The guy had an outstanding personality anyway. But, I also knew that this was one of the last days to get your keg into the books for ordering a refill and the Parkit Market was the final destination. It was an annual ritual.for the older students. After the big parade down Greenville, the floats and units would break up and the party would get under way. 

Sure enough. I got a chance to wish  Alan a Happy Saint Patrick's Day, got my bologna sandwich and headed out. It would be about 4 more days and I'd be back on Lower Greenville again to shoot the Parade. I had an old man tell me once: "Kid, you got to think like the bird," referring to knowing what the bird was going to do before the bird did  it. It applies well to people too, Yes, sir, that is one of the most helpful hints I ever go when starting out. Think Like The Bird!

It Ain't No Fun When The Rabbit Has The Gun

 I've heard that phrase since I was a kid and never really payed any attention to it. That is---until these hospital stays have put me in the scope of that rabbit. 

                                                  An eatable table centerpiece of peppers.

Finally, after seven months the original surgery that I went into the hospital for the Monday before Thanksgiving last has been done and I am home starting all over again, now with 4 surgeries total complete.My strength had rebounded and finally, I was able to get out and go with renewed energy and strength. That's been shot in the foot for a while now. I am more sore from a 5'' incision than I was from a full 10" incision down my mid-line. Those 3'' and 1'' are nothing. And, for the second time in a row, cancer was avoided before it was getting a foot hold. I am so thankful for that. I know that there are those who have had it much worse and are still having a bad time with it than I have ever had. I do not mean to undercut the severity. Quiet the opposite, actually. 

When I get up out of my desk chair, I look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame all bent over. It takes several steps before I can stand up straight. Last night I finally found a comfortable position in which to sleep and I slept a good 9 hours.

So, this coming week will be a bit of a roller coaster on the weather side and the following week a very strong autumn cold front (We used to call them the Alberta Express in the Great Lakes) will come charging through and we will have sunshine and 70s the whole week as it looks now. I'll stay in and take it easy until I am sure that I am strong enough to be back out again. My goal (and that isn't something that I express much about) will be to be getting to the point that I will be able to start walking a bit of a distance again. I think that it will take me longer to get there, now, than it did beforehand, but that's okay. I'll regain speed with time. And just wait until I find that darn rabbit!!!!

99 Bottles of Beer On The Wall...

 99 bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall. The song is popular in Canada and in English Pubs, especially Scotland. I haven't thought about that song since college. But, this morning, while there was still a comfort level in the weather department, my camera bag almost jumped into my lap to go, so I turned off the computer and grabbed a few things to stuff in the bag and away I went with bag over my shoulder. After making the corner, my plan was to walk the neighborhood behind me and look for unusual stuff again. Within less than 2 or 300 hundred yards, my eye caught something in its focus and low and behold, that song popped into my head. It's been there all day. Yes, all day. 

So, with that find, my legs just kept walking forward. The neighborhood is a bit tricky and I didn't want to walk a fair distance only to find that the street was a dead end. The way it is laid out, there are through streets and there are dead ends. Some are marked, some are not; for what reason, is still unknown to me. But, there were several things that ended up in my camera as I came out onto the street that is about a mile or so north of mine. The problem was, I'm sitting on a parapet wall that ran along the sidewalk at the bus stop waiting for the bus and I look up at the bus stop sign only to have my eye catch one little phrase that would change my whole day. It simply read: there is no service to rail stations on weekends. So, that put me in a catch-22 situation. My first snarl to the bus system. The first stop also had a change notice to service change that could become permanent. It read like a city zone law change, and no date was included. I had no choice but to make the turn onto a parallel street to the street where I had seen the notice. All said and done, I had walked a bit over 3 miles already. 

Finally, I got back to my street a mile to the east waiting for my regular bus. At least on Sundays, it runs every hour to a train station and with a short brisk walk meets the train that I want. In short, I ended up back at Mockingbird station across from SMU. I'm still having laps of memory with that  name change from just Mockingbird Station to SMU/Mockingbird Station. Any how, the wait for the northbound train or Red Line was short. On the Blue Line, that I had just departed, there are cars that are even with the platform and you have steps to climb aboard. There are also raised platforms that allow for wheel chairs and bicycles to come on board.  I was sitting at one stop waiting for the doors to open and take on the passengers there. When, all of a sudden, there are two bicycles, then a wheel chair that came on the middle section of the car. No big deal but the car was suddenly more crammed with passengers in tight quarters, when at the next stop, the door opened and in came a guy ridding a four wheel ATV. Wait, it gets better. Then, when the car arrived at SMU/Mockingbird, there were people in the upper levels that wanted to exit. Of course, they could not do that. And, neither could I and the guy that got on with me at my stop. We both had to go up to the upper level and exit on our end of the car. The door to the car where we were sitting was two seats away from the door, but blocked by the ATV and the bikes.

Two of the bicycle riders were talking to the ATM driver about being born in Brooklyn but growing up in the Bronx. I'm thinking to myself...well Dallas, our trains are getting that New Yorker life to them. After all, it is public transportation. It makes the point that street wise know can help to manage those kinds of situations and those that don't have street wisdom can't understand that point of view. Really, it's a live and let live attitude that most people in the south don't really understand in the text of what is really being said by such actions.

I've made junket trips up and down the east coast meeting my customer base of steel buyers. You soon learn you don't get judgemental. Not at all. I did recall hearing the one guy talk about driving a cab in the "city" [New York] and how the one way streets made him a lot of extra money. The old game of having a few cause delays and make you take a one way street that's going in the same direction that you had just come from; with the meter running, of course. They would all get a cut of the extra pay. When you talk about being street wise, that's one of those things knowing can save you a lot of headache. After the second train line and the same bus twice, I was finally home again The thermometer on my porch read 90 degrees. Hey!! Fall. check you heat levels but I guess that is why we are getting three cold fronts over the next week, beginning with tonight. No rain, Just lower humidity a dew points and temps back in the low 80s.

After a cold glass of lemon-flavored iced tea, I ordered groceries from Aldi. They came in time for dinner! Aldi's has Moose Track Ice Cream. After butter pecan for a while. It was time for a change for the old taste buds! Yum Yum Yummie! I averaged my calorie count for he first 10 days of October. The numbers were impressive. 1891 calories average per day. Good protein counts and just the right amout of carbs.