Granny Geek

Early voting has started here in Dallas. So far, the signs outnumber the voters at our local polling place: Voters, 121;  Signs, 172.

We live in Dallas County District 4. Our Commissioner is not up for re-election this year.

John Wiley Price, “Our Man Downtown,” IS up for re-election this year. His signs are scattered throughout our District.

Price certainly has his share of problems.  We’ve lived in Dallas for only six years, so I don’t know a lot about his past. IMO, though, he’s been off his game for a long time.  And he’s off base again.  Mr Price, please instruct your peeps on the boundary lines of your district and tell them to get your signs out of our hood! Lord knows, we have enough of our own.

Coombs Creek is a rough, uncut gem in our neighborhood. In other parts of Dallas, Coombs Creek has been cleaned up and trails have been built.  Here, the creek itself is barely visible from the street because of dense foliage:   trees, bushes and shrubs have gone untrimmed for many years. And the recent monsoons in Dallas have left very high weeds growing wildly along the street.

Can you see the creek in the photo below? I didn’t think so. Follow this link to see how other parts of the creek in South Dallas have been cleared, and include walking trails.

Yesterday, a City crew appeared to mow and trim weeds along our section of Coombs Creek. Hooray! When the weeds get high, people drive along the creek in our hood and throw out their trash: garbage, old tires, TV sets, cats and dogs they no longer want. Sometimes the cats and dogs are just turned loose along the street. Then, local residents have to call animal control to pick up strays.  Sometimes, small kittens and puppies are stuffed  into plastic yard bags while they’re still alive and thrown along the side of the road. You read that right. Suffocation seems to be a popular way of disposing of unwanted animals.

Here’s the scene yesterday before the crew started mowing.

What a difference ten minutes makes.

The Code Department did its job well. The crew chief told me that cleaning up the creek bed isn’t the responsibility of Code: it’s the responsibility of Dallas Flood Control. Who knew?

Gran’s youngest was in New York yesterday, He’s a filmmaker, and was participating in a benefit for victims of the civil war in Sierra Leone. He sent us this photo.

The Asian guy with whom he’s playing soccer works for the United Nations. 

We at Geezer Manor couldn’t be more proud. What a kid!

We’ve driven the entire Lewis and Clark Trail, all the way from Mile Marker 1 to Oregon.

The Bluebonnet is the state flower of Texas, and the blooming season will last about another week or ten days. Don’t miss this glorious sight.

How do you find all these Bluebonnets? It’s easy. Just drive to Ennis and follow the signs.

 

The e-mails and phone calls started early yesterday afternoon and continued until evening. Friends and relatives from all over the country wanted to know that we were safe from the terrible storms and tornados that ripped through Dallas yesterday. Every message began with the same three words: “Are You OK?”

We’re OK. For the most part, we kept our eyes glued to TV as the tempest developed.

Unfortunately, many folks are trying to put their lives back together today, including those whose homes and cars were hit with flying trailers. Here at Geezer Manor, we had dark, dark skies and lots of rain. Lucky us.

We’re lucky to have so many caring and concerned people in our lives, too. Thank you, everyone.

For the Mavs.

Cool.

The DART Red Line is a lot quieter these days, with far fewer noisy, foul-mouthed young men hanging around on trains. Perhaps it’s the increased presence of uniformed officers on trains. In addition, now we are constantly asked to show proof of payment of a fare.

Well done, DART.

Magnificent specimen, isn’t it?

No, Sequoias are not indigenous to Texas. They grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

During the course of a lifetime of a thousand years or so, a Sequoia will teach a height of 250-300 feet. This one, however, sprouted to its final height in about a week.

Cell tower.

Now, I like Sequoias as much as the next person. But you’d think the folks in Cockrell Hill would have used a little more imagination in choosing a cell tower. They might have chosen something that fit into an urban setting better than a Sequoia.

For example, in rural areas, cell towers sometimes are disguised as silos.

In the Southwest, towers are built to look like a cactus.

In urban areas, churches are sometimes used as a site for a tower.

Or a cupola at a mall.

In Cockrell Hill, a flag pole, would have fit in better than a Sequoia.

A water tower wouldn’t have looked bad.

Or a clock.

Here’s a link to a map of cell tower locations here in Dallas. And here’s a photo of a cell tower at 401 South Hampton, near Tom Thumb. We had never noticed it before. Cell towers are everywhere, aren’t they? But the one in Cockrell Hill stands out like a sore thumb. Or a sore Sequoia. Whatever.